Load the sound of the Rhodes MK8 in your favorite DAW with the new V8, an official virtual version of the Rhodes hardware for your DAW.
Software developers like to emulate synthesizers from the past. Most popular are the Minimoog, Jupiter-8, Juno-60/106, CS-80, and many others. Equally popular for emulations are e-pianos like the Rhodes.
There are sample-based but also physical-modeling electric piano plugins on the market. The latter is a kind of universal instrument that can recreate many characteristics in one plugin. Also, the character and sound of the Rhodes. So far, there has not been an official emulation on the market, but that has changed today.
Rhodes V8
First came the hardware, and now you can experience the beautiful sound of the new Rhodes MK8 electric piano in your favorite DAW. According to the developers, the V8 is modeled directly from the MK8 hardware.
However, the engine is not completely based on modeling. The Rhodes team deeply multi-sampled his hardware and captured all the nuance and character of the flagship instrument within 30.000 samples across 100 velocity layers. It’s a shame that Rhodes doesn’t use physical modeling here to replicate sound character. Just like Pianoteq does with its key plugins.
Modeling has gone into the rest of the engine. So all aspects of the M8 hardware have been recreated, from the features and sonically. The V8 has a pre-amp section consisting of a drive, low/high EQ, and a vari-pan effect with rate and depth controls.
It also allows for tuning adjustment, mechanical noise balancing, and the electroacoustic timbre shift, among other options. Rhodes ships the plugin with many presets and profiles that let users access a wide variety of tones from the MK8 and other Rhodes models (real and imagined).
That sounds interesting, but that’s not all. If you want to delve deeper into the Rhodes Sound, there is a Pro version.
Rhodes V8 Pro
Of course, the V8 Pro version goes deeper, offering musicians significantly more extensive tweaking options. It hosts the MK8’s envelope parameter making filter mod effects (auto-wahs…) or audio-rate vari-pan effects possible. You can also find here the compressor, chorus, phaser, and delay effects from the MK8 FX section.
Also onboard, per-note control over timbre, fine-tune, level, and damper response. The V8 Pro also features a selection of microphones and amplifiers, paying homage to classic studio and stage Rhodes setups.
The V8 Pro is probably suitable for anyone who wants to tweak their virtual Rhodes to the last detail.
Missing Keys Competition
And with musical talent and a little luck, you can win an MK8 hardware. Alongside the new V8/V8 Pro plugin, Rhodes also announced the Missing Keys competition. Rhodes asks you to soundtrack a short film with a 45-day free trial of their new V8 virtual instrument.
To mark the V8 release, Rhodes has made a new short film entitled ‘Missing Keys’ featuring James Smith of the Mercury Prize nominated band, Yard Act – and they want YOU to soundtrack it for them, utilising a free trial of the new Rhodes V8 virtual instrument.
For detailed information, check the official Rhodes website.
In addition, nineteen runners-up will receive full versions of the Rhodes V8 plugin for life and an array of other prizes courtesy of partners Plugin Boutique.
A nice release from Rhodes that sounds very prestige in the first demos. I would have preferred a single version with all the features and not this weird marketing thing with normal and pro.
Both Rhodes plugins will be available in March 2023 and run as a VST, AU, and AAX plugin on macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon) and Windows. Rhodes V8 will cost 169,95€/$179,95 USD, and Rhodes V8 Pro 274,95€/$299,95 USD.
Head to rhodesmusic.com/missingkeys to download a free trial of the Rhodes V8 and everything else you will need to enter the competition.
More information here: Rhodes Music
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