# Rhodes module good enough for gigs?



## Rob (Sep 2, 2021)

I need a portable midi module with a really good and usable Rhodes sound... one with dynamic, sweet pianissimo tone and able to bark at ff. Does it even exist? I read that the Yamaha Reface CP has good electro-mechanical pianos, it that true? Anyone has it?
Thanks!


----------



## Zanshin (Sep 2, 2021)

How about a used Nord Electro 2 Rack if it has to be a module (or any of the Electro keyboards).


----------



## chillbot (Sep 2, 2021)

Nord Electro and it's not even close!

Unfortunately if you are looking for the rack unit you'll have to look to ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284426096114?hash=item42391dcdf2:g:SCMAAOSwyilhHAVb
Unclear if you were looking for a portable keyboard or a portable sound module. I can't speak to the keyboard feel but the sounds on the Nord Electro are the best I've come across in 30 years of being a Rhodes junkie and collector.



Zanshin said:


> How about a used Nord Electro 2 Rack if it has to be a module (or any of the Electro keyboards).


You posted this right as I was posting. Spot on.


----------



## Rob (Sep 2, 2021)

Thank you both! So Nord electro seems to be the best choice... @chillbot yes, a sound module, I have many keyboards already. Plus, need a solid piano touch, not a hammerfall semi weighted one... Thanks a lot, off to a search for a used one (don't know if the one you posted is delivered to Italy)


----------



## re-peat (Sep 2, 2021)

Rob, in case the hunt for the red Nord Rack leads to nothing: your country is not only home to the great Soggetti dynasty but also to GSi, developers of the (excellent) VB3 organ software AND also the makers of a hardware sound module, the *Gemini*, which includes just about every instrument you'd expect to find in such a device. It's not cheap (€899), but, based on what I heard in various demos, I think it might be deserving of your attention. And it's available in a rack or a desktop version.













Here are the three official audio demos of the included Rhodes sound:

*demo 01*
*demo 02*
*demo 03*

And this video goes through many of the onboard sounds and some of the Gemini WiFi-features:



_


----------



## doctoremmet (Sep 2, 2021)

About two decades I used to gig with a piano module by Italian synth / organ maker GEM. It was a small thing, about half a racksize. The piano was good for its time and the Rhodes / Wurly were pretty decent. Needed some outside fx for sure. So by no means Nord Electro decent. But still… maybe dirt cheap. May also be totally unusable by today’s standards…

I think it was a predecessor of this model:


----------



## re-peat (Sep 2, 2021)

I still have a GEM ProMega3 (but it's not hooked up anymore). Brilliant thing to have in your studio and then dim the lights: it looks like you're in a deleted scene from "2001: A Space Odyssey". I always thought its electric pianos were seriously good. (There's an onboard Steely Dan demo, if I recall correctly.)



_


----------



## doctoremmet (Sep 2, 2021)

re-peat said:


> I still have a GEM ProMega3 (but it's not hooked up anymore). Brilliant thing to have in your studio and then dim the lights: it looks like you're in a deleted scene from "Space Odyssey". I always thought its electric pianos were seriously good. (There's an onboard Steely Dan demo, if I recall correctly.)
> 
> 
> 
> _



That’s the one! I had a GEM Equinox 88 for a while as my master KB - with the ProMega module. It sounded very good. I read in SoS that the Equinox was the poor man’s Kurz. Later I went and got a K2500 but its pianos were nowhere near as good as the ProMega one.


----------



## doctoremmet (Sep 2, 2021)

Indeed the EP sounds were good too, although I seem to recall the Rhodes was lacking a bit in the “bark” department? Overall it was a terrific module to use as a live musician, and for recording as well. At the time, the piano blew me away.


----------



## proggermusic (Sep 2, 2021)

Along with all the good suggestions so far, I'll actually confirm to OP that the Yamaha Reface CP has some really great electric piano sounds. The keyboard is small but you can easily MIDI into it from a better controller. It would probably be the biggest bang for the buck of anything mentioned so far.

If I were going to get a single rack unit for everything, I'd get a Roland Integra. Acoustic and electric pianos are good, organs are good, and the synth capabilities are some of my very favorites.


----------



## Rob (Sep 2, 2021)

re-peat said:


> Rob, in case the hunt for the red Nord Rack leads to nothing: your country is not only home to the great Soggetti dynasty but also to GSi, developers of the (excellent) VB3 organ software AND also the makers of a hardware sound module, the *Gemini*, which includes just about every instrument you'd expect to find in such a device. It's not cheap (€899), but, based on what I heard in various demos, I think it might be deserving of your attention. And it's available in a rack or a desktop version.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



 thank you Piet, I had never heard of this one... to be honest I find the demos less than exciting, but who knows how an instrument behaves in a PA... Some completely disappear, or have too thin a sound to compete with actual drums, basses, horns etc. Others are full and envolving, so I guess I'll have to find a retailer that can let me test the instrument in an amplification system.


----------



## re-peat (Sep 2, 2021)

I wasn’t exactly floored by those three little Rhodes demos either (although I rather liked the right hand in the first one), but since the Gemini includes the full VB3 software, I’m guessing it uses GSi’s "MrRay73mk2" software for its Rhodes sounds, and below are two demos of that software which, to my ears, do reveal potential. Also keep in mind that GSi combines sampling and modelling for its instruments which means: extensive editability.

But you’re right of course: without actually being able to test these things, you’ll never know whether they're a good choice or not. I hope you find a dealer who lets you take one home for a few days.

- *MrRay73mk2 - Demo n.1*
- *MrRay73mk2 - Demo n.5*

(There's a demo, Windows VST only however, available of the MrRay software by the way, in case you want to explore that a little further. Might also help to give you a better idea of what's on board the Gemini, Rhodes-wise.)

_


----------



## Rob (Sep 2, 2021)

re-peat said:


> I wasn’t exactly floored by those three little Rhodes demos either (although I rather liked the right hand in the first one), but since the Gemini includes the full VB3 software, I’m guessing it uses GSi’s "MrRay73mk2" software for its Rhodes sounds, and below are two demos of that software which, to my ears, do reveal potential. Also keep in mind that GSi combines sampling and modelling for its instruments which means: extensive editability.
> 
> But you’re right of course: without actually being able to test these things, you’ll never know whether they're a good choice or not. I hope you find a dealer who lets you take one home for a few days.
> 
> ...


These do sound significantly better for sure, also because they're musically far superior... think I've come across the Mr Ray instrument before, years ago. It surely has potential, you're right...


----------



## re-peat (Sep 2, 2021)

Rob, completely different idea: is an iPad an option for you? I ask because there's a number of iOS-compatible Rhodes's available a.o. the much-praised NeoSoul and the Scarbee.

_


----------



## Rob (Sep 2, 2021)

re-peat said:


> Rob, completely different idea: is an iPad an option for you? I ask because there's a number of iOS-compatible Rhodes's available a.o. the much-praised NeoSoul and the Scarbee.
> 
> _


Mmm... no unfortunately, my old iPad 2 has 500Mb of ram, too weak to run those applications. Besides that, I wouldn't trust the non-standard audio/midi connections. But thank you for the suggestion Piet


----------



## SupremeFist (Sep 3, 2021)

I'm not an EP guy but the Roland MC-101 is a tiny battery-powered sound module with thousands of classic Roland rompler & VA sounds, so maybe has some usable Rhodes in it? Plus 5-pin midi and full-size jack i/os.


----------



## Rob (Sep 3, 2021)

SupremeFist said:


> I'm not an EP guy but the Roland MC-101 is a tiny battery-powered sound module with thousands of classic Roland rompler & VA sounds, so maybe has some usable Rhodes in it? Plus 5-pin midi and full-size jack i/os.


Thanks SF, isn't that a groove box though?


----------



## SupremeFist (Sep 3, 2021)

Rob said:


> Thanks SF, isn't that a groove box though?


Yes but you can also just use it as a four-part-timbral sound module, responds to midi as normal etc…


----------



## FunFXGuy (Aug 4, 2022)

SupremeFist said:


> I'm not an EP guy but the Roland MC-101 is a tiny battery-powered sound module with thousands of classic Roland rompler & VA sounds, so maybe has some usable Rhodes in it? Plus 5-pin midi and full-size jack i/os.


I just ordered a Roland MC-101. Did you ever find out if it has 'some usable Rhodes in it'? I searched the internet and got no specific results, but found your thread. I even have the full sound list for the MC-101 (over 3000 sounds) but it's not listed by name (likely copyright reasons). The closest listed is in the elec. piano section called "Rholitzer". Thanks!


----------



## SupremeFist (Aug 4, 2022)

FunFXGuy said:


> I just ordered a Roland MC-101. Did you ever find out if it has 'some usable Rhodes in it'? I searched the internet and got no specific results, but found your thread. I even have the full sound list for the MC-101 (over 3000 sounds) but it's not listed by name (likely copyright reasons). The closest listed is in the elec. piano section called "Rholitzer". Thanks!


I don't use those sounds myself so I never did go looking for one. But that preset name sounds promising...


----------

