Elektrik Piano 1.5 first impressions

Just installed it and - first of all the whole activation process with serial request etc. worked on studio machine and laptop!
-improvement nr. 1 NI!-- phew...you never know...

and after a very fast first viewing and listening session->
The new authentic patches are a real improvement! (Nr 2 NI!)
I have my very very old fender rhodes mark1 with some even older tines :-( next here to my master keyboard and i use a vox tonelab vintage keys for recording it and plugging it to my mixing desk or audio interface.

a first fast listening to the elektrik piano authentic mark1 amped patch i must say its very close to my old but beloved "real" rhodes and playing around with the "human" parameters im getting even closer getting the sound more "buggy" and it really starts living. compliments! my favourite session playing instrument is even better now. and my roads is too old and heavy ;-)


great thanks for a (for K4 owners) free update.
it will gonna be a fine weekend playing round wih the new patches

 

hi is there a way in standalone mode to not have it ask me to save everytime I close it, even if I do not change any parameters?
thanks
rsp

 

So far, so good!

I have installed and authorized the upgrade with no problems.

The new authentic patches are very good. Also, the new effects are very good also.

On the Mac Pro even the most CPU demanding patches and effects just barely cause the CPU to work at all.

I have onlo tried the stand-alone mode so far. Assuming the plugin works as well in Cubase 4 then I would say that this instrument is a winner.

Great Job NI!

 

sweet, welp, gotta pay the update......but I'll be putting it in today.......

 

i tried it in cubase 4 with no probs - its only (as usual) better to start in standalone mode first. for playing/recording no probs. but time was to short to check if automation in cubase works correct.

 

Hello !

I installed it last nite, no probs and fast authorisation !
I recognized minor issue(s) (on my machine?), -

Rhodes mk II suitcase authentic has boomy bass boosted notes/samples Bb #1 / B #1 / C #2 ...

There´s something different w/ the response to midi-keyboards keyaction, - I have to play very hard to get full velocity scale compared to Elektrik Piano 1.
I use a Rhodes MK80 88 weighted key keyboard, which is 1st class action IMO, throughout and it work s well w/ all other apps of NI and other manufacturers, - so something is changed.
Adjusting the velocity curve per preset don´t help so much.

In addition, it´s not the best idea to control the tremolo FX amount by the mod wheel only, especially not in a live situation, if the keyboard controls more than one instrument at the same time, - in a layer p.ex. where the wheel is possibly needed to control vibrato of a layered instrument too.
So, I would like to see a midi-controller mapping possibility for the FX section.
Personally, I play 3 keyboard controllers at once, so there´s no hand free for the wheel in most situations.

Maybe I´ve overseen something, - but I also would like to see to control the overdrive in the amped models by any midi controller, - prefered : mod-wheel / AT / footpedal CC# 04 and CC# 11 expression as choices.

Midi CC #04 to control the wah in the clav instruments is a must IMO and I also would like to see a wah-preset of the Mk I and Mk II Rhodes and Wurlizers.

So, - it might be a good idea for a future update to make all of the frontpanel controls of all instruments/presets in Elektrik Piano controllable by free to assign Midi CCs.

At least, - it´s a great update anyway, - thx NI !

regards

KB

 

The 'Authentics' are a bit boomy - but I think it's in the 'simulation' rather than the mapping, I did a careful listen up the scale in my DAW with absolute velocities (64, 96, 100 & 127), and didn't really hear any notes ringing out; ended up rolling off bass at around 200hz, that seemed to feel OK.

It's definitely reacting differently, but after fiddling with the velocity curve (didn't want to alter my keyboard [M-Audio Pro 88], like you it plays fine on the one setting with virtually everything else I've got), I ended up with the Linear setting with Min raised to 40 and Max lowered to 120, and on the same sequence in my DAW that got it responding almost exactly the same as EP 1.1, FWIW. Been quite a while since I sold my suitcase 88, but from memory I've a feeling that EP 1.5 response is actually closer to the real thing - which would be great if you've been using a really spongy Rhodes regularly, but not so useful if you're used to a nice acoustic piano action, I guess.

Absolutely with you on this. Not a huge issue for those of us not using it live, different controller keyboard presets and/or translating CCs in the DAW handles it, but these defaults are still something of a nuisance.

User assignable CCs please NI ?


Very pleased with the stereo tremolo - saves setting up an auto panner either in Kontakt or DAW, and it really does seem to sound like the 'real thing'. Overall I'm liking the Authentic sounds alot, think I'm happy to trade off the extra CPU they seem to be taking on my setup. Getting the impression they're going to be significantly easier to sit in mixes as well.

 

...I have opened the new presets in Kontakt and I think the controls can be tweaked using the controllers from CC20 onwards...

 

...yup...

http://www.native-instruments.com/forum_de/showthread.php?t=14522

 

very good update N.I the sound is big and hot. THanxx

M

 

I agree about the boomy notes. This is an unfortunate goof by whoever programmed this setting. It is pretty good except for this which should have been fixed prior to release.

I also agree about the midi cc# mapping.

Overall, the update is well worth the price of admission. I just hope they fix the MKII suitcase. That was the one I was hoping and waiting for.

 

Yeah, you're right Kay, I obviously wasn't listening closely enough, or with enough volume perhaps ('lounge studio' in block of flats ... "Shhh! Neighbours!" ... ).

I think the simulation is itself inherently bass heavy, which may or may not be deliberate, but on closer examination with Ozone's spectrum graph, I get the same results as you, pretty much:

EP 1.5 Mk II Authentic Suitcase,
iZotope Ozone 3 AU immediately post EP AU in DP5, levels arbitrary ...

Note, Highest Peak(dB@Hz), BUS RMS (peak hold)

G1, 1.9@98, -27.3
Ab1, 0.4@107, -31
A1, 2.3@118, -29
Bb1, 7.2@120, -17.6
B1, 8.9@126, -14.1
C2, 6.1@131, -19.9
C#2, 3@142, -28
D2 , 2.5@152, -27.3
D#2, 2.7@162, -28.2
E2, 3.8@173, -25.1


B1 is a good 6dB above 'average' @ 125Hz-ish, and around 14dB RMS on the bus above 'average'. It's not acceptable. And in point of fact, without wishing to be to retentive about it all, watching the RMS peaks over the whole 73 note range, there are a number of other notes that really should be more consistent.

Do we put a 'ticket' in about this, if no-one from NI responds to the thread ?

 

Multiple Issues

Multiple Issues

Not sure what I've just paid for other than a headache! And there I was so excited to find a sudden upgrade... and for only EUR 25.00

Before I start I'll point out my Dell PC is powerful and has always given me excellent performance...

...as has all my NI software ... until now

Right - Elektrik v1.5...

Stability? Half a dozen crashes in a couple of hours use! Loading instruments, changing settings in options menu, etc. Also a never-before-seen crash of two explorer windows whilst stand alone v1.5 running too.

Quicker loading times? Quite the reverse! Much longer loading times than v1 (unless the medium and small instruments are being refered to, but I've never cared to use less than the 'best' sounds provided) Plus it even takes 3-4 seconds for the instrument menus to disappear before the loading bar even appears.

Boomy Keys Exactly as described by others.

Sustain for Authentic E7 Does not sustain but alters timbre... is it supposed to?

Wah Click As new wah feature is engaged with mod wheel (and perhaps more noticably when mod wheel returns to zero), the sudden click of timbre change is so marked as to be quite unusable. (If this is a potential factor of all wah systems i'll admit naivity, but it seems bizarre) -(And yes, freely assignable CC's for all parameters, esp. Wah, are definitely a stark omission) -

Increased level Strikes me it's had the volume of instruments turned up... but too far?

MK1 E#3 'THUNK' Sample (as v.1) Has anyone else noticed (can't believe every user hasn't) the 'thunk' of MK1 E#3? Most noticable played hard and held/sustained. Try it and compare with surrounding keys. It dies out far quicker with a quick tonal change. If this behaviour exhibited itself consistently on notes higher or lower than E#3 I'd assume it was an artefact of the original piano (I'm being naive again), but it doesn't, so to me it sounds as bad as perhaps samples missing!


Anyway, all of the above have been found despite bearly using the program yet. I'm yet to try it as a plug-in. Sadly I'm left completely unimpressed after litte use so far. This expereince is far from that of mine with other NI software, including Elektrik Piano v1. I'm sorely tempted to pursue a refund without further experimentation.

 

Hi everybody,

I have forwarded your concerns to the team who works on Elektrik Piano, and will let you know once I have their feedback on these aspects.

Regards, Thomas

 

A few hours more play

After a few more hours play i've had occasional singles notes hold (after passages with sustain used, but seemingly only a single note stuck long after all playing stopped / sustain released)... and occasional notes not trigger when played in quick succession. I never noticed anything like this with v1

I do like the new authentic sounds, especially the... no, hang on, it's just crashed on me twice again as type this...

 

Dropped notes test

Dropped notes test. v1.5 Authentic Mk2 suitcase. Cubase SL3, Step record 1/16 notes, 1/32length, linear velocity drawn 0-127, then 127-0, then random played velocities... all as in screen grab attached.
Single note skipped on two transitions between bottom three velocity sample layers. Therefore two notes skipped on velocity slope up and two on slope down... plus many missed notes on random velocities played in (in step mode so same timing) due to being around the transition(s).

Without closing v1.5 plug-in I tried original MK2 flanger... all notes played fine.
Attempted then to change to another v1.5 instrument and program crashed Cubase.

 

Please check this thread for information on the upcoming hotfix:

http://www.nativeinstruments.de/forum_de/showthread.php?t=48820

Other concerns in this thread will be looked into.

Regards, Thomas

 

EP 1.5 "hotfix" patch coming up

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello everybody,

The Elektrik Piano team is working on a hotfix patch for 1.5 that will correct the "booming notes" as well as some other inconsistencies in the sample mapping of the MK2 instrument. The patch should be ready for release in just a few days.

I will keep you updated on the progress.

Regards, Thomas



Boomy notes on some patches has been noticed here too. At first just thought it might be NI's idea of what the real thing does!. Be interesting to see what the Hotfix changes.

 

i normally use the Lounge Lizzards (2&3) for everything EP, but i gotta say that he new 'Authentic' sounds are really quite .. euhm ... authentic. really feels closer to an actual old rhodes than anything else i know of (except maybe the Scarbee) ...

i love the Lizzard cause the sound design features are awesome, but next time i need a 'classic' rhodes sound that's close to the real thing, i think i might be playin on Elektrik Piano.

And also thanks again to Thomas for the quick reaction to the issues in this release !

UPDATE ... been playin around an hour or so with the new patches and although at first they sound stunning there is a distinctive side-sound (i think it might be supposed to emulate the physical sound of the keyboard action) which i find quite disturbing .. don't know how to explain it, a kind of 'plok' at the main attack of the note ... when playing chords these seem to sum up and don't sound so hot ... i just which there were more controls to fine-tune the sounds, but i guess with sample based instruments that's difficult ... btw the 'booming' b and c keys are really annoying, especially in the MK2 Auth Suitcase patch which i think is one of the nicest new additions