Opinions, please...
I want some good rhodes samples, multi-velocity and clear. I currently use VSampler, so just about any format will do (though it does some better than others). I've got a few SF2s, but most are single velocity. The only multi-velocity ones I have sound murky (to my ear) and tinny, with no bite at the high registers.
Failing this, anything that would, sonically, take the place of say Chick Corea's rhodes on his 70's work, would be fine.
rhodes
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- KVRist
- 413 posts since 11 Mar, 2004
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experimental.crow experimental.crow https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=6258
- KVRAF
- 6895 posts since 9 Mar, 2003 from the bridge of sighs
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Patrick de Caumette Patrick de Caumette https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=686 - KVRist
- 100 posts since 2 Jul, 2001 from PA, USA
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 413 posts since 11 Mar, 2004
Well, I can't shell out $200 for the Scarbee, being a rank amateur.
Mr. Ray is very nice, but it's just not quite what I'm after.
Mr. Ray is very nice, but it's just not quite what I'm after.
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- KVRAF
- 6179 posts since 29 Mar, 2003 from Location: Location
Personally,I think the "ZynAddSubFx" has some of the nicest synthetic rhodes sounds i`ve heard...and I have a few very nice rhodes vsti/sample instruments.
Here`s the freeware thread...but read about the vst prob though.
http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewforum. ... 16cc15f6e7
Here`s the freeware thread...but read about the vst prob though.
http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewforum. ... 16cc15f6e7
....................Don`t blame me for 'The Roots', I just live here. 
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- KVRian
- 500 posts since 13 Oct, 2004 from Durham, NC USA
Hey, Papa, beggers can't be choosers!
Anyway, the best free Rhodes samples I found so far are pretty good for free, and even better if you spice 'em up a bit with a little fx:
==> rhodes3.zip from soundfonts.it.
I have Scarbee in the mail (found it for $100 on ebay). But I still think I'm going to sample my own Rhodes. I've written some software to chop up and categorize the samples. It finds the start point, MIDI note number and note name (and cents off true pitch), as well as S/N ratio, peak level, and duration. I might add normalization as well.
Tomorrow I shake down my house's electrical and find the source of some buzz. I still have some more studying to do, and I need to complete the design of a key thumper to get repeatable samples.
When I'm done with those projects, I'll be ready to start sampling. My guess is that the weak links will be two:
(a) my Rhodes isn't as evenly regulated as it once was ... if it ever was. I keep touching it up, but it might need professional help.
(b) I'll probably get sick of the fussy details of handling 150 to 200 samples before it's through, especially since I'll have Scarbee to play with.
But still I'm going to give it a start. If I come up with anything, I'll make it freely available.
I plan to sample every white key, with 3 or 4 layers. For starters I'll probably do fewer keys to test the waters. I've sampled it before, using a Prophet 2002 12-bit sampler, back in the 80's. They worked out well, but the bar is quite a bit higher now.
Wish me luck!
Jeff
Anyway, the best free Rhodes samples I found so far are pretty good for free, and even better if you spice 'em up a bit with a little fx:
==> rhodes3.zip from soundfonts.it.
I have Scarbee in the mail (found it for $100 on ebay). But I still think I'm going to sample my own Rhodes. I've written some software to chop up and categorize the samples. It finds the start point, MIDI note number and note name (and cents off true pitch), as well as S/N ratio, peak level, and duration. I might add normalization as well.
Tomorrow I shake down my house's electrical and find the source of some buzz. I still have some more studying to do, and I need to complete the design of a key thumper to get repeatable samples.
When I'm done with those projects, I'll be ready to start sampling. My guess is that the weak links will be two:
(a) my Rhodes isn't as evenly regulated as it once was ... if it ever was. I keep touching it up, but it might need professional help.
(b) I'll probably get sick of the fussy details of handling 150 to 200 samples before it's through, especially since I'll have Scarbee to play with.
But still I'm going to give it a start. If I come up with anything, I'll make it freely available.
I plan to sample every white key, with 3 or 4 layers. For starters I'll probably do fewer keys to test the waters. I've sampled it before, using a Prophet 2002 12-bit sampler, back in the 80's. They worked out well, but the bar is quite a bit higher now.
Wish me luck!
Jeff
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Stupid American Pig Stupid American Pig https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4753 - KVRAF
- 7065 posts since 25 Nov, 2002 from not sure
I own a Rhodes, and I would say that Mr. Ray sounds better than any sample set I have heard- though I havent heard the scarbee set.
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- KVRist
- 478 posts since 18 Mar, 2003 from Champaign, Illinois
My favorite rhodes sample set is the Rhodes VS Extreme at soundfonts.it. Direct links don't seem to work, so load this page and scroll down:
http://www.soundfonts.it/?a=soundfonts&c=1#1
From the creator:
I usually play it with SFZ... unfortunately, since I bought Sampletank 2, I haven't been using soundfonts much lately, and I miss this one. Now if some kind sould would convert the soundfont into a Sampletank-readable format, I'd be a happy man.
http://www.soundfonts.it/?a=soundfonts&c=1#1
From the creator:
Three velocity layers, and has a very unique mellow sound.My Rhodes73 Mark1 EP. Was in Bad condition. Every single key sampled with extra rotating layers. Sampled in soft, med and Hard. One day i walked on the street and i just saw it stand with the garbage!!! I thought i was dreaming!!. Well, it took me my back to bring it 'Home'. Poor Rhodes. Anyway that moment i almost believed in god, almost....Mr Cheap
I usually play it with SFZ... unfortunately, since I bought Sampletank 2, I haven't been using soundfonts much lately, and I miss this one. Now if some kind sould would convert the soundfont into a Sampletank-readable format, I'd be a happy man.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 413 posts since 11 Mar, 2004
Jeff --learjeff wrote:Hey, Papa, beggers can't be choosers!
Anyway, the best free Rhodes samples I found so far are pretty good for free, and even better if you spice 'em up a bit with a little fx:
==> rhodes3.zip from soundfonts.it.
I had just dl'ed the 5-rhodes3 and the VS Extreme (that Garrett recommends) from there earlier tonight. Both very nice, to my ear.
I'm not against paying, BTW, (and actually have a few disappointers I paid for) just can't do $200. Lounge Lizard -- which nobody mentioned, but in case anybody does -- is well out of my budget too. Might be able to swing the price of the EP-Station, for instance, which, ain't no rhodes, of course, but has some nice sounds.
Well, that's a gargantuan task you're heading into, for sure. Hope it works out!
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 413 posts since 11 Mar, 2004
It's probably my setup -- Cakewalk Home Studio 2002 with their VST-Adapter and a SBLive -- but Mr. Ray is too quiet at the top of the keyboard on mine. Right hand melody lines get completely wiped out with left hand chords.S_A_P wrote:I own a Rhodes, and I would say that Mr. Ray sounds better than any sample set I have heard- though I havent heard the scarbee set.
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- KVRian
- 888 posts since 26 Aug, 2003 from SWEDEN
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- KVRian
- 500 posts since 13 Oct, 2004 from Durham, NC USA
Well, I did a quick knock off sampling of my 1977 Rhodes Mark I Stage piano, to check out methodology and learn the tools.
I sampled every 4th white key, starting with F1. I didn't use a key-thumper because the one I rigged up made too much noise, which came through on the recording (bam!). I started with three velocity layers, but added a 4th between the mezzo and forte layers, from middle C down, because it really needed it.
I recorded straight off the harp, bypassing the Rhodes' tone controls. I scooped out in the bass, about 100 Hz, using the semi-parametric on my mixer, because that's the sound I want (and what Scarbee, great as it is, isn't).
I recorded each velocity layer in one file, in 24 bits, using a MOTU 828. I normalized and converted to 16 bits, and removed the noise using CoolEdit96 (which only handles 16-bit files). I then processed each file with a little Python program I wrote, which chops up the samples into separate files, naming the files according to the note name (based on the frequency using a simple autocorrelation algorithm). I created the instrument using GigaStudio32 (which I found on ebay for $30).
Here's a short clip of me playing the results. Not too bad, considering how quickly it went together.
=> jrhodes.mp3
Please ignore the crappy timing. When I ran my DAW and Giga at the same time, the latency went up and it was hard to play well. Yet another little technical mystery to figure out. Isn't computer-based music fun!
Now, if I can figure out how to convert the Giga instrument into a soundfont, I'll post it. It takes about 45 MB, but could be shrunk considerably by shortening and looping the samples.
I was told that Vienna won't work unless I have a soundblaster (which I don't, it's a laptop). I also tried "Translator Free", but it just shows a splashscreen and hangs.
If anyone knows a good free or CHEAP prog to convert Giga instruments, or edit soundfonts, I'd sure like to know. But I did say CHEAP, right? I'm using a Rhodes I've had since 1977, a $30 copy of Gigastudio, a computer provided by my employer, a $70 DAW program (n-Track), a TASCAM mixer I've had since 1982, and a used MOTU I got for about $500 (ouch!) Well, I did pay good money for my Ensoniq back in 1997, but see the pattern here?
If I do another round, I probably won't sample too many more keys -- the Rhodes doesn't seem to need it. Maybe every 3rd white key instead. What I will pay a lot more attention to is the velocities when sampling (of course). Unless I can design a reliable and QUIET thumper, that'll be the hardest part.
Cheers!
Jeff
I sampled every 4th white key, starting with F1. I didn't use a key-thumper because the one I rigged up made too much noise, which came through on the recording (bam!). I started with three velocity layers, but added a 4th between the mezzo and forte layers, from middle C down, because it really needed it.
I recorded straight off the harp, bypassing the Rhodes' tone controls. I scooped out in the bass, about 100 Hz, using the semi-parametric on my mixer, because that's the sound I want (and what Scarbee, great as it is, isn't).
I recorded each velocity layer in one file, in 24 bits, using a MOTU 828. I normalized and converted to 16 bits, and removed the noise using CoolEdit96 (which only handles 16-bit files). I then processed each file with a little Python program I wrote, which chops up the samples into separate files, naming the files according to the note name (based on the frequency using a simple autocorrelation algorithm). I created the instrument using GigaStudio32 (which I found on ebay for $30).
Here's a short clip of me playing the results. Not too bad, considering how quickly it went together.
=> jrhodes.mp3
Please ignore the crappy timing. When I ran my DAW and Giga at the same time, the latency went up and it was hard to play well. Yet another little technical mystery to figure out. Isn't computer-based music fun!
Now, if I can figure out how to convert the Giga instrument into a soundfont, I'll post it. It takes about 45 MB, but could be shrunk considerably by shortening and looping the samples.
I was told that Vienna won't work unless I have a soundblaster (which I don't, it's a laptop). I also tried "Translator Free", but it just shows a splashscreen and hangs.
If anyone knows a good free or CHEAP prog to convert Giga instruments, or edit soundfonts, I'd sure like to know. But I did say CHEAP, right? I'm using a Rhodes I've had since 1977, a $30 copy of Gigastudio, a computer provided by my employer, a $70 DAW program (n-Track), a TASCAM mixer I've had since 1982, and a used MOTU I got for about $500 (ouch!) Well, I did pay good money for my Ensoniq back in 1997, but see the pattern here?
If I do another round, I probably won't sample too many more keys -- the Rhodes doesn't seem to need it. Maybe every 3rd white key instead. What I will pay a lot more attention to is the velocities when sampling (of course). Unless I can design a reliable and QUIET thumper, that'll be the hardest part.
Cheers!
Jeff