Native Instruments today unveiled Electric Keys – Reeds Duo, a pair of virtual instruments that capture the essence of two legendary reed-based electric pianos. These new instruments are the latest in an Electric Keys series, following the Electric Keys – Tines Duo, which introduced Diamond and Phoenix.
The Reeds Duo of Jade and Ivory bring a new style of electric piano into the spotlight. Unlike their tine-based cousins, these instruments use vibrating metal reeds to generate sound, creating tones that range from smooth to soulful and gritty depending on how you play.
A celebration of classic electric pianos: Jade and Ivory. Electric Keys – Reeds Duo reproduces the sound of two iconic electric pianos – loved for their snappy attack, expressive growl, and unmistakable warmth.
Electric Keys – Jade: A solid-state reed piano delivering a bright, punchy sound with sharp dynamics. Ideal for funky rhythms, cutting leads, and rich chords, Jade adds a confident edge to any track.
Electric Keys – Ivory: A vintage tube-driven reed piano with a warm, soulful voice and organic grit. Smooth and mellow one moment, rough and fiery the next – Ivory is pure expression.
Electric Keys – Reeds Duo Main Features:
- Authentic Presets: each instrument comes with 100 meticulously designed snapshots that capture the most iconic original keyboard sounds.
- Advanced Sound Shaping: Customize your sound with detailed tone controls like Tonal Shift, modeled tremolo, and a suite of effects from Guitar Rig 7 Pro.
- Crank the Color: The Color knob allows for seamless blending of performance dynamics, from soft and intimate to bold and brash.
- Realistic Details: Blend direct output with characteristic tremolos and room signals, adding mechanical hammer and pedal noises for enhanced realism.
- Seamless Kontrol Keyboard Integration: Electric Keys offers optimal integration with Native Instruments’ Kontrol S Series keyboards (shown below) for intuitive control and browsing.
Created with Galaxy Instruments. This exceptional piano emulation was developed in partnership with Galaxy Instruments, renowned for their expertise in creating high-quality virtual instruments. Founder Uli Baronowsky and his team, who previously collaborated on instruments like Claire, Noire, and The Giant, have brought their approach to capturing the unique characteristics of these reed-based pianos.
Pricing and availability:
Native Instruments Electric Keys is available now: Jade $99; Ivory $99; Reeds Duo $149. Get all the details at the Native Instruments website.
The sound quality & responsiveness are excellent. My very small issue is the same one I have with Minimoogs now: how many do you need? I had a real Wurly and I have to say that I’ve never heard a bad emulation. I understand wanting variety. Its just that software EPs feel perfected.
i have a hankering for a spinet lately.
I really don’t get Native Instruments. Quoting: “This exceptional piano emulation was developed in partnership with Galaxy Instruments, renowned for their expertise in creating high-quality virtual instruments. Founder Uli Baronowsky and his team, who previously collaborated on instruments like Claire, Noire, and The Giant, have brought their approach to capturing the unique characteristics of these reed-based pianos.”
So that tells me their people on staff can’t make a competitive Wurlitzer sample library? I would guess that NI has the highest head-count in the music software industry, and maybe the lowest productivity in terms of new product.
why create a competitive product when you can sell you competitors and make a profit? if you’ve determined you can’t do much better, and the resources to do it could be spent on something nobody else is doing? to me, it’s part of having a portfolio to serve everyone’s needs.