KVR Audio

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:02 pm

Nice comparison.

For good measure, here's Logics EVP88.
The default patch it opens with:
http://home.arcor.de/s.franck/KVR/epno/EVP_Default.mp3
The Suitcase V2 running through GR3s Jazz Amp (had to tame the dynamics in the MIDI file a tiny little bit for that one):
http://home.arcor.de/s.franck/KVR/epno/ ... se2_GR.mp3

Fwiw, personally, I still like the EVP, maybe it's because I got so used to it. And it's using absolutely no CPU power.

- Sascha

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:04 pm

[DELETED]

olepro · Post by **olepro** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:40 pm

Pianoteq Rhody basic patch with no FX, and
Lounge Lizard 3 with no FX
But you just can't make any conclusion on these two because they can be edited to sound totally different ! this was just a quick-pick
http://jepptunes.dk/Ole_Wav/Pianoteq_E-Piano.mp3
http://jepptunes.dk/Ole_Wav/Lounge_Lizard_3.mp3

AKJ · Post by **AKJ** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:57 pm

since in comparison with the sampling libs my personal best LL2 preset seemed to be too dynamic I twaek it a bit. Sounds actually qiite similar to the LL3 preset posted, but especially in the higher registers I find it to sound better:

http://www.power-xs.net/download/ll_per ... 2_nofx.mp3

AKJ · Post by **AKJ** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:17 pm

and here is another one. It reduced the treble in my realism preset of LL2 and fonally convoluted the file to give a bit room/cabinet atmosphere, and this is the result which imo works qite well:

http://www.power-xs.net/download/ll_rea ... oluted.mp3

cheers, akj

thysm00 · Post by **thysm00** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:13 pm

AKJ wrote:
http://www.power-xs.net/download/ll-rea ... oluted.mp3

cheers, akj

your link is broken...

foosnark · Post by **foosnark** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:19 pm

A little different:

http://seshat.org/fallsastar/Falls_A_Star-My_Wires.mp3

(mda ePiano, Ohmicide, Thaw, Uhbik-S)

Not quite what you were looking for maybe, but I have yet to find an electric piano VST that I like as much as mda ePiano. It doesn't really have the growl of the Rhodes I played in high school jazz band 20 years ago, but it's my go-to plugin if I want something neutral and familiar to test effects with.

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:31 pm

foosnark wrote:but I have yet to find an electric piano VST that I like as much as mda ePiano. It doesn't really have the growl of the Rhodes I played in high school jazz band 20 years ago, but it's my go-to plugin if I want something neutral and familiar to test effects with.

I used MDAs epiano all the time back in my Windows days. Absolutely no noticeable CPU useage, even on aging machines, and as you say, a perfectly "neutral" sound. Defenitely nothing for the analog epiano enthusiasts out there, but it's indeed great for checking out certain effects, plus I always also liked it for rough song layouts, simply because it's so un-predictable. When using MDAs epiano, you can either leave it in as is or smash it with effects or simply just replace it with anything "better" later on. Pretty much like, say, doing a song layout on an acoustic guitar. Fwiw, that's pretty much one of the reasons why Logics EVP with the default setting loaded is an absolutely fixed part of what I may call my "compositional setup", it's just very neutral, too, open to be developed into almost any direction (fwiw, all of the sounds I'm using in my default song are kinda like that, very neutral and as unpredictable as it gets).

- Sascha

Optomadic · Post by **Optomadic** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:48 pm

thysm00 wrote:
AKJ wrote:
http://www.power-xs.net/download/ll-rea ... oluted.mp3

cheers, akj
your link is broken...

Please update link!

AKJ · Post by **AKJ** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:59 pm

link is updated. here it is again:

http://www.power-xs.net/download/ll_rea ... oluted.mp3

core · Post by **core** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:25 pm

Here are some more:

MrRay22 (welcome) - link
MrRay73 Mark II (suitcase) - link
OTR88 (Mk1 73 soft) - link
OTR88 (Mk1 classic) - link
Scarbee E.E.P (default patch) - link

Not really very useful for a shootout since even though they're all pretty dry, the patches are so different. I guess you could see what your personal preference is, but if I'd apply some more fx here and there things would sound a lot different.

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:53 pm

After listening to all these files (and yes, it's quite like core said, sort of invalid to make a comparison due to the wild differences regarding the patches used), I think I will just stick with Logics EVP for the time being.
I lined up all the files posted and tried to kinda reproduce each (but the heavily affected) sound at least sort of, the result being that I'm absolutely sure I couldn't tell the difference in a mix.

I should probably note that for many years I've been playing with one of the best Rhodes (and Hammond) players in this part of the world, I also just freaking *dig* the Rhodes work of George Duke and Herbie Hancock (it's the music that I kinda grew up with) so I actually do have a little idea about what a proper Rhodes should sound like.
Yet, I think it's the same as with the endless discussion about guitar brands, pickups and amps (I'm a guitar player). Nobody but some experts on the instrument would probably notice the difference between, say, a real Les Paul and a cheap Epiphone clone, at least not in a mix. And even if someone may notice, I bet they'd have a tough time to tell which one is "better".

Of course, if you've got the money (and CPU juice, for some of the contenders), there's nothing wrong in getting all sorts of Rhodes (or other e-piano types) emulations, especially in case you are an experienced player (or have other experienced players recording in your studio). But if none of that is valid, it seems to be that you can get very good results out of just about any of the more or less actual Rhodes emulations.
Regarding all that, IMO the MrRay models win hands down, simply because they're as affordable as it gets, plus they don't exactly make your CPU (or harddrive) sweat too much. And on the Mac/Logic side of things, the EVP would still score quite well in my book, as it's also extremely CPU efficient, while not exactly sounding bad (especially in case you send it through some amp simulation or slight overdrive).

For me, that's a really good thing. We're at a point in time when our choices only have to be based on personal taste, not so much on "overall/general quality". Great times, really.

- Sascha

Optomadic · Post by **Optomadic** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:05 pm

A good thing to come out of this thread is the many different types of ep.. Perfect for referencing that certain style.

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:15 pm

Oh, and Optomadic, thanks for providing the initial MIDI file. Quite a good idea to have something not quantized, as only in such situations the quality of an instrument will really show off IMO.

- Sascha

Bubbamusic · Post by **Bubbamusic** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:18 pm

I will probably get shouted down here, but I still use the old Edirol Super Quartet for EP's. It has most of the Rhodes flavors and a nice dirty Wurly. It was the first third party VSTi that I ever bought. It is quite old, but I am attached.

E-Piano Shootout