# Best Kontakt Rhodes sample library?



## ddeez (Jun 23, 2014)

I already have the vintage keys one from NI. Looking for something better. Any recommendations at all please shoot em my way


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## gaz (Jun 23, 2014)

Neo Soul Keys is excellent, although they have now moved to the UVI engine. I also like Velvet from AIR, which is now available in VST/AU formats.


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## MacQ (Jun 23, 2014)

What's wrong with the Vintage Keys Rhodes, exactly? What would you like "better"? It's the best I've played by far!

You DO have to treat it like a real Rhodes, and that's probably why you don't like it. It's untreated, and the built-in FX don't do it justice. Better to run it through your own amp-sim and FX. Once you do that, you'll realize why it's so awesome!


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## Bohrium (Jun 23, 2014)

MacQ @ Mon Jun 23 said:


> What's wrong with the Vintage Keys Rhodes, exactly? What would you like "better"? It's the best I've played by far!
> 
> You DO have to treat it like a real Rhodes, and that's probably why you don't like it. It's untreated, and the built-in FX don't do it justice. Better to run it through your own amp-sim and FX. Once you do that, you'll realize why it's so awesome!



MacQ is right ... Vintage Keys Rhodes is pretty good.
There is RedTape apart from the already mentioned NeoSoul.

If you own Pianoteq they have an electric expansion where you can change the sound a lot (more than should be necessary), so if you aim at something the samples can't give you, you can achieve that by changing the mathematical model there.

Since I own a Korg Kronos, I rarely play samples for the electric piano stuff. Hardware has a better feel, especially with a wah pedal etc.


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## TheUnfinished (Jun 23, 2014)

SonicCouture, hands down.

I reviewed it here.

Haha, buggered the link up first time round. Whilst I'm here, might as well link to the thing itself. It really is deeply lovely.

SonicCouture EP73


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 23, 2014)

As a guy who played a silver top Fender Rhodex Suitcase 5 nights a week for years:

http://www.askaudiomag.com/articles/rev ... keys-3x-ep


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## Chris Hein (Jun 23, 2014)

Here is a very pure and natural sounding Rhodes by CFrentzen.
Its very dynamic with 16 velocities:
http://www.soundsondemand.com/found.asp/frentzen/cfrentzen_suitcase_piano/en/1 (http://www.soundsondemand.com/found.asp ... piano/en/1)

Chris Hein


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## spiralbill (Jun 23, 2014)

+1 for neo soul. Super flexible and sounds amazing! Jamal knows what he's doing!!


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## GospelMusicians (Jul 4, 2014)

We do still sell the Neo-Soul Keys for Kontakt


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## Saxer (Jul 4, 2014)

this one is also nice!

http://www.acousticsamples.net/e-pian 

it's also included in the mach-five 3 library.


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## Joe_D (Jul 5, 2014)

I just picked up this Kontakt shareware Mark V:

http://www.purgatorycreek.com/

It has 20 velocity layers, release samples, some basic effects, and velocity scaling, and is recorded cleanly and edited well. It sounds a bit different than the Mark I that I grew up with, but I find it to be very natural and convincing to play. The lowest octave (it's a 73 [note]) has more bark than I prefer, but it is otherwise evenly regulated and voiced. 

As virtual Rhodes' go, this one is somewhat like showing up at a recording session and playing the house Rhodes; you can alter the sound a bit, but what you get is what you get. I'd be happy to play it on a session in that hypothetical studio (with the exception of playing Rhodes bass with it, but when are we asked to do that anymore, thankfully?). So, though it's not as flexible as a modeled Rhodes, it works for me; it feels natural to play and sounds like a (one, particular, pretty nice) Rhodes.

Yes, I made a shareware donation, and if you download it and use it, I hope that you'll do the same (I have no connection to the developers, fwiw).

Joe


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## Echoes in the Attic (Jul 5, 2014)

Love the Conic Couture one. Also like the Addicitve Keys Electric. Bunch of cool sound design presets with both.


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## chillbot (Jul 5, 2014)

Rhodes is also my primary instrument so I have all of the above and they are all great. But I would also mention Lounge Lizard, I was skeptical but I use it probably more than any of the others (software wise, I still go hardware most of the time). What I love is in this day of everyone boasting that their libraries are "20GB OF CONTENT!!" this is like 12MB or something ridiculous.


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## mk282 (Jul 5, 2014)

IMHO, GSi Mr. Ray mkII and Pianoteq's EP expansion win, hands down.


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## pavolbrezina (Jul 6, 2014)

theres nothing even close to Neo Soul, but Lounge Lizzard is also great https://www.applied-acoustics.com/loung ... /overview/ and my recommendation is stay away from Kontakt libs. There are much more and better samplers these days. This is why also Neo Soul switch. Am I right?

But I am working with real Rhodes MKII in combination with SmallStone, cant be beaten by any VST.


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## mk282 (Jul 6, 2014)

pavolbrezina @ 6.7.2014 said:


> There are much more and better samplers these days.



Not quite. MF3 still doesn't have as great support from 3rd party devs compared to Kontakt. HALion is even more of a joke in that regard.

If by "better" you mean "offers something that Kontakt doesn't have", sure. But if by "better" you mean "offers better CPU, RAM and disk performance", then sorry to rain on your parade, but Kontakt is still the most efficient sampler and nothing from the competition is even near the ballpark.


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## noises on (Apr 11, 2016)

GospelMusicians said:


> We do still sell the Neo-Soul Keys for Kontakt


Where can we find the "buy" button for the Kontakt version?


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## Monkberry (Apr 12, 2016)

Scarbee's Vintage Keys is still a great emulation as is Neo Soul Keys. I find Lounge Lizzard to have some excellent variations that are sometimes a better fit if you don't want that bark and bite of a vintage Rhodes. Always great to have choices.

@noises on, when you hit the buy button at gospelmusicians.com it will take you to a page where you choose sounds and samples and you will see the powered by Kontakt version for $199 (in the USA at least).


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## chimuelo (Apr 12, 2016)

All of the above have strengths but none respond like Scarbees from Gigastudio.
Im still waiting for one where the upper octaves have authentic bark like a Corea solo, and none have the Carpenters Top Of The World dynamic bellish tiney sound on lower velocities.
Somebody should correct that.
Even the hardware PCM AWM stuff is weak.

As long as you like editing tracks and not performing any will get by.
But over compression and short cuts have ensured that only a real Rhodes is truly un emulated.


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## noises on (Apr 12, 2016)

Monkberry said:


> Scarbee's Vintage Keys is still a great emulation as is Neo Soul Keys. I find Lounge Lizzard to have some excellent variations that are sometimes a better fit if you don't want that bark and bite of a vintage Rhodes. Always great to have choices.
> 
> @noises on, when you hit the buy button at gospelmusicians.com it will take you to a page where you choose sounds and samples and you will see the powered by Kontakt version for $199 (in the USA at least).


Thanks Monkberry, ....I have read that the Kontakt version was a "better" instrument than the later version?
I have the Scarbee and like it.....have been considering the Neo Soul for some time now. Dont want to buy the wrong version.


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## Ashermusic (Apr 12, 2016)

chimuelo said:


> All of the above have strengths but none respond like Scarbees from Gigastudio.
> Im still waiting for one where the upper octaves have authentic bark like a Corea solo, and none have the Carpenters Top Of The World dynamic bellish tiney sound on lower velocities.
> Somebody should correct that.
> Even the hardware PCM AWM stuff is weak.
> ...



Chim, you can get all that pretty darned well with the NeoSoul IMHO.


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## chimuelo (Apr 12, 2016)

Yepp.
Thats why I use it, but I have to make presets on my dual slope Limiter for each song.
My left hand overall volume on my Rhodes was controlled by pressure.
I played the right hand with more pressure. Done deal.

On virtual EPs clusters of intervals in the left hand drown out right hand playing regardless of velocity.
But my needs are different than composers needs.
I get 1 take.
You rock or you suck.

Would love a time travelling plug in that allows me to edit my performances before a gig.


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## wst3 (Apr 12, 2016)

my two favorites - this week<G> - are the SampleTekk Tubed Rhodes and the new LFO piano from Dream Audio. I also have Lounge Lizard, NI, and a couple others - I use Lounge Lizard when I want to go nuts tweaking, but mostly I just want to bang out a tune, and the Tubed Rhodes does that really well. I expect the same from LFO Piano...


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## babylonwaves (Apr 12, 2016)

i really like the soniccouture rhodes as well. the instrument has three channels: direct out, contact mic and a mic for the speaker which gives you loads of options to shape the basic sound without using the internal FX and EQ. also, there are mallets, plucked and bowed versions which are cool instruments in itself.


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## Yogi108 (Apr 12, 2016)

Does anyone know if there is any difference between the UVI vs Kontakt version of the NeoSoul? I have both Kontakt (full version) plus UVI workstation... Plus UVI Falcon... It seems like so far Kotakt libraries load a bit faster than the UVI workstation/Falcon libraries... Any preference on that front anyone?


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## Raindog (Apr 13, 2016)

I´d reccomend all three instruments:

Scarbee´s Rhodes is excellent and an excellent sample of a clean ( which has been quite rare in reality) Fender Rhodes stage piano.

The NeoSoul has quite some dirt and is the most authentic in my experience. I feel 30 years younger when playing it (had an 88 key Stage Rhodes which caused back pain just by looking at it)

Lounge Lizard is incredibly tweakable and sounds great within the mix. No burdenon your harddisk, cpu load is relatively low.

If I wanted to be as close to the real thing as possible (with all of the pecularities of a real Rhodes sound) I´d go for neo soul keys. But it´s a matter of taste comparable to the "best Grand Piano" discussion

Regards
Raindog


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## evilantal (Apr 13, 2016)

Yogi108 said:


> Does anyone know if there is any difference between the UVI vs Kontakt version of the NeoSoul? I have both Kontakt (full version) plus UVI workstation... Plus UVI Falcon... It seems like so far Kotakt libraries load a bit faster than the UVI workstation/Falcon libraries... Any preference on that front anyone?



Jamal from GospelMusicians mentioned he much prefered the FX in UVI Workstation/Falcon to the ones available in Kontakt and that moving to the UVI platform made a world of difference to the sound due to that. I think the samples are the same.

The UVI version has the Dyno model, which I think is an optional expansion pack in the case of the Kontakt version. Also, the UVI NeoSoul Keys 4.0 has many additional presets.

I used to own the Kontakt 3X version and moved to the UVI 4.0 version. I definitely notice a difference (FX wise), but it's not earth shattering. Given the choice. I went for the UVI version because it's the most up-to-date and complete, with the best FX. But if you'd like to stay within Kontakt, the 5X version is fine as well.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 15, 2016)

Scarbee's Rhodes is still outrageously good, and I believe it comes with Komplete now, ja?

If you want more of a Joe Sample bite, Digidesign/Air/Avid Velvet is also great. But it only runs in Pro Tools.

I haven't tried every Rhodes library out there, though.


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## Fleer (Apr 15, 2016)

Neo-Soul 4.0 (actually 4.1) for UVI is much leaner (smaller footprint) than Jamal's first UVI version and it has more tweakability. Just check his video. 
For me, Neo-Soul is Rhodes king, but I also use and love those from SonicCouture, Native Instruments, AIR Music Tech, Applied Acoustics, Pianoteq, Addictive Keys and even Toontrack.


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## Mr.Scarbee (Jan 4, 2017)

You may want to check this new release out:

https://www.scarbee.com/collections/vintage-keyboards/products/scarbee-classic-ep-88s

cheers

Thomas


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## jonnybutter (Jan 4, 2017)

Another vote for AAS Lounge Lizard. Neo-Soul is on my list, but LL plays and sounds great in the mean time. Also like the Modartt e pianos. You can make them sound stanky


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## SamplesSlave (Jan 4, 2017)

The Scarbee collection is the gold standard IMO.


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## Saxer (Jan 4, 2017)

Keyscape!


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## burp182 (Jan 4, 2017)

The new Scarbee EP-88S is very impressive.
Tried it. Bought it. No hesitation.


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## Lode_Runner (Jan 4, 2017)

Seems there's a lot of newer options out now in the electric piano space since this thread began, so I'm curious what people will rate as their favourites in the coming year as the newer libraries start to get more uptake.

The newer libraries I'm referring to are:
* Spitfire's North 7 Vintage Keys (Rhodes, Wurly, Clav and E-Piano bass)
* E-Instruments Electric-S (Rhodes Suitcase) and Electric-R (Rhodes Stage) (I assume these are new as I've only just discovered them)
* 8Dio's Studio Vintage Series Suitcase 54
* Spectrasonics Keyscape (crazy number of Electric Piano models and other keys)
* Gospel Musician's upcoming new version of Neo-Soul Keys, and
* Scarbee's just launched EP-88S.

Edit: I'm also wondering how people rate Premier Sound Factory's Mark I Stage


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 6, 2017)

I've been playing around with EMP Mark II which Sonokinetic recently gave away as a Christmas gift. It offers a lot more control of parameters and effects (Tremolo, Vib, Pan, Wah, Flange, Phaser, Rotary), than the NI Scarbee's instruments do. I like the realism I've been able to get out of it, and I've also been able to get some very unusual sounds, that I've never gotten from a Rhodes before. Anybody else using it?


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## SoNowWhat? (Jan 6, 2017)

TigerTheFrog said:


> I've been playing around with EMP Mark II which Sonokinetic recently gave away as a Christmas gift. It offers a lot more control of parameters and effects (Tremolo, Vib, Pan, Wah, Flange, Phaser, Rotary), than the NI Scarbee's instruments do. I like the realism I've been able to get out of it, and I've also been able to get some very unusual sounds, that I've never gotten from a Rhodes before. Anybody else using it?


Yes. But only for my own enjoyment (no projects). As a free offer it was very generous and it's got some decent tweakability. I'm still interested in Keyscape though as the Rhodes demos have me squealing like a kid.


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## agarner32 (Jan 6, 2017)

I went to purchase the Neo Soul Kontakt version on their site and it says sold out. How can a download version be sold out? They have the UVI version, but I have always hated that plugin.


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## Fleer (Jan 7, 2017)

agarner32 said:


> I went to purchase the Neo Soul Kontakt version on their site and it says sold out. How can a download version be sold out? They have the UVI version, but I have always hated that plugin.


Their new version is coming as a plug-in and standalone. No need for Kontakt or UVI.


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## synthetic (Jan 7, 2017)

Jay Graydon and his team are sampling the Leeds "E" Rhodes used on many LA records in the early 80s (Al Jarreau, Steely Dan, etc.) He says this is not the one sampled in Keyscape. I'm looking forward to hearing this. Supposed to be coming soon (NAMM?) 

http://www.emodelrhodes.com/


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## synthetic (Jan 7, 2017)

More like this:


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## Ashermusic (Jan 7, 2017)

synthetic said:


> More like this:





That is indeed "that sound" Jeff. But I am more a Stevie Wonder-Herbie Hancock sounding Rhodes type lover.


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## DocMidi657 (Jan 7, 2017)

I really have enjoyed playing the Attack EP from UVI. You can tweak it alot for alot of different sounds and touch/feel.


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