# How would I create my own electric piano sound?



## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

I have a piano piece which I found sounds much nicer on electric piano.
However, I can't find the exact sound I'm after.
Most electric pianos sound old fashioned with too many effects that I don't want.

So I wondered if there is a plugin or program which would allow me to create my own sound,
And ideally give me a basic electric piano as a starting point.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

There is AAS Lounge Lizard EP4, which is a physically modelled EP. It sounds good but does not have “Pianoteq” attributes in the sense of allowing you to deeply tweak the sound. Well, there’s Pianoteq for that of course 

There is also a plethora of great samples. In collections like UVI Key Suite Electric or Spectrasonics Keyscape (both high end and pretty expensive) and as Kontakt libraries. In the lower end of the spectrum there are AIR Music Tech’s Velvet (often on sale for $10-15) and the Waves plugins - which are by no means bad. Arturia have a Rhodes and a Wurli - both modelled as well - in their V collection.

I wonder what exactly you are planning to tweak or program? You’re not after a Rhodes or Wurli persé, but rather you’re looking for an “EP-ish” sound? You could go the synthesis route and use a synth that either excels at FM (not necessarily only capable of the cheesy mid-eighties DX7 EP) or at physical modelling and craft your own patches (AAS Chromaphone 3 maybe?). Or you can still use some Rhodes sample as a starting point and edit that in either a synth, or use “outboard” effects (saturation, phasers, delays, what-have-you) to create something new - yet still recognizable as an EP.

For identifying which samples you like best, there are a couple of interesting threads on here and elsewhere.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

Favorite Rhodes VST?


I am not satisfied with my Rhodes sounds, which I get from Omnisphere, Spitfire Labs, and some Komplete sounds. Any recommendations ?




vi-control.net


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)




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## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> There is AAS Lounge Lizard EP4, which is a physically modelled EP. It sounds good but does not have “Pianoteq” attributes in the sense of allowing you to deeply tweak the sound.
> 
> There is also a plethora of great samples. In collections like UVI Key Suite Electric or Spectrasonics Keyscape (both high end and pretty expensive) and as Kontakt libraries. In the lower end of the spectrum there are AIR Music Tech’s Velvet (often on sale for $10-15) and the Waves plugins - which are by no means bad. Arturia have a Rhodes and a Wurli - both modelled as well - in their V collection.
> 
> ...


I am looking for a sound somewhere between an electric piano and a string pad sound.
I have an electric piano that I think is a good starting point, but it has no tweaking knobs.
Is there a vst that would enable me to blend two sounds ?

I just watched a video on how to make sounds using a synth, and that looks like a steep learning curve!


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

Sseltenrych said:


> I just watched a video on how to make sounds using a synth, and that looks like a steep learning curve!


It is.

So why not take a simple approach and just layer the sounds you already have? In the same synth or sampler, just create a multi with an EP for the transient attack bit and a nice pad for the sustain / release bits. Glue them together with some compression, EQ and reverb.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

Or find a synthesized EP patch in a synth, and tweak the amplitude envelope (or ADSR) by ear. Maybe change the timbre slightly too. You don’t have to be a synth wizard to start messing about with that type of thing...


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## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

What is an EP?
Sorry I'm pretty new to all these terms


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## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

Oh, Electric piano!


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## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

So just have two identical midi tracks playing in unison with different voices?


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

If you want to really blend two sounds, there’s Melda’s Mmorph, but that’s not what you’re looking for. You just want a layered patch if I understand you correctly. That can be either created in a synth/sampler as a multi or using multiple instances of the synth and copying the MIDI in your DAW and layer stuff that way.

If you want to create a “multi” consisting of multiple different synth VSTs maybe PluginGuru Unify is useful for you.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

Sseltenrych said:


> So just have two identical midi tracks playing in unison with different voices?


This is a secondary less satisfying option if you’re a real *) piano player (like me). I would like to get a feel of the actual “stacked” sound while triggering them “live” - so then you create a multi, a layered patch that plays both sounds on the same MIDI channel while you play the keyboard

*) edit: the real is about the fact that I play actual ivory, not about my (non existent) piano skills or talent or anything snobby like that


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

Sseltenrych said:


> What is an EP?
> Sorry I'm pretty new to all these terms


Sorry. Jargon slips in! Rhodes is my main instrument. (A real one).


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## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

Morphing sounds interesting.
I will try out the options and let you know how it went.
Gotta get some rest now though.
Thanks for your help again.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

Sseltenrych said:


> Morphing sounds interesting.
> I will try out the options and let you know how it went.
> Gotta get some rest now though.
> Thanks for your help again.


Pleasure and have a nice nap!


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## b_elliott (Apr 4, 2021)

Sseltenrych said:


> I am looking for a sound somewhere between an electric piano and a string pad sound.
> I have an electric piano that I think is a good starting point, but it has no tweaking knobs.
> Is there a vst that would enable me to blend two sounds ?
> 
> I just watched a video on how to make sounds using a synth, and that looks like a steep learning curve!



You sound like you are in the same boat as I was in. That is, until I watched this college dude show his students how to create your own samples using a Xpand2! VST as a starting point. 

In case you did not watch this particular video: Start here from rock bottom basics 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCwnS764G9A&t=1395s (&quot;Synth Basics and Creating Your Own Sounds&quot;). You will see how to create your Rhodes sound and know how to add a string sound on top. Brilliant stuff really, 

And of course @doctoremmet can point you to the right place to pick this vst up for a few $/euros if you don't own it already. 

BTW I was able to recently produce a song (Song for Chick Corea, posted in Members Composition) which is 75% Xpand2 sounds which I created by following this video. Cheers, B


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

b_elliott said:


> And of course @doctoremmet can point you to the right place to pick this vst up for a few $/euros if you don't own it already.


Haha for sure. People who know me, have seen me post links to quite a few “abandonware” AIR products. Actually, the best purchasing strategy may very well be getting that package deal that includes all of them, so Velvet, Vacuum Pro, Xpand, Loom II, Mini Grand, the Hammond one, Strike 2, etc. No matter what you may think of their age, I feel you can still sort of tell that these used to be the Pro Tools pack-in instruments.

This is the upgrade pack (which requires ownership / iLok registration of at least one AIR plugin), and it goes on sale for as little as a couple of tenners every once in a while:



Virtual Instruments / AIR Instrument Expansion Pack 3 Complete Upgrade - Audio Plug-ins Store - DontCrack


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## doctoremmet (Apr 4, 2021)

Xpand2! for $15. Great rompler to endlessly stack the build-in samples.









Xpand!2 by Air Music Tech - Multitimbral All-In-One Workstation for Mac/Windows - ADSR Sounds


Air Music Tech Xpand!2 is a multitimbral workstation offering four active sound slots, or parts, per patch. Each part is provided with its own MIDI channel, Note Range (Zone), Mix, Arpeggiation, Modulation, and Effects settingsXpand!2 is a multitimbral workstation offering four active sound...




www.adsrsounds.com





Here are some EPs and pads:


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## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

b_elliott said:


> You sound like you are in the same boat as I was in. That is, until I watched this college dude show his students how to create your own samples using a Xpand2! VST as a starting point.
> 
> In case you did not watch this particular video: Start here from rock bottom basics
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCwnS764G9A&t=1395s (&quot;Synth Basics and Creating Your Own Sounds&quot;). You will see how to create your Rhodes sound and know how to add a string sound on top. Brilliant stuff really,
> ...


Wow! Thank you.
This is exactly what I had in mind.


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## CatComposer (Apr 4, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Xpand2! for $15. Great rompler to endlessly stack the build-in samples.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm so glad this is on sale!
Thanks!


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