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50% off Scarbee Classic EP-88S and Matrix Expansion


Scott H

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I wish it was possible to demo this against the Orange Tree one. Instead I think it's going to be a test of how OCD I am. Must I have them all? So tempted to collect them just to have all the flavours haha. It's an illness, I swear. 

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53 minutes ago, Fleer said:

Famous E beats this one hands down. Sheer inspiration. 

Do you have both? I own the Scarbee Classic EP, and like it a lot. It is light years beyond the older Scarbee vintage keys included in Native Instruments Komplete. I haven't completed my Orange Tree group buy yet because I'm still on the fence with the Famous E.  It does sound really good in the demos and I'm feeling like I must have it. That said, what would my wife say if she were to find out that I own five Rhodes libraries and I just bought a 6th.  Arggg, what to do...... 

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@Fleer are you seeing this problem that this guy Virtuoso reported where there's a sudden change between Bb3 and B3? You can see his post and audio example here https://vi-control.net/community/threads/orange-tree-model-e-rhodes.94529/post-4596993

He also reported excessive hiss that made the OTS Famous E unusable to him, but if you look at this thread here starting w/ this post https://vi-control.net/community/threads/the-famous-e-electric-piano-available-now-from-orange-tree-samples.95739/post-4597156 , on page 2 Greg from OTS responded and commented on the hiss issue, and towards the end of that second page both Virtuoso and Greg confirm that to his issue has been fixed... but nothing about a fix for the sudden change in velocity from Bb3 to B3 as reported in that first link up there. Are you or anyone else finding this velocity issue w/ the two Bs? 

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1 hour ago, Scott H said:

I own the Scarbee Classic EP, and like it a lot. It is light years beyond the older Scarbee vintage keys included in Native Instruments Komplete.

So you own a different, older version of the Scarbee Classic EP-88S? Yeah I have Komplete 12 and the Vintage Keys in it have a Scarbee 200 I think. You're saying this Classic EP-88S should be better? 

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This is what scares me about deeply sampled libraries, after buying the Impact sound works bundle on the strength of the  pearl grand piano only to find one of the mic positions (hall) has faulty samples with audible noise in the upper register that are unable to be fixed. Disappointing that it continues to be offered for sale with this issue. 

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32 minutes ago, Christian Jones said:

@Fleer are you seeing this problem that this guy Virtuoso reported where there's a sudden change between Bb3 and B3? You can see his post and audio example here https://vi-control.net/community/threads/orange-tree-model-e-rhodes.94529/post-4596993

He also reported excessive hiss that made the OTS Famous E unusable to him, but if you look at this thread here starting w/ this post https://vi-control.net/community/threads/the-famous-e-electric-piano-available-now-from-orange-tree-samples.95739/post-4597156 , on page 2 Greg from OTS responded and commented on the hiss issue, and towards the end of that second page both Virtuoso and Greg confirm that to his issue has been fixed... but nothing about a fix for the sudden change in velocity from Bb3 to B3 as reported in that first link up there. Are you or anyone else finding this velocity issue w/ the two Bs? 

I didn’t myself but I’m sure Greg irons out whichever flaws may still exist. He’s an absolute master in finetuning his instruments. 

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21 minutes ago, Christian Jones said:

Is that a matter of your taste or is the Famous E well known to be head and shoulders better than that Scarbee? (I haven't researched that specifically) 

You really should read up on it, Christian, it’s an amazing piece of instrument history. There’s a thread with links in this forum too (and of course at VI Control). Famous E must be the most requested Rhodes in existence. Keyscape also includes a sibling, but OTS sampled the original Famous E. 

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48 minutes ago, Christian Jones said:

@Fleer are you seeing this problem that this guy Virtuoso reported where there's a sudden change between Bb3 and B3? You can see his post and audio example here https://vi-control.net/community/threads/orange-tree-model-e-rhodes.94529/post-4596993

He also reported excessive hiss that made the OTS Famous E unusable to him, but if you look at this thread here starting w/ this post https://vi-control.net/community/threads/the-famous-e-electric-piano-available-now-from-orange-tree-samples.95739/post-4597156 , on page 2 Greg from OTS responded and commented on the hiss issue, and towards the end of that second page both Virtuoso and Greg confirm that to his issue has been fixed... but nothing about a fix for the sudden change in velocity from Bb3 to B3 as reported in that first link up there. Are you or anyone else finding this velocity issue w/ the two Bs? 

Apparently the Famous E hiss has been fixed.  See the post below..

https://vi-control.net/community/threads/the-famous-e-electric-piano-available-now-from-orange-tree-samples.95739/page-2

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33 minutes ago, Christian Jones said:

So you own a different, older version of the Scarbee Classic EP-88S? Yeah I have Komplete 12 and the Vintage Keys in it have a Scarbee 200 I think. You're saying this Classic EP-88S should be better? 

Scarbee’s earlier A200 is 850 MB. The Classic EP-88S is 5.6 GB with 30 velocity layers. To my ears the Classic EP88 sounds better. More importantly, provided you have a fast computer, it plays way better! That said, I use the Soniccouture Canterbury Suitcase most often.  It seems to have more grit than the Classic EP88.  Most of the current Rhodes releases are all quite good. It really comes down to personal taste. It’s fun to have many flavors!

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2 hours ago, Fleer said:

You really should read up on it, Christian, it’s an amazing piece of instrument history. There’s a thread with links in this forum too (and of course at VI Control). Famous E must be the most requested Rhodes in existence. Keyscape also includes a sibling, but OTS sampled the original Famous E. 

Yeah I've read up on the history of the Famous E, but I was more asking if sound-wise it (the OTS version) really is that much better than the Scarbee. I mean while I definitely dig history and all that I don't care about it at the end of the day when we're talking about the quality of sound of the actual sample library, which is all that really matters to me. 

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22 minutes ago, fret_man said:

But that was back in Oct 2020. I don't think there's been an update in the last 2-3 months.

The original complaints about the hiss were in July of 2020. It looks like the update claiming to have fixed the hiss was in October 2020. I haven't pulled the trigger on purchasing the Famous E yet so I can't verify any of this. I'm only sharing what little information you can glean from the internet.

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On 7/16/2021 at 11:03 AM, Scott H said:

Scarbee’s earlier A200 is 850 MB. The Classic EP-88S is 5.6 GB with 30 velocity layers. To my ears the Classic EP88 sounds better. More importantly, provided you have a fast computer, it plays way better! That said, I use the Soniccouture Canterbury Suitcase most often.  It seems to have more grit than the Classic EP88.  Most of the current Rhodes releases are all quite good. It really comes down to personal taste. It’s fun to have many flavors!

Scarbees A200 has 16 velocity layers. What I've found with velocity layers is that when your playing the instrument, velocity layers are so important for feel. I use the Modart one for playing direct as that utilizes the full 127 midi levels due to modelling. It's very expressive to play. However, when your playing back in the mix, velocity layers are less important because in a busy mix, you don't need all the different expressions which will be crushed by compression anyway. My favorite for sound at the moment is "The Gentleman" in Komplete. I'm finding it gives me the dryness that I like, without overdoing the artifacts or resonance that you get in some pianos that I don't like. I also enjoy playing it. It also only has 16 velocity layers. It fits into typical bass, guitar, piano and drums type songs really nicely.

If it's the piano by itself and your a very expressive player then velocity levels make a big difference, but in a dance or rock piano it's not so important, at least to me. The pianos in Komplete which are 12-18 velocity layers are fine for that.

Edited by Tezza
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On 7/15/2021 at 6:33 PM, Scott H said:

That said, I use the Soniccouture Canterbury Suitcase most often.  It seems to have more grit than the Classic EP88.

Hey man, can you (or anyone else) tell me more about Canterbury? Mainly I just want to know how adjustable the sound is.. I mean, I've checked it out on YouTube, but it seems kind of a dark sounding instrument.. is that adjustable? Like, can you make Canterbury sparkle and chime too or is it mostly just a dark-ish gritty sound? Cuz I've changed my mind a bit about what I said in another thread the other day about how most EPs seemed to be the same to me more or less, quality-wise (not sound per se). Now that I've revisited the EPs I've got in Komplete, I'd like to pick up something else, and I like dark and gritty but I want brilliance and sparkle too when I want it and I'd like to get all that from just one EP. 

I do have the OTS Famous E in my cart from the group buy and have till the end of July to buy it at $71 something if I want. Then there's the Scarbee Classic EP-88S on sale for $50. But I'd be down to wait till end of the year for something closer to 50% off of Canterbury. 

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