# Favorite Rhodes VST?



## Starry_Music (Mar 27, 2019)

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


----------



## ceemusic (Mar 27, 2019)

Scarbee - EP-88s, Lounge Lizard


----------



## chillbot (Mar 27, 2019)

So many!

Like pianos though, so much of it is preference. You would not be unhappy with either Lounge Lizard or Pianoteq. And as an added bonus both have super tiny footprints.

You didn't like the Vintage Keys in Komplete? There's a couple in there I use all the time.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of Keyscape but most people love it... seems like a logical step if you have Omni. I find the rhodes almost "too good" in Keyscape, which doesn't make any sense but it's how I feel.


----------



## chillbot (Mar 27, 2019)

I posted a comparison two years ago, but I'm sorry I lost the audio file:

https://vi-control.net/community/threads/quick-rhodes-comparison.60160/

Seemed like Lounge Lizard was a winner to most.


----------



## KallumS (Mar 27, 2019)

Waves Electric 88


----------



## wst3 (Mar 27, 2019)

I use several, Lounge Lizard among them. Lounge Lizard tends to win the nod when I need to customize/tweak the sound. However, I almost always start with sample libraries, and especially those from SampleTekk, Scarbee, and Soniccouture.

As has been mentioned, there are a LOT of different options.


----------



## Starry_Music (Mar 27, 2019)

These replies are incredibly helpful! Some serious users on this site! If anyone is willing to weigh in... I posted a question in the "Omnisphere..." forum. Kind of a detailed "what's that sound" question. Some sounds I hear just "haunt" me and there are two links in my post that kind of show what I mean. very subtle, interesting sounds. Any input welcome!!! And thanks again


----------



## Starry_Music (Mar 27, 2019)

chillbot said:


> So many!
> 
> Like pianos though, so much of it is preference. You would not be unhappy with either Lounge Lizard or Pianoteq. And as an added bonus both have super tiny footprints.
> 
> ...


I will review. them!!! Thank-you!


----------



## KMA (Mar 27, 2019)

My default is still the Scarbee Rhodes that came with my NI Komplete.

The Arturia one is nice too, but it's more of a system drag.


----------



## chillbot (Mar 27, 2019)

Starry_Music said:


> These replies are incredibly helpful! Some serious users on this site! If anyone is willing to weigh in... I posted a question in the "Omnisphere..." forum. Kind of a detailed "what's that sound" question. Some sounds I hear just "haunt" me and there are two links in my post that kind of show what I mean. very subtle, interesting sounds. Any input welcome!!! And thanks again


Link?


----------



## WaveRider (Mar 27, 2019)

Check out Sonic Couture - The Cantebury Suitcase. The EPs that come with Keyscape are also outstanding.


----------



## Quasar (Mar 27, 2019)

AAS Lounge Lizard is great.


----------



## studiostuff (Mar 27, 2019)

Starry_Music said:


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


Yep. 

Get a real Rhodes and run it through a BF Fender Twin Reverb amp. 

Your life will change in two ways: No VI will ever sound as good to you after that, and your back will need constant attention from a physical therapist of some sort.


----------



## stigc56 (Mar 27, 2019)

Keyscape and Scarbee.


----------



## Heinigoldstein (Mar 27, 2019)

studiostuff said:


> Yep.
> 
> Get a real Rhodes and run it through a BF Fender Twin Reverb amp.
> 
> Your life will change in two ways: No VI will ever sound as good to you after that, and your back will need constant attention from a physical therapist of some sort.


And you'll improve your playing technic and maintenance skills !


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 27, 2019)

studiostuff said:


> Yep.
> 
> Get a real Rhodes and run it through a BF Fender Twin Reverb amp.
> 
> Your life will change in two ways: No VI will ever sound as good to you after that, and your back will need constant attention from a physical therapist of some sort.



The amp part, okay, but I used to have a real Rhodes and for me having another one wouldn't make any difference whatsoever!

Leaving aside that with no MIDI in you have to be a keyboard player (as opposed to a "keyboard-as-tool" player like me), I've found that Rhodes is one of the instruments that sampling/synthesis does incredibly well. It's a sine wave with a short hammer attack! And once you've added tremolo, chorus, etc., I couldn't possibly tell the difference.

My first reaction to the old Scarbee Rhodes was that it made my Kurzweil K2500X keyboard feel like the real thing. There are other really good ones as well, all mentioned here except Velvet, which comes with Pro Tools.

By the way, they're not "VSTs," they're V.I.s, sample libraries, whatever.

I know, I'm crabby, but that term has always annoyed me.


----------



## scoble08 (Mar 27, 2019)

Starry_Music said:


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



+1 Pianoteq! Very responsive.


----------



## StillLife (Mar 27, 2019)

I have the Canterbury Suitcase and Spitfire's North 7. Both excellent, but if you're just looking for rhe rhoded, I think the Canterbury is the best.


----------



## JamieLang (Mar 27, 2019)

Scarbee's newer EP88 is wonderful to play. IME. He's really good at making keyboards very PLAYABLE as opposed to simply "sounds like"....turn that finger latency UP, yo....

That said....Keyscape is a better buy for EPs in general, having two very different Rhodes, digital EPs (which aren't as easy to get right as many seem to think)...Wurli....a lovely C7 to layer in....

So.... $99 for a lovely to play Rhodes88....or $399 for "all EPs you will ever need for a long time"...Canterbury is a nice rough sounding unit. "unique". It would be hard for me to call that the best one, because it's SO unique....like if Keycape ONLY had that modded up "LA Blue"...the Canterbury sounds like a modded up Rhodes. Lovely....but, not definitive. It's more for EP playing geeks (guilty) who smile at having 10 options for the family of sounds.


----------



## studiostuff (Mar 27, 2019)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> The amp part, okay, but I used to have a real Rhodes and for me having another one wouldn't make any difference whatsoever!
> 
> Leaving aside that with no MIDI in you have to be a keyboard player (as opposed to a "keyboard-as-tool" player like me), I've found that Rhodes is one of the instruments that sampling/synthesis does incredibly well. It's a sine wave with a short hammer attack! And once you've added tremolo, chorus, etc., I couldn't possibly tell the difference.
> 
> ...



Crabby people are my people!! 

As I mentioned, there are some reasons to use Rhodes VIs, most are great reasons. I have a bunch and use them when I'm in a hurry. No-one has ever said to me, "Wait! Stop playback...!!! That's NOT a real Rhodes, is it?"

For me, the low-mids and low freq stuff on the real deal seems richer, more emotion-producing for me, more soulful. It's probably an equal mix of nostalgia and my imagination. 

But having backtracked from my comment as much as I dare, for me, nothing but the real deal comes close. 

It's probably the aroma of cigarette smoke and stale beer I'm attracted to...


----------



## playz123 (Mar 27, 2019)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> By the way, they're not "VSTs," they're V.I.s, sample libraries, whatever.
> 
> I know, I'm crabby, but that term has always annoyed me.



Actually, if we are going to be precise, VST means "Virtual Studio Technology", and what you are saying the libraries are not are "VSTi(s). VSTi is the correct term, and I'm with you when an instrument is incorrectly referred to as a "VST". Then there's when Trilian is incorrectly spelled "Trillian". But I'm older than you and even more grouchy on occasion, so these things probably don't bother the 'young uns' very much!


----------



## Dewdman42 (Mar 27, 2019)

There are a lot of good ones and for the most part it will come down to personal preference. No two Rhodes pianos sound the same either!

my two cents, for a long time I was a big fan of the Scarbee Keyboard collection, which I purchased well before it was added to NI's lineup. The original included a third party FX plugin which I still use(now owned by Overloud). What ended up in NI is pretty good, using built in Kontakt FX. At the time, the main competition and arguments on the net were between that one and Lounge Lizard. I own that as well, but I like the feel of Scarbee's better and almost never used Lounge Lizard. Lounge Lizard has the advantage of not having GB's of samples to keep on your hard drive and load into Kontakt in order to use. I feel Scarbee's hit the sound better though and just punched through with dynamics in a way I enjoyed playing more.

Scarbee came out with something new that I haven't had a chance yet to try out, but I hear its good.

But there are lots of other alternatives, some mentioned already..which are quite good and really it will come down to personal preference. Pianoteq has some. Waves has one. LogicPro and MainStage have some. Addictive Keys has some. Arturia has some. Don't forget the GospelMusician's NeoSoul stuff. There are probably a few other notable ones I am missing. All are decent! There are even some free ones floating around out there. There is this one really dirty free one out there, I can't remember what its called right now.


----------



## artomatic (Mar 27, 2019)

Lounge Lizard stays on top for me.


----------



## Rv5 (Mar 27, 2019)

Hey, would just like to throw my recent humble Rhodes '73 offering into the mix. (Currently on sale for £10, plus for every sale a tree gets planted)





 ​
x5 round robin each with x5 release samples and x4 velocity layers, the DI was run through (James Blake's) Synthi for added character; brings phatness to the low end/mids and tickles the high end nicely with a slight splash of the Synthi's spring 'verb, into UAD pres. Wanted something a little fresh and unique.​


----------



## rottoy (Mar 27, 2019)

Rv5 said:


> Hey, would just like to throw my recent humble Rhodes '73 offering into the mix. (Currently on sale for £10, plus for every sale a tree gets planted)
> 
> 
> 
> ...



+1
I also recommend this wonderfully sampled Rhodes.
It shines through a mix with a warm, round tone.​


----------



## chillbot (Mar 27, 2019)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Leaving aside that with no MIDI in you have to be a keyboard player (as opposed to a "keyboard-as-tool" player like me), I've found that Rhodes is one of the instruments that sampling/synthesis does incredibly well. It's a sine wave with a short hammer attack! And once you've added tremolo, chorus, etc., I couldn't possibly tell the difference.


Yeah it was funny when I did my brief rhodes test a couple years ago no one could pick out the real rhodes from the others.

I love my rhodes but having to always record as audio instead of midi is a huge hassle. Want to swap old man grumpy pet peeves, why does every thread about guitars have to include the guy that says "go buy a guitar and learn how to play it."

"Hey guys what's the best shaker library"
"Go buy a shaker and record it"

Thanks for not understanding the point of samples, asshole.

Hey the thing with the rhodes for me is it's the touch/feel. I just love to play it, but that's really the only reason I have one.


----------



## studiostuff (Mar 27, 2019)

My favorite old chestnuts:
"I can't hear a difference, so no-one can hear a difference." 
"No really, I meant for it to sound like shit."

No arguing with an expert...


----------



## studiostuff (Mar 27, 2019)

chillbot said:


> I love my rhodes but having to always record as audio instead of midi is a huge hassle.



I love my Rhodes but having to walk barefoot over glass through the desert while terrorists always shoot at me is a massive, huge, life changing, pain in the ass, hassle. 

Tell us how you really feel...

But know I'm not that interested to hear you have a problem recording audio. Maybe everyone else is...


----------



## Starry_Music (Mar 27, 2019)

studiostuff said:


> Yep.
> 
> Get a real Rhodes and run it through a BF Fender Twin Reverb amp.
> 
> Your life will change in two ways: No VI will ever sound as good to you after that, and your back will need constant attention from a physical therapist of some sort.


I had one back in the day when I was playing gigs. But thanks for the excellent advice.


----------



## Starry_Music (Mar 27, 2019)

This is one of the rhodes sounds I am searching for. What do you think it is?
https://audiojungle.net/item/serenity/12162297


----------



## KMA (Mar 27, 2019)

Rv5 said:


> ​



Is that a 73 on a SINGLE x-stand?

I'm nervous just looking at that.


----------



## studiostuff (Mar 27, 2019)

Starry_Music said:


> I had one back in the day when I was playing gigs. But thanks for the excellent advice.


I never meant to suggest samples aren't useful. I re-read my OP and I don't think I was unclear about that... Sorry to hijack. Best of luck.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 27, 2019)

chillbot said:


> Hey the thing with the rhodes for me is it's the touch/feel



Yeah, Jay Asher said the same thing to me today - you don't get the same keyboard feel from anything other than a real Rhodes.

I'm sure you guys are right. My Rhodes probably wasn't a good one, because what I remember of it is that its keyboard took an inordinate amount of muscle.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 27, 2019)

I sold it to get a DX-7 and never looked back.

But of course the DX-7 Rhodes is very different from the Joe Sample Rhodes (written with reverence - he died too young).


----------



## studiostuff (Mar 27, 2019)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> I sold it to get a DX-7 and never looked back.


hahahahahaha Who didn't? 

However, my son was graduating from HS, and while looking for something cool to give him, I happened upon an old 1973 73 key Stage Rhodes. This instrument was spectacular! In tune... no rash on the tolex... a joy to play. I gave the guy $1,000 buck for it and my son totally flipped out with joy!

He had never heard anything so cool, and loved it blindly.

So, I'm cool with samples. Use them daily... But after many years of carrying many of these beasts around and playing them all night, I may be partial to them for reasons that have nothing to do with their utility. (OK. Strippers.)

But, for me, there's a difference.


----------



## Bassious (Mar 27, 2019)

My 2 cents, now that everyone is good and ornery. X2 with stigc65 would be Keyscape and NIs Scarbees. I think it is relevant to cite the performance, not just the sound. Like a Hammond they are quirky beasts
Also, referring to someones comment that keyscape sounds too good. Yes, it is lush but the followup question should be what are you using it for? I find it doesnt always sit well in a mix because of the funny harmonics. I like Keyscape because I will swap the Rhodes with a Wurly A200 to find what I think works in the mix and dial it in from there


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 27, 2019)

Bassious said:


> referring to someones comment that keyscape sounds too good



I don't have Keyscape, but some of the built-in effects in Omnisphere, Trilian, and Stylus RMX are good at roughing up the gloss many their sounds have out of the box.


----------



## TomislavEP (Mar 28, 2019)

Personally, I would like to have the real thing more then ever, but unfortunately they're quite hard to find in my region, especially in a mint condition. About 20 years ago, I've foolishly missed an opportunity to purchase Mark II from a local musician I know and haven't come across an affordable and close source to buy one ever since.

For live performances and performing with bands, I use Kurzweil SP4-8 as my stage piano. It has quite a fine selection of Rhodes and Wurli sound that work very well in this context, though I wouldn't use them for composing.

As for the virtual ones, I have Scarbee Mark I which I like to use in conjunction with Native Instruments Replika and Phasis effects. I can't wait for NI to launch an upgrade sale for Komplete 12 not only because I'm intrigued by Choral and Flair but first and foremost, the three new ambient libraries that ship with Kontakt 6.

I've also managed to grab Mark II for free from Sonokinetic as a part of their annual "12 Days of Christmas" event. IMO, this is a very fine addition to Scarbee's library found in Komplete. I should also mention some Rhodes sounds from Kontakt Factory Library that I find very pleasing to use, especially the one called "Crunchy Expressive". Also, I like the sound of the Rhodes that Spitfire Audio sampled as a part of their new Labs scheme; it greatly reminds me on the Rhodes sound used by Vangelis on his earlier albums.


----------



## Studio E (Mar 28, 2019)

chillbot said:


> Hey the thing with the rhodes for me is it's the touch/feel. I just love to play it, but that's really the only reason I have one.



This is why I'd highly recommend at least trying the Pianoteq demo. They play amazingly well.


----------



## Justus (Mar 28, 2019)

For a rawer, dirtier "vulfpeck" sound try Gospel Musicians Neo Soul Keys.


----------



## Saxer (Mar 28, 2019)

Scarbee, Lounge Lizard, Acousticsamples are my to go Rhodes. But the Spitfire LABs free ons is very nice too! Ah, and the Gospelmusician NeoSoul is nice too!


----------



## chillbot (Mar 28, 2019)

Studio E said:


> This is why I'd highly recommend at least trying the Pianoteq demo.


Pianoteq is super good for rhodes.
Though my comment was in reference to the actual rhodes keybed/action and response.

I think all the talk about real rhodes in a sample library thread is inane though. I get it, they are fantastic. And if we could we would all record live orchestras all the time and never touch samples. Cost and space (two enormous factors) aside, not having midi is not practical or helpful in any way. And not everyone is a good keyboard player. Even owning a rhodes I can only use it to replace the samples at the last possible minute-- basically when I'm mixing it-- in case I needed to change tempos or keys.

For those who think "go buy a real rhodes" is helpful advice please don't mind my response next time you ask "what's the best violin library".


----------



## Eric (Mar 28, 2019)

Scarbee’s EP88s is my favorite combination of tone & playability. Keyscape is great, very playable with lots of hi-quality options. Lounge Lizard is wonderful in the middle of the keyboard, but doesn’t sound so accurate in the highs. Soniccouture’s Canterbury is also nice as a different color. And I only just recently picked up PianoTeq’s Rhodes, not quite as realistic as the sample libraries I listed, but plays great, I’m confident I’ll find uses for it. Haven’t really used NeoSoul Keys since Keyscape came out, but still happy to have it.

I have a real Rhodes 73 in my studio too, Mk1 with Mk5 keys installed, so I get that nice original tone, but it’s easier to play (for me at least, I’m not a pounder). For non-Rhodes owners, be aware that a Rhodes can sound drastically different, depending on how the hammers are set up.


----------



## VinRice (Mar 29, 2019)

Soniccouture’s Canterbury is outstanding.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 29, 2019)

studiostuff said:


> hahahahahaha Who didn't?



I still have the RX-15 drum machine I bought at the same time. But I don't have the ironing board I used as a keyboard stand.


----------



## Lindon (Mar 31, 2019)

oh no... really EVERYONE, should go take a listen to this:

https://sampleson.com/markus-electric-piano-vst.html


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 31, 2019)

That one (Lindon's link) sounds good too, although I'd personally tweak it for those demos - and based on the names of the parameters (e.g. "Bell"), it looks like that's very easy to do. And the demos don't show whether it can get the Joe Sample grunt when you dig in.

As we've established, there are a lot of them that have the sound completely nailed. Some people - not necessarily me - like the feel of a real Rhodes keyboard, that's all.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 31, 2019)

By the way, I forget who the great jazz pianist was who said it, but one of them did - that the difference between Rhodes and a real piano is that most people sound the same on a Rhodes but you can tell a lot of pianists immediately on a piano.

Maybe a little overstated, but after years and years of electric piano on everything, he did have a point.

And bear in mind that he said it around 1979.


----------



## Lukas (Mar 31, 2019)

Scarbee EP-88s, e-instruments Session Keys S & R and Keyscape.



Lindon said:


> oh no... really EVERYONE, should go take a listen to this:
> 
> https://sampleson.com/markus-electric-piano-vst.html


Sounds extremely synthetic. Not bad. But not like a rhodes.

I also really tried to like Lounge Lizard... but I can't. If it's about percussive / funky playing... maybe. But if you want to play a ballad or a intro with sustained chords... doesn't work for me.


----------



## JamieLang (Mar 31, 2019)

I didn't mention earlier....but, since modeling things get mentioned, I'll note that Korg's Kronos/Grandstage EP1 engine does a nice job as a hybrid of samples or a models. Funny thing is--I think they do mostly the opposite of others--they stream samples for the sustain and model the attack so you can make all the little tweaky adjustments like tine width and stuff--get that touch playability, but with the realism of the sustain. Seems like a a lot of the modelers do the opposite--using more sine waves as the sustain with little samples for the attack and noises....

So, if you need a category of "best in hardware". It's literally WHY i bought the Kronos years ago. If they'd had the Grandstage then, I'd have bought that instead--I don't need the workstation and sampler and such--it was just the best EP digital piano around. I just mixed some old tracks I did with the Kronos into a tube preamp/EQ....and have things up now that are Keyscape. Sure--KS is a little more perfect solo'd....but, in mix context, I think I'd be hard pressed to call it better.


----------



## Leon Portelance (Mar 31, 2019)

The Canterbury Suitcase by Sonicouture.


----------



## halfwalk (Apr 1, 2019)

I broke a midi keyboard chasing that growl. Worth it though, thanks Scarbee!

Maybe I should look into the real thing.

Tangent, but I love the Pianoteq wurly too, very warm and responsive.


----------



## Ashermusic (Apr 1, 2019)

Justus said:


> For a rawer, dirtier "vulfpeck" sound try Gospel Musicians Neo Soul Keys.



But I can also do creamy Stevie Wonder-ish "All Is Fair In Love" suitcase Rhodes.


----------



## Saxer (Apr 1, 2019)

Lukas said:


> I also really tried to like Lounge Lizard... but I can't. If it's about percussive / funky playing... maybe. But if you want to play a ballad or a intro with sustained chords... doesn't work for me.


Lounge Lizard is my to go sketching tool. Much better than an acoustic piano for my taste. Have to admit that I'm far off being a keyboard player. But this Rhodes sounds are ideal for sketching: low chords sound fat like in low strings or trombones while the same range sounds harsh and non-transparent on acoustic pianos. Whenever I load an empty song Lounge Lizard is the only loaded plugin. It's my pencil.


----------



## alanb (Apr 2, 2019)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> By the way, I forget who the great jazz pianist was who said it, but one of them did - that the difference between Rhodes and a real piano is that most people sound the same on a Rhodes but you can tell a lot of pianists immediately on a piano.
> 
> Maybe a little overstated, but after years and years of electric piano on everything, he did have a point.
> 
> And bear in mind that he said it around 1979.



Generally, this is true. That said . . . . .

When the late, great George Duke played the Rhodes, you could tell that it was him *after hearing just one note*. Whether he was playing with FZ (early '70s), J-LP (earlier '70s), Cobham/Duke Band (mid-'70s), or on his own, he knew better than just-about anybody-who-ever-lived-or-ever-will-live the EXACT, PRECISE, NO-QUESTIONS-ASKED, RIGHT-DAMN-ON optimal place to place that note, in order to achieve _Absolute %$#@!^ Maximum Funky-ness_. All subsequent notes were delicious bonuses. Absolute genius.

I seem to remember watching a much-later-in-his-career live performance on The Youtubes, in which a Scarbee sticker could be seen atop his keyboard controller (a MOTIF, if I remember correctly).

_[pokes around a bit on the Internet]_

Couldn't spot the concert vid, but here's what The Man Himself had to say in what Keyboard Magazine says was his 'final interview':




> Unless I’m doing a trio format with Al Jarreau or I’m using an acoustic piano and a real suitcase Rhodes, my main Rhodes is the Scarbee library. I also incorporated one called [Gospel Musicians] Neo-Soul Suitcase, because that has a little more grit and meat on it for certain types of sounds. There’s another that’s pretty smooth, and it’s also a Scarbee thing but it’s toned down; it doesn’t have a lot of attack. As a matter a fact, I’m using that sound on “Brazilian Love Affair.” When I go into playing more funk, I might use Neo-Soul Rhodes, which has a lot of attack. But if I’m doing, say, a Miles Davis tune, I prefer the Scarbee. I’ve also used the Rhodes in Pianoteq, so I actually have four different Rhodes sounds, depending on what I want to hear.
> 
> For Wurlitzer and Clavinet, I’ll use the Scarbee library as well. I like his work. As a matter of fact, [Thomas] Scarbee and I have been talking about doing a “Duke Rhodes.” He’s an amazing cat. In terms of sampled acoustic piano, the one I like best so far is the Dan Dean Blüthner, which is part of the Native Instruments catalog. For synth sounds, some of the patches that I use, like the guitar-type grunt sound, come out of the Motif ES8. I also use Arturia Mini V and a bunch of things for patches where I’m running around with the keytar.


----------



## alanb (Apr 2, 2019)

I agree with many of the recommendations already made, and I will also suggest checking out the Addictive Keys Mark One, and Toontrack's EZkeys Classic Electrics (particularly when it's on sale).

There was another one that I used to like . . . back in the old _[cough] [cough] [Giga] [cough]_ days, called "Mr. Ray 73," or something like that...???


----------



## Saxer (Apr 2, 2019)

alanb said:


> There was another one that I used to like . . . back in the old _[cough] [cough] [Giga] [cough]_ days, called "Mr. Ray 73," or something like that...???


I remember that too. Sounded always a bit pre compressed. There were also a quadrillion DX7 patches out there and some of them really wasn't bad (and not the FM-clicky-bell-smooth-dshazz-with-chorus sounds). One of the useful ones was called "Foster".


----------



## Ashermusic (Apr 3, 2019)

Itr's such a specific taste thing, for those of us who played the real deal for years.

Long before he became famous as a composer, I heard Dave Grusin play B3 with the Howard Roberts Quartet. Years after that, at The Baked Potato here in LA, he was playing a Rhodes Suitcase with Lee Ritenour and he had it purposely tweaked to produce a really distorted sound, that I hated.

Now mind you, I was and am a HUGE Dave Grusin fan, but on that occasion I nearly asked him why he liked it _so_ distorted, but thought better of it, because he was, well, f'ing Dave Grusin.


----------



## X-Bassist (Apr 3, 2019)

Starry_Music said:


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



As Chillbot says, there are many out there. But different versions have different qualities. Out of the many I have, these are the best:

1) Spectrasonics Keyscape- Suitcase (buttery) and Custom (even more buttery) beautiful samples and playability that sound great. Eric Persing did a great job.
https://www.spectrasonics.net/products/keyscape/

2) Soniccouture Cantenbury- Lots of good presets, probably the best Kontakt version I’ve heard.
http://www.soniccouture.com/en/products/24-vintage/g59-the-canterbury-suitcase/
Mike Verta did a great video going through the presets:



3) Scarbee EP-88 - Super smooth and clean, has some nice presets and works well.
https://www.scarbee.com/products/scarbee-classic-ep-88s?variant=12426119610430

4) Soniccouture EP73 Deconstructed - some cool original presets and every part is sampled separately, so some experimental sounds can be made.
http://www.soniccouture.com/en/products/24-vintage/g36-ep73-deconstructed/
The broken Wurli is also an instrument like this that is worth looking at.
http://www.soniccouture.com/en/products/24-vintage/g31-broken-wurli/

I also have and like Gospel Musicians EP in UVI format, but upgraded to the newer “Studio” version and don’t like it at all (thinner samples, doesn’t play as well). In fact it’s my only purchase that I actively try to sell and removed a while ago, don’t miss it at all). Some others I have that I would avoid- Addictive Keys (love the drums) sound stale and lifeless, waves is junk, and 8Dio keys fall short. JMHO.


----------



## Ashermusic (Apr 3, 2019)

X-Bassist said:


> I also have and like Gospel Musicians EP in UVI format, but upgraded to the newer “Studio” version and don’t like it at all (thinner samples, doesn’t play as well). In fact it’s my only purchase that I actively try to sell and removed a while ago, don’t miss it at all).



Pretty sure it's the same samples. Years ago I compared the two and found that tweaking presets in the Studio version, it was pretty identical to both the UVI and Kontakt versions.


----------



## X-Bassist (Apr 3, 2019)

Ashermusic said:


> Pretty sure it's the same samples. Years ago I compared the two and found that tweaking presets in the Studio version, it was pretty identical to both the UVI and Kontakt versions.


Interesting Asher, thanks for that. I’ll try pulling up all three versions (yes, went through each, but prefer the UVI presets best) and try to match them up when I get a chance. I guess it shows how much an engine and presets can effect the sound, seems like night and day to me.


----------



## adammonroe (Feb 17, 2020)

I'm bumping this because I've made a Rhodes shootout video comparing 10 Rhodes plugins that I think might be useful to people searching for the "best" Rhodes plugin.

Plugins compared:

4front Rhodes
AAS Lounge Lizard
Acousticsamples Mark 79
Adam Monroe's Mark 73
Arturia Stage 73 V
Cinematique Electric Piano II
GSi Mr Ray 73
Native Instruments Scarbee Mark I
Soniccouture EP 73 Deconstructed
Waves Electric 88z

Yes, one of them is mine. I didn't have the money to get Keyscape or Neo Soul Keys.

In my humble opinion:
Lounge Lizard, Waves, Acousticsamples, and my plugin (Adam Monroe's) are all pretty nice - I don't think you could go wrong with any of those. Scarbee, GSi Mr Ray 73, Soniccouture, and Arturia are pretty decent - the last two sound pretty good, I just have some technical issues with them. Cinematique has not aged well - not enough velocity layers! For a free plugin, 4front is ok but doesn't really sound like a Rhodes. I included Cinematique because it still shows up on "best Rhodes VST," lists even though there are better options these days.

I think you can get a pretty good sense of playability/velocity response just from listening to the video, because all the midi files are the same.

Acousticsamples also has a new VTines MK1 but I haven't tried it, just mentioning here because I think that company makes pretty good stuff.

Canterbury and Velvet could have also been included, but I somehow overlooked them. Perhaps I will do another shootout with those and Keyscape/Neo Soul in the future.


----------



## jonnybutter (Aug 30, 2020)

I just gave in and got the Acoustic Samples VTines. After spending my first hour with it, I am not sorry. It's the best Rhodes VI I have ever played (and I played a real Rhodes for many years). I hesitated because I have so many other good ones already. I love Lounge Lizard for it's lightness and playability. I love all the AAS stuff actually. I also am an admirer of Gospel Musicians' Neo Soul keys - can't go wrong with that, and it sounds so good that I will probably use it again at some point. But for balancing playability, sound, and editability, VTines nailed it. Congrats to Acoustic Samples on this one.


----------



## Ashermusic (Aug 30, 2020)

jonnybutter said:


> I just gave in and got the Acoustic Samples VTines. After spending my first hour with it, I am not sorry. It's the best Rhodes VI I have ever played (and I played a real Rhodes for many years). I hesitated because I have so many other good ones already. I love Lounge Lizard for it's lightness and playability. I love all the AAS stuff actually. I also am an admirer of Gospel Musicians' Neo Soul keys - can't go wrong with that, and it sounds so good that I will probably use it again at some point. But for balancing playability, sound, and editability, VTines nailed it. Congrats to Acoustic Samples on this one.



I agree. Arnaud of V-Tines also worked on NeoSoul so he knows his stuff. His V-Reeds is my favorite Wurlitzer Electronic Piano emu as well.


----------



## jonnybutter (Aug 30, 2020)

Ashermusic said:


> I agree. Arnaud if V-Tines also worked on NeoSoul so he knows his stuff. His V-Reeds is my favorite Wurlitzer Electronic Piano emu as well.



Arg, I'm tempted to get that too. Their sale ends tomorrow, so maybe I'll sleep on it..


----------



## Jkist (Sep 1, 2020)

Lounge Lizard takes the cake for me. It was just on sale, I hope you were able to grab it!


----------



## jonnybutter (Sep 3, 2020)

Jkist said:


> Lounge Lizard takes the cake for me. It was just on sale, I hope you were able to grab it!



Yes, it's good too. AAS stuff is underrated IMO. I have most of their instruments and no disappointments.


----------



## doctoremmet (Sep 3, 2020)

jonnybutter said:


> Yes, it's good too. AAS stuff is underrated IMO. I have most of their instruments and no disappointments.


I second this! Also, someone mentioned earlier that the Waves instrument is of a lesser breed... but I kind of like it. I also recommend AIR Music Tech’s Velvet 2 to people who occasionally need to blend in some vintage Rhodes / Wurly stuff. It is dirt cheap but doesn’t sound half bad. AAS definitely sounds good and I prefer it over the Scarbee stuff I guess.


----------

