Spitfire Audio has introduced WURLI, a new virtual instrument in its Originals series, which focuses on making rare and classic instruments available in virtual form.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
“Originals Wurli is the definitive rendition of the legendary vintage keyboard. Presented with four separate presets — Classic, Funky, Mellow and Stabs — Wurli allows you to adjust Attack and Release controls to create pads and unique tones, and, in the classic keyboard section of the library, Tremolo Rate and Depth controls offer the ability to curate the perfect sound for your compositions.
Not only a pillar of RnB classics from Ray Charles to Donny Hathaway, this instrument found its way onto countless hits of the 70s and 80s with Elton John, Richard Carpenter, Edward Van Halen, and famously on Supertramp’s Dreamer. Explore the classic sound reimagined.”
Walkthrough Demo:
Originals Wurli is available as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible plug-in, supporting Native Instruments’ NKS (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD), for Mac (OS X 10.13 – macOS 12) and Windows (7, 8, 10, and II — latest Service Pack).
Pricing and Availability
Originals Wurli is available now for £29.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$29.00 USD/€29.00 EUR (inc. VAT).
I haven’t counted them recently, but I must currently have at least 10 good to excellent Wurli VST emulations sitting around (you can never get enough Supertramp piano sounds 🙂 ). I must have at least three times that number of Rhodes emulations, but I’ve always been somewhat of a Wurli fan. I kind of like the simplicity of the interface on this one, and also the restrained reverb and envelope implementations. Also, I find myself being strangely attracted to Spitfire Audio products for the last several years. I think their LABS series stuff is incredible for what you get in what is a mostly free application, and as far as orchestral versatility goes, I don’t believe that anything really competes with the Albion series. For $29, this is almost a no-brainer for me.
+1
I was having similar thoughts. It’s interesting that a soundware company might say “We know there are some dozens of good options out there, but let’s make another one, anyway.”
I LOVE Fender Rhodes sounds, and specifically the way complex chords sound with that tone. Wurli’s are similar in that they have such a cool vibe that does attract attention to itself.
Like acoustic pianos, the different products that are out there do bring out different qualities. And $30 is pretty reasonable.
“I LOVE Fender Rhodes sounds, and specifically the way complex chords sound with that tone.”
+1
I think it was my junior year of high school I got a Rhodes 73 stage piano and an MXR 45 phase, loved it. My setup was the Rhodes and a CAT synth. There is a Rhodes Herbie Hancock preset on my KRONOS that I play/practice with every day, so much audio fun.
Ahh, Spitfe, can they do anything wrong? 😉
I owned a Wurly for a few years and Spitfire took its usual care in getting it right here. I appreciate the pad section, but like John, I’m covered up in EPs. If the base tone is good, its easy to effect things for any song or era you like.
I’m a fan of Spitfire- I just used one of their LABS instruments last night- so its easy to recommend them. They’re my favorite orchestral option. If you’re a songwriter, a solid Wurly & Rhodes are must-haves. This one would be excellent in any setting.
What’s the point of painstakingly sampling an instrument that can be physically modelled almost to perfection? It will also run in a small app versus a bulky sample library and have a much more dynamic and realistic response to velocity than a sampled instrument ever could
Is there a particular modelled Wurli you have in mind? I’ve only tried Arturia’s, Lounge Lizard, and the modelled e-piano in Logic, but I find the sampled versions in Keyscape and even the Scarbee library sound MUCH more authentic than the models, Especially when you factor in things like mechanical noise, pedal noise, and sampling from the internal speaker.
It’s a good question. With modeling, you get very smooth velocity expression, as well as the ability to fine-tune the timbre and other factors. Pianoteq has a nice selection of electric pianos and they are very tweakable.
The sample libraries from Purgatory Creek are really nice and very affordable. And when I A/B Pianoteq’s models vs PC’s samples, I prefer the latter, but only slightly. That said, the ability to control the hammer hardness, hammer noise, and many other factors gives PT a slight edge in some situations.
Not to steal Spitfires thunder. I’m sure that library is great too.
Ahh I didn’t realize Pianoteq also covered Rhodes/Wurli territory! I assumed there were better options out there than what I’ve encountered. I do like the modelled versions for making sounds in the same ballpark as epianos but that kind of stand as their own thing, but tend to rely on samples when something more authentic sounding is needed.
Will check Pianoteq!
Yea, Pianoteq has two different EP add-ons “Electric Pianos” and the “Hohner Collection” they were on sale, but I think that sale just ended. ~$50 each now.
The Pianet T in the Honer Collection is pretty amazing. I had a “T” in my stage rig circa 1975. The best hing about it was that a Minimoog sitting on top of it looked like is was supposed to be there (as opposed to the balancing act of putting one on a Rhodes).
The Pianet T really?
The Mini Moog is a heavy beast, its like 30 pounds or something. I had one on the top of my USS Triple Tier stand and it wasn’t easy lifting it up onto the supports. And the Mini also is 15″ or 18″ inches deep. Wouldn’t half of it be hanging off the back of that Hohner Pianet T that was overall only 15″ deep?
The Pianet T was a decent light weight alternative to the Rhodes, although IMHO it was too thin sounding for my tastes and the output signal was weak, but how would you put a Mini on top of a Pianet T without half of it hanging over the back? The Pianet T was only 15 inches wide?
I honestly doubt the “best thing” about that rig you had in 1975 was how it looked lol, if so… well, to each his/her own I guess. Image is everything? lol
The best thing about my little teenager rig was a Rhodes sounded way better than a Pianet T to my ears, Dino My Piano could do all kinds of tweaks if you wanted to pay for them, and it had 73 keys versus the 60 on the Pianet T, and well, the CAT was my first synth so it was pretty cool for a 15 year old kid. Different strokes.
Anyways, my Dad made me a simple wooden piece that sat on back of my Rhodes and my CAT was perfectly supported and “balanced” lol.
With the main panel folded up all the way, the Mini’s vertical resting force was centered about 10″ back. The advantage to putting it on the T was the surface of the T was flat. Also, the front of the MIni overhang about 3/4″ of the keybed of the T. Even though the EML 101 was a much less deep synth than the Mini, it wasn’t any more stable on top of the T than was the Mini. Also, ergonomically for me, I found the Mini easier to play with my left hand when the configuration was the main rig in front of me and the T & Mini right angled on the left.
One more side note about Pianoteq; the Standard and Pro versions have this Morph/Layer thing that allows you to combine and crossfade between two different instruments. And with all the various aspects you can tweak, you can make all new EP/Reed type sounds that drip with authentic, vintage realism.