Rhodes samples on NS2 73

[analogika]

Have you ever considered that the reason why Steely Dan's Rhodes' sounded different than Ray Charles' might not be because Steely Dan are idiots?

[anotherscott]

Pablo works for the Nord (well, the American distributor), as he has mentioned innumerable times.

I don't work for Nord. I'm not even a particular fan of the EP sounds in the Nord. There's a lot I think is great about the Nords, but for EP, I prefer numerous other boards (from Korg, Kurzweil, Kawai, and Casio). So don't count on me to defend Nord's EP sounds! But there is a lot of personal taste to these things.

However, the things you said about Nord's EP in your post here are, IMO, just plain nonsense.

Nord's EPs ARE sampled, not modeled. They are NOT common prog rock sounds, if you define prog rock as bands like Yes, ELP, Genesis, etc. who hardly used Rhodes at all. And mic'ing up a Suitcase Rhodes' own speakers is only one approach, and not any kind of universal standard of what the ideal Rhodes sound should be. Recordings and live performances used direct outputs all the time. Fender sold a ton of units that didn't include speakers, you know! And some of the most famous Rhodes sounds involve, for example, chorus/phasers off a line output (think Billy Joels' "Just the Way You Are" or some of the Steely Dan stuff).

I guess your inability to defend your fictions is why you instead look to attack others.

[stiiiiiiive]

Jazzistu, I just want to confirm that as a matter of fact, EPs are advertized as sampled by Nord. I think some algorithmic technics come on the top to smooth the multisampling, but the core technology is sampling.

[hijlko]

I'm not quite as unhappy as some people concerning the Rhodes but there is always room for improvement.

I totally agree on the velocity issue though, when I play the Nord (e)piano's from the keyboard of a Yamaha MOXF8 they come out very differently.

[analogika]

wait a minute...Steely Dan are idiots?

JassyStu, since you addressed me personally and publicly, I'll respond in kind.

Yes, I am employed by day by American Music & Sound in the USA and Jam Industries in Canada to provide technical support services for Nord products in their respective countries. As anotherscott suggested, this should be no secret to anyone who reads this forum regularly. My work contact info, email address and toll-free phone numbers are plastered all over this forum. When I first joined I was a little apprehensive, worried that perhaps when people found out what my day job was I would be swamped with requests. Truth is, I do get requests from all over the globe from time to time, but have not been overwhelmed and am therefore happy to be able to help them. Also I worried that perhaps I would say something which either my employers or Nord might be unhappy with. To date, that has not happened (that I'm aware of).

I am not paid to spend time in this forum. Time spent here is my own. Apart from enjoying the atmosphere of what is one of the very best forums to be found anywhere on the internet on any subject, with an almost exclusively collegial group of friendly and helpful people, I like to lend a hand and helpful advice when and where I can, and also feel somewhat obligated to correct misinformation when I come across it. Making Nordesian people happy is my stock in trade by day, and because I happen to love my work, I moonlight at it, too. You are quite mistaken if you think that any single word I've ever written in this forum was done with the ulterior motive of padding my bank account. Also, I alone am responsible for the editorial contents of ALL of my posts. I do not speak for Nord/Clavia, ever, here or elsewhere, and I do not speak for American Music and Sound here in this forum (though when speaking from my "day job" email account I do speak for AM&S).

Pablo

[mon8169]

I'm not quite as unhappy as some people concerning the Rhodes but there is always room for improvement.

I couldn't say it better.

Same opinion here!

Ramon

[jazzystu]

Cheers Chaps.

I'm glad we've cleared that up. Thanks for your straight answers.

It's odd how the samples are so small, compared to the pianos.

[cphollis]

Well, I sometimes defend the Rhodes sounds on this forum (and others), and I can assure you that I have no business connection with Nord (or Rhodes) whatsoever.

[soultrane]

Some of what is said here is on, a bit... the Rhodes samples aren't really the best.

However, when compared to a real Rhodes, the amount of sound shaping you can do right on the board means you can probably get a more suitable sound, faster, with the NS2...

I've been able to get closer to the Herbie "Chameleon" sound (although, it's impossible to get that top end BITE out of it, I think I will start layering the slots), and I've been able to get that neo soul mellow sound as well. I couldn't do that out of my real Rhodes without a ton of changes to outboard eq, fx, etc.

Also, the action on the Nord is a million times better than almost all Rhodes pianos, there is no ground hum, it kills through a Fender Twin or a Leslie, plus it has very nice piano, clav, organ, and synth.

And it's red.

But yes, some new samples. The newest one, with the distorted amp, is the worst of the bunch!

[white elefant]

Ok guys,
I really like nord a lot, but - if it comes to the rhodessound just play once the Kronosrhodes and experience the fun, playing this sounds. Rhodes are definitly the weak point on the nord stage and for me the only reason I don t use it on stage anymore.