What do you guys think of the new Wurlitzer V plug in?
I am into electric piano sounds but I never really thought much about the differences beteen a wurli and a rhodes. Still don't I use them pretty interchangeably and just call them all EPs. I saw this and had to give it a look. Also decided to make a quick reaction video on my findings of the synth. I like that its physically modeled because it loads basically instantly and still sounds very real. I have lounge lizard sessions as well but this may find a place on my hard drive too.
I think the main difference between a wurly and rhodes is the wurly uses reeds to produces the sound, where the rhodes uses tines. I love ep's too. cool demo
I'm a certified wurly ho...I have 3 of em, very different from a rhodes, a real wurly barks in a way nothing else does because the wave get's squared off when the tine hits the top of the mutes, physical distortion. I know of nothing else like it. Also maybe the hardest instrument in the world to tune (you have to bust out the soldering iron). Also they are fairly noisy.
Sample libs tend to be ok for softer playing but that's not how the real ones got the bills payed. The wurly EP sound is ray charles, the guess who, medeski, supertramp...
i also love wurlies (got a 200a) much more personality then rhodes imo, i usually prefer sampled libs myself as it gets that vintage tone right (velocity-switch versions can also get that bark) phys modeled versions sound too clean & one dimensional to me but will have to give this a shot..
btw EP stands for Electric piano not Electronic lol
not comparing lounge lizard or true piano to this product... but how can a individual test a product without "actually" playing it... based on playing a few notes... one could judge? how about a few chord progressions, runs, trills, etc... because... "actually" playing this product is the "true" test!!! not playing a few notes!!!
If you're looking for something that sounds similar to a rhodes, but a lot cheaper and portable, check out a Kalimba. It doesn't sound like a piano like a rhodes does, but its basically the same family of instrument as a rhodes, in terms of using metal tines to produce sound. And while much quieter and subtle than a rhodes, it does produce a similar sound because of the tines, imo at least.
You can get a top of the line model, the hugh tracey, for like 100 bucks new, probably 50 bucks used. The cool thing about them is they are tuned to scale, meaning no matter what notes you pluck it sounds musical, so pretty much anyone can play one out the box with no exp playing instruments.
Earth wind and fire were famous for using them, and I think Premier used a sample of one on illmatic in one of the songs. Here's a vid of EWF you can see him playing it at the beginning. Once the band gets going its hard to tell if its the kalimba or rhodes playing some of the parts. While definitely not the same thing as a real rhodes, the sound of one recorded acoustically in a mix, could sound closer to a real rhodes than a plug-in emulation. Just the sound of those tines miked has some of that organic feel/sound of a real rhodes that you miss using a plug-in.
If you're looking for something that sounds similar to a rhodes, but a lot cheaper and portable, check out a Kalimba. It doesn't sound like a piano like a rhodes does, but its basically the same family of instrument as a rhodes, in terms of using metal tines to produce sound. And while much quieter and subtle than a rhodes, it does produce a similar sound because of the tines, imo at least.
You can get a top of the line model, the hugh tracey, for like 100 bucks new, probably 50 bucks used. The cool thing about them is they are tuned to scale, meaning no matter what notes you pluck it sounds musical, so pretty much anyone can play one out the box with no exp playing instruments.
Earth wind and fire were famous for using them, and I think Premier used a sample of one on illmatic in one of the songs. Here's a vid of EWF you can see him playing it at the beginning. Once the band gets going its hard to tell if its the kalimba or rhodes playing some of the parts. While definitely not the same thing as a real rhodes, the sound of one recorded acoustically in a mix, could sound closer to a real rhodes than a plug-in emulation. Just the sound of those tines miked has some of that organic feel/sound of a real rhodes that you miss using a plug-in.
thanks for posting this video... EWF... one of the best bands of all times... WOW!!! when music was music!!!
..except a kalimba is a miniature 15 note acoustic ethnic instrument played with thumbs and the rhodes/wurly electric mechanic upright pianos. i do see where you're getting at but comparing those is like suggesting a ukelele as an alternative to a fender stratocaster with a power amp cool EWF vid though
..except a kalimba is a miniature 15 note acoustic ethnic instrument played with thumbs and the rhodes/wurly electric mechanic upright pianos. i do see where you're getting at but comparing those is like suggesting a ukelele as an alternative to a fender stratocaster with a power amp cool EWF vid though
Well, just because the rhodes is packaged in a bigger wooden box with pickups over each tine, and hammered with keys instead of plucked with thumbs, when you break it down to its essentials the sound of both is still just vibrating tines of different pitched lengths . But you're right, I wasn't saying it was the same exact thing, but being in the same family of instruments means there is a similarity in sound/tone, just like the ukulele is in the same familly as a guitar, though not exactly the same. A ukelele doesn't sound like a strat, but it does produce the same sound of strumming metal strings. And if I wanted to add the sound of a real guitar into a mix, I'd take a real ukulele over a sampled guitar patch on a synth plug-in. Thats all I was saying.
Basically there's high end/low end instruments in all the families. There's the Xaphoon which produces sound much like a Sax, but just doesn;t sound as good as a real saxophone. The Kalimba/Ukele produce sound similar to the rhodes/strat, but the rhodes/strat are more expensive for a reason - they are much better, more intricately made instruments that produce that sound better. But for ppl seeking a rhodes-like sound just to place in the back of a mix, and don't like plug-ins, a real kalimba might do the trick for less, and the avg listener might not even be able to tell the difference when its mixed in with guitars, bass, synths, drums etc.
Well, just because the rhodes is packaged in a bigger wooden box with pickups over each tine, and hammered with keys instead of plucked with thumbs, when you break it down to its essentials the sound of both is still just vibrating tines of different pitched lengths . But you're right, I wasn't saying it was the same exact thing, but being in the same family of instruments means there is a similarity in sound/tone, just like the ukulele is in the same familly as a guitar, though not exactly the same. A ukelele doesn't sound like a strat, but it does produce the same sound of strumming metal strings. And if I wanted to add the sound of a real guitar into a mix, I'd take a real ukulele over a sampled guitar patch on a synth plug-in. Thats all I was saying.
Basically there's high end/low end instruments in all the families. There's the Xaphoon which produces sound much like a Sax, but just doesn;t sound as good as a real saxophone. The Kalimba/Ukele produce sound similar to the rhodes/strat, but the rhodes/strat are more expensive for a reason - they are much better, more intricately made instruments that produce that sound better. But for ppl seeking a rhodes-like sound just to place in the back of a mix, and don't like plug-ins, a real kalimba might do the trick for less, and the avg listener might not even be able to tell the difference when its mixed in with guitars, bass, synths, drums etc.
i agree the ukele & strat are more or less in the same guitar family tree, i was making that analogy because both the strat & rhodes need a power amp and therefore are electric which is very different in tone to acoustic instruments. now the kalimba is a idiophone instrument, it's in the family of xylophones, vibraphones, marimbas etc... the rhodes/wurly are in the (electric) piano family.. you could argue they are distant cousins because of the tines but still suggesting a kalimba as a rhodes/wurly cheap alternative is kinda nuts imo!
i agree the ukele & strat are more or less in the same guitar family tree, i was making that analogy because both the strat & rhodes need a power amp and therefore are electric which is very different in tone to acoustic instruments. now the kalimba is a idiophone instrument, it's in the family of xylophones, vibraphones, marimbas etc... the rhodes/wurly are in the (electric) piano family.. you could argue they are distant cousins because of the tines but still suggesting a kalimba as a rhodes/wurly cheap alternative is kinda nuts imo!
yeah, its definitely thinking outside the box. But to me the sound of vibrating tines is the sound vibrating tines, whether you amplify, play it acoustically, pluck it, or hammer it. I agree they are different variations of that sound, but at their origin they technically really both begin as the same sound - the sound of a tine vibrating.
I know its thinking against the grain, but I always felt it was more correct to classify instrumets by what is used to produce the sound. For instance, to me an acoustic piano, harpsichord, clavinet, etc belong in the string family.
Its not classically correct, but to me its more correct technically to classify instruments by strings, tines, reeds, because the sound of a rhodes is really not the same sound of an acoustic piano at all. One is the sound of strings, the other tines. So imo they should be in separate families. In the end, its all subjective though and all that matters is how you use them not how they are classified. peace
i hear what your trying to say but fact of the matter is EPs are electric pianos, no matter what the technology behind them they were meant to emulate a piano instrument, that means black and white keys allowing you to follow a partition, play bass notes, chords, solos, stacatto, arpeggio etc etc, a kalimba can't do any of that... but yea whatevs
As a former owner of a lot of Rhodes and wurlis, the Arturia demos don't sound very good imo... something's just not right.
On the other hand, while I've thought LoungeLizard has been really good at doing the wurlitzer, the Soniccoulture stuff is VERY cool. Never heard of them before this thread.
I hated my wurlitzers.. except for being easier to move around than the rhodes.
On stage, I could be banging so hard on the wurli keys that the sound would sort of .. change... and not for the better. And reeds would break.
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i hear what your trying to say but fact of the matter is EPs are electric pianos, no matter what the technology behind them they were meant to emulate a piano instrument, that means black and white keys allowing you to follow a partition, play bass notes, chords, solos, stacatto, arpeggio etc etc, a kalimba can't do any of that... but yea whatevs
I agree, I think you misunderstood my original post though. I didn't mean a kalimba could replace a piano, I meant that if you just wanted to add the sound of tines in your mix, a kalimba is a cheap alternative for that.
while i appreciate the idea of modelling (models are some of my favourite things... ahem), the arturia one sounds pretty crap - i'm not buying that. i have sonic couture's wurli and it's super-dope, fat, and all other kinds of adjectives
arturia minimoog is OK (well, before diva made it redundant) but having demo'd a lot of their other synths like the jupiter and prophet, i have no faith in them being able to recreate anything accurately.
the mini brute looks nice though...
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Next to the real thing and the Nord, just one word - Scarbee. The word not to use, IMHO, is - modeling. Just checked out the EP73 Beatsmith mentioned and I have to say the demo 'Bristol Rhodes' really took me back to those Portishead days - nice
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cool EWF vid though 
