That said, the dynamic range of this instrument seems very narrow, especially in the “tines” layer. This is well-implemented, allowing quick changes to customize the response. The first one for velocity scaling, which allows concave, linear and convex velocity curves. To the left of the layer faders are two knobs. I can detect vary little if any dynamics in this layer, other than volume changes. Once again, there is a strong second harmonic (octave) component that doesn’t sound typical to me of a lid-off tone, and some notes oddly are all thump while others are more pitched, even when they are adjacent. Definitely an interesting layer for experimentation. This is a nice addition, though when playing a real Rhodes through any kind of amp, these sounds are not really heard as a matter of fact, to hear them, you would need to take the lid off the instrument. Generally, a level of about 40% on this fader would be enough, and the rest of the fader travel beyond that point is too loud to be realistic.įinally there is “Mech,” which sounds like the harp sampled with a microphone, capturing the mechanical noises of the tines and the action. “Key up” is a useful layer, adding the buzz that occurs when the dampers mute the tines, and a bit of this adds to the natural quality. Layering it with the natural samples creates an interesting synthetic sounding hybrid, but not realistic. This octave-up component of these samples makes them detract from the normal tone, because it changes the basic harmonic content in a strange way.
While interesting, it sounds nothing like Rhodes tines, and includes a fundamental pitch up an octave from the main note, creating a kalimba-like mallet sound. There are four layers available, beyond the basic sample (called “main”) including “tines” “key up” and “mech.” The “tines” layer is not what you expect, but rather what sounds like some kind of alternate sample, perhaps with a microphone or other pickup. In general, there is not a lot tonal change from quiet to loud, and the classic distorted “bark” on loud notes is not really possible to achieve. It is not possible to determine how many velocity samples there are, nor can I detect any rotation of alternate samples on the same key. Overall, the tone is nice, but the decay seems pretty short, less singing and more mallet-like overall. In my opinion, these “warts” are too exaggerated and would be frustrating on a real instrument, let alone a sampled version. If this were my Rhodes, I would have adjusted the tine and pickup to fix this (It most certainly can be done I have voiced many of these instruments.) There are many other examples of inconsistent tone across the keyboard. My assumption is that in trying to be “real” they left it this way. This makes playing evenly very difficult. As an example, D5 (C4=middle C) sounds appropriately punchy but a half-step up, Eb5 is anemic and muddy, at the same velocity, and has no punch no matter how you play. What I really think they did was sample an ill-maintained, inconsistent instrument. In some ways, they did, and this is the beginning of my issues. In their promo material, Waves explains that they wanted to capture the raw essence of a real Rhodes. (Scarbee products have been subsumed into the Native Instruments product line, and I assume those samples are still part of the “Komplete” collection.) When Waves came out with their version at an introductory price of $39, I decided to take a risk and order it. The one I use most of the time I bought many years ago from a developer called Scarbee, and I have been pretty happy with it. As a keyboardist with a lifelong love-affair with the Rhodes electric piano, I’m always intrigued by new virtual instruments simulating that classic sound.