Real Rhodes

Pyramid Sound
Format: Kurzweil CDROM

Review by Clif Marsiglio
Thursday, September 14, 2000

The Rhodes Piano has evoked the sounds of a generation and can be the catylist for reliving this bygone era. Do you want to experience that feeling and sound of the original Rhodes? Well then, this disc is for you. This is a spot-on simulation of the original piano and is designed for those that cared about the original but probably just got sick of trying to maintain it.

This disc is made up of 5 different Rhodes Pianos, the standard DX7 Rhodes Patch (a classic in itself) a Hohner Clav in two settings and a Wurly. Does it offer everything ya need to get that classic sound? Well as much as ya did outta the box with these guys. There are several variations presented with each of the pianos done up in VAST. These give ya a bit more variation than the original in such areas as Chorus and Phasings. To be honest, these are quite good for the Kurz but don't really add to the authenticity of the sounds.

Will anyone in a modern audience notice...or for that matter listening to these in a mix? Probably not. Still I prefer to use outboard effects to achieve some of the more classic sounds. The K2000 Series just doesn't do justice to global effects on sounds. I would love to hear a KDFX version of these, but I'm just as happy with my trusty? K2000 and ancient pawnshop guitar effects. Grab a Small Stone Phaser, any sort of analogue-sounding envelope filter or a wah pedal and you got a powerhouse combination. I've always used these sort of devices straight out from my headphone jacks right into the pedals. It adds a bit of noise to the mix that you wouldn't get through the A or B outs, but adds that bit of realism, a little extra grit that is well worth having. To be honest, I'd like a bit more grit on the disc as it is. Maybe that's because I'm use to playing these things in pawn shops while picking up my various aforementioned pedals where the owners haven't the inkling or idea that these devices could ever be found as clean as is sampled here.

I've heard from several users of this disc and the only criticism is that it sounds too much like the real thing. With complaints like that, who needs the positive reviews? Pyramid Sounds could save themselves a good deal of time and energy on the press by simply having this vocal minority complain a bit more. I really hate their Best of Korg disc because it too sounds like the original. I sold all my synth gear to pay for my Kurz a few years back and I really don't want to be reminded of the good times I had with the other gear...besides it makes the K2000 jealous.

Specs:

Each of the Rhodes has its own quirks and differences such as Felt Hammers vs. Wooden or Plastic Hammers, hot rodded pickups, modded Tines and different Tone Bar Positions. These give each of these slightly different sounds and if you are lucky to own one of these, you may find one close to your own setup. All were sampled directly from the original machines and altered with vast within the Kurz.

Files sizes are, in my opinion, comfortable for most users and can fit within 16 Megs.

Programming is a perfect complement to the sounds, though not entirely capturing the original on the variations.

Anywho. Pyramid Sounds Real Rhodes. Sounds like a Rhodes. Plays like a Rhodes. And if you have one of the original K2000s like myself, you will need to have it maintained by knowledgeable and competent repair staff just like a Real Rhodes.