New Cherry Audio synth- SH-MAX!

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS
SH-MAX$59.00Buy

Post

wagtunes wrote: Thu Feb 12, 2026 5:59 pm
I'm sorry but play Let It Be with the piano sound used for Lady Madonna and it would sound like crap. It would lose all the warmth and beauty that you get from a grand piano when played through whatever piece of crap that Lady Madonna piano was. And don't get me wrong. For Lady Madonna it works, along with Paul's Lady Madonna voice that he rarely used.

Sorry, sound matters a lot. Play Whiter Shade Of Pale with a Farfisa. Not the same at all.
Abbey Road didn't/doesn't have "piece of crap" pianos. The "Lady Madonna" piano is the Mrs. Mills piano, a 1905 Steinway upright that was kept a bit out of tune on purpose. The hammers were also hardened to give it that sound. Available via Spitfire Audio in their Originals series.

And FWIW that piano is still at Abbey Road.


Post

234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:56 am
wagtunes wrote: Thu Feb 12, 2026 5:59 pm
I'm sorry but play Let It Be with the piano sound used for Lady Madonna and it would sound like crap. It would lose all the warmth and beauty that you get from a grand piano when played through whatever piece of crap that Lady Madonna piano was. And don't get me wrong. For Lady Madonna it works, along with Paul's Lady Madonna voice that he rarely used.

Sorry, sound matters a lot. Play Whiter Shade Of Pale with a Farfisa. Not the same at all.
Abbey Road didn't/doesn't have "piece of crap" pianos. The "Lady Madonna" piano is the Mrs. Mills piano, a 1905 Steinway upright that was kept a bit out of tune on purpose. The hammers were also hardened to give it that sound. Available via Spitfire Audio in their Originals series.

And FWIW that piano is still at Abbey Road.

You missed my point. But of course you did. What else is new?

Post

wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 8:03 am
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:56 am
wagtunes wrote: Thu Feb 12, 2026 5:59 pm
I'm sorry but play Let It Be with the piano sound used for Lady Madonna and it would sound like crap. It would lose all the warmth and beauty that you get from a grand piano when played through whatever piece of crap that Lady Madonna piano was. And don't get me wrong. For Lady Madonna it works, along with Paul's Lady Madonna voice that he rarely used.

Sorry, sound matters a lot. Play Whiter Shade Of Pale with a Farfisa. Not the same at all.
Abbey Road didn't/doesn't have "piece of crap" pianos. The "Lady Madonna" piano is the Mrs. Mills piano, a 1905 Steinway upright that was kept a bit out of tune on purpose. The hammers were also hardened to give it that sound. Available via Spitfire Audio in their Originals series.

And FWIW that piano is still at Abbey Road.

You missed my point. But of course you did. What else is new?
I didn't miss the point. I was merely noting that your assessment of "piece of crap" was wrong. Words mean things. You could have easily left that part out and still had your point. And frankly, "Let It Be" might have sounded just fine on that piano given that the style of music and playing is completely different. Hard to know when you've never heard it played on that piano.

Post

234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 2:48 pm
wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 8:03 am
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:56 am
wagtunes wrote: Thu Feb 12, 2026 5:59 pm
I'm sorry but play Let It Be with the piano sound used for Lady Madonna and it would sound like crap. It would lose all the warmth and beauty that you get from a grand piano when played through whatever piece of crap that Lady Madonna piano was. And don't get me wrong. For Lady Madonna it works, along with Paul's Lady Madonna voice that he rarely used.

Sorry, sound matters a lot. Play Whiter Shade Of Pale with a Farfisa. Not the same at all.
Abbey Road didn't/doesn't have "piece of crap" pianos. The "Lady Madonna" piano is the Mrs. Mills piano, a 1905 Steinway upright that was kept a bit out of tune on purpose. The hammers were also hardened to give it that sound. Available via Spitfire Audio in their Originals series.

And FWIW that piano is still at Abbey Road.

You missed my point. But of course you did. What else is new?
I didn't miss the point. I was merely noting that your assessment of "piece of crap" was wrong. Words mean things. You could have easily left that part out and still had your point. And frankly, "Let It Be" might have sounded just fine on that piano given that the style of music and playing is completely different. Hard to know when you've never heard it played on that piano.
Fair point. I don't know what it would have sounded like. But I sure know that I don't want that Lady Madonna played on a dramatic piece of music. It has kind of a honkytonk sound to it. I can imagine it for those wild west movies with the guy playing some stupid diddy just before the bad guys shoot up the place. Certain instruments just conjure up certain scenarios. I mean I certainly wouldn't want Let It Be played by a tuba, trombone and a bassoon. Would you?

Post

To be fair the SH-Max, it may sound good, but all the options does is change the skin colour. I had an SH-3 (a) and it didn't have the same parameters or features on the cherry audio version, same as the SH-5 & SH-7, they both had a completely different Parameter set. A skin change doesn't change the synth, just the colour. IMHO
Tracktion Waveform 13

Post

4_the masses wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 7:24 pm To be fair the SH-Max, it may sound good, but all the options does is change the skin colour. I had an SH-3 (a) and it didn't have the same parameters or features on the cherry audio version, same as the SH-5 & SH-7, they both had a completely different Parameter set. A skin change doesn't change the synth, just the colour. IMHO
Yes, the synth is a frankensynth that combines features from the various SH synths into one. It's not three independent synths. And you get a choice of GUI styles to best match your favourite/taste.

Post

wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 5:18 pm
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 2:48 pm
wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 8:03 am
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:56 am
wagtunes wrote: Thu Feb 12, 2026 5:59 pm
I'm sorry but play Let It Be with the piano sound used for Lady Madonna and it would sound like crap. It would lose all the warmth and beauty that you get from a grand piano when played through whatever piece of crap that Lady Madonna piano was. And don't get me wrong. For Lady Madonna it works, along with Paul's Lady Madonna voice that he rarely used.

Sorry, sound matters a lot. Play Whiter Shade Of Pale with a Farfisa. Not the same at all.
Abbey Road didn't/doesn't have "piece of crap" pianos. The "Lady Madonna" piano is the Mrs. Mills piano, a 1905 Steinway upright that was kept a bit out of tune on purpose. The hammers were also hardened to give it that sound. Available via Spitfire Audio in their Originals series.

And FWIW that piano is still at Abbey Road.

You missed my point. But of course you did. What else is new?
I didn't miss the point. I was merely noting that your assessment of "piece of crap" was wrong. Words mean things. You could have easily left that part out and still had your point. And frankly, "Let It Be" might have sounded just fine on that piano given that the style of music and playing is completely different. Hard to know when you've never heard it played on that piano.
Fair point. I don't know what it would have sounded like. But I sure know that I don't want that Lady Madonna played on a dramatic piece of music. It has kind of a honkytonk sound to it. I can imagine it for those wild west movies with the guy playing some stupid diddy just before the bad guys shoot up the place. Certain instruments just conjure up certain scenarios. I mean I certainly wouldn't want Let It Be played by a tuba, trombone and a bassoon. Would you?
Having heard many arrangements for "Let It Be" and "Lady Madonna" I certainly wouldn't dismiss it before hand. I'm even pretty sure I've heard a very nice arrangement of euphoniums with some woodwind before for Let It Be. One of the lasting legacies of the Beatles catalog is how many have imaginatively upcycled/recreated it.

Post

The "frankensynth" approach Cherry Audio took is actually clever - combining the best features of the SH series into one instrument rather than doing a strict emulation. Makes it more practical for modern production, even if purists might prefer separate accurate models for each hardware unit.

Post

wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 5:18 pm
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 2:48 pm
wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 8:03 am
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:56 am
wagtunes wrote: Thu Feb 12, 2026 5:59 pm
I'm sorry but play Let It Be with the piano sound used for Lady Madonna and it would sound like crap. It would lose all the warmth and beauty that you get from a grand piano when played through whatever piece of crap that Lady Madonna piano was. And don't get me wrong. For Lady Madonna it works, along with Paul's Lady Madonna voice that he rarely used.

Sorry, sound matters a lot. Play Whiter Shade Of Pale with a Farfisa. Not the same at all.
Abbey Road didn't/doesn't have "piece of crap" pianos. The "Lady Madonna" piano is the Mrs. Mills piano, a 1905 Steinway upright that was kept a bit out of tune on purpose. The hammers were also hardened to give it that sound. Available via Spitfire Audio in their Originals series.

And FWIW that piano is still at Abbey Road.

You missed my point. But of course you did. What else is new?
I didn't miss the point. I was merely noting that your assessment of "piece of crap" was wrong. Words mean things. You could have easily left that part out and still had your point. And frankly, "Let It Be" might have sounded just fine on that piano given that the style of music and playing is completely different. Hard to know when you've never heard it played on that piano.
Fair point. I don't know what it would have sounded like. But I sure know that I don't want that Lady Madonna played on a dramatic piece of music. It has kind of a honkytonk sound to it. I can imagine it for those wild west movies with the guy playing some stupid diddy just before the bad guys shoot up the place. Certain instruments just conjure up certain scenarios. I mean I certainly wouldn't want Let It Be played by a tuba, trombone and a bassoon. Would you?
Yep fair enough. That piano definitely sounds more like a piano in a saloon. But honestly part of me would be interested to see how it sounds in a "dramatic" fashion.

As to Let It Be on those instruments...yeah actually I'd love to hear it played that way :) You never know about something until it's done. I've been surprised quite a few times in my 55 years. Though if I were to bet on it I'd expect it to sound more like flatulence :hihi:

Post

BBFG# wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 10:47 pm
wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 5:18 pm
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 2:48 pm
wagtunes wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 8:03 am
234north wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:56 am
wagtunes wrote: Thu Feb 12, 2026 5:59 pm
I'm sorry but play Let It Be with the piano sound used for Lady Madonna and it would sound like crap. It would lose all the warmth and beauty that you get from a grand piano when played through whatever piece of crap that Lady Madonna piano was. And don't get me wrong. For Lady Madonna it works, along with Paul's Lady Madonna voice that he rarely used.

Sorry, sound matters a lot. Play Whiter Shade Of Pale with a Farfisa. Not the same at all.
Abbey Road didn't/doesn't have "piece of crap" pianos. The "Lady Madonna" piano is the Mrs. Mills piano, a 1905 Steinway upright that was kept a bit out of tune on purpose. The hammers were also hardened to give it that sound. Available via Spitfire Audio in their Originals series.

And FWIW that piano is still at Abbey Road.

You missed my point. But of course you did. What else is new?
I didn't miss the point. I was merely noting that your assessment of "piece of crap" was wrong. Words mean things. You could have easily left that part out and still had your point. And frankly, "Let It Be" might have sounded just fine on that piano given that the style of music and playing is completely different. Hard to know when you've never heard it played on that piano.
Fair point. I don't know what it would have sounded like. But I sure know that I don't want that Lady Madonna played on a dramatic piece of music. It has kind of a honkytonk sound to it. I can imagine it for those wild west movies with the guy playing some stupid diddy just before the bad guys shoot up the place. Certain instruments just conjure up certain scenarios. I mean I certainly wouldn't want Let It Be played by a tuba, trombone and a bassoon. Would you?
Having heard many arrangements for "Let It Be" and "Lady Madonna" I certainly wouldn't dismiss it before hand. I'm even pretty sure I've heard a very nice arrangement of euphoniums with some woodwind before for Let It Be. One of the lasting legacies of the Beatles catalog is how many have imaginatively upcycled/recreated it.
Yeah this 100%. My son is a euphonium player (trombone too but mostly euph) and he's been in several low brass groups that have played some very interesting stuff you'd never expect. Many times it also sounds like flatulence ;) But as I said to Wags you never know until it's done.

Post Reply

Return to “Instruments”