Re: [EXS] Scarbee W.E.P. is released!
2003-09-25 by Nikko
16 different velocities? this is impossible. i've a wurlitzer in front of me. how did you? with a kind of robots?
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Hansen Skarbye" <thomas@...>
To: <exs-users@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 10:02 AM
Subject: [EXS] Scarbee W.E.P. is released!
Scarbee is proud to present the Scarbee W.E.P., the most accurately
sampled Wurlitzer electric piano on planet earth!
The Scarbee W.E.P is a faithful reproduction of the classic
Wurlitzer 200A Electric Piano, recreating not only its signature
sound but also the unique dynamic response of the original
instrument, hereby continuing the new Vintage Keyboard product line
commenced with the recent release of the Scarbee R.S.P. '73 (the
Rhodes Stage Piano MK 1 - 73)
Although the EP200A is a small piano, the project undertaken to
reproduce it in software has been huge. Prior to the commencement of
two months of recordings, a painstaking process of restoration
lasting six months was undertaken. This involved a range of measures
aimed at creating a `super' Wurlitzer piano which has perhaps the
highest signal to noise ratio of any yet produced. Sources of noise
and distortion, such as the power transformer, were made external to
the piano and audio-critical components were updated with higher
quality versions wherever possible.
The Scarbee W.E.P. was recorded at 24 bit resolution through a
Mindprint En-Voice preamp (without any use of EQ, tube saturation or
compression), and then digitally transferred to a Nuendo AudioLink
96 audio card.
How much detail is there in the instrument?
In order to accurately reproduce the original EP200A's dynamics,
both the sustained and release sounds of each of the 64 keys of the
Wurlitzer has been sampled at 16 different velocities - resulting in
a total pool of over 2000 24 bit wav files.
All samples are full length and unlooped. Just as we did with the
Rhodes, release samples were recorded for each key. Not just one
release sample per key, but one release sample to correspond with
each sustain sample ( except those for the top 5 keys which have no
damper, causing the keys to ring out to their end ). The release
tone - the sound created when a damper bounces against the reed as a
key is released, is an intrinsic element of what musicians recognise
as the original `Wurlitzer Sound'.
During test recordings Thomas Hansen Skarbye determined that the
dynamic response of the Wurlitzer was quite different to that of the
Rhodes. The EP200A exhibits a high degree of `characterful' timbral
variation in the forte area of its dynamics. Unlike the Rhodes, the
Wurlitzer piano's action is very light, making it easy for a
keyboardist to play continuously in this range of the piano's
timbre. In order to capture such a defining element of the piano's
personality, Thomas decided to increase the size of the Wurlitzer
sampling project by 30%, with additional focus on the forte range of
the instrument. Once this was accomplished, a proprietary system was
employed to ensure that the sampler's response to velocity variation
was identical to the original Wurlitzer's keyboard action.
To accommodate systems with RAM limitations, several `Lite' versions
of the piano are included. Lite versions contain the samples of the
white keys, which are stretched down a semitone to cover adjacent
black keys. (3 black keys were kept as they were the last of a reed
type). Lite versions come in: white keys only 16, 12, 8 and 4
velocity layer flavours.
Why did we go to this much trouble?
Technology is moving at an increasing pace, with music companies
releasing new (almost disposable) instruments every day, but still
many of us find ourselves looking to the past for sounds which truly
inspire us. Organic tones with inconsistencies and chameleon-like
character flaws which are very difficult to programme into
predictable digital instruments. However, the Wurlitzer is electro-
mechanical and infamously difficult to maintain. The light action
often results in the piano being played quite hard, which leads to
cracked reeds, electrical short circuits and tuning problems.
Finding a source of Wurlitzer reeds is itself a monumental task in
some countries, and using a soldering iron to tune your piano isn't
anyone's idea of a fun break before the gig. It won't be long before
it's simply not practical to maintain fragile instruments like the
Wurlitzer, let alone tour with them. To date several sample
libraries have included limited attempts to describe the EP200A in
software, but only recently has the very technology which is making
the beloved Wurli obsolete supplied the tools we require to `capture
the soul of the beast'.
With the Scarbee W.E.P musicians will have access to the
inspirational sounds of the Wurlitzer Electric Piano for generations
to come - vintage sonic lightning preserved in a cutting-edge
software bottle.
SCARBEE W.E.P will ship in a multi format version containing 24 bit
native Halion, EXS24 mk II and Kontakt versions on 4 CDs or DVD for
$219 as well as a 1 CD 16 bit Giga version. Registered W.E.P users
may purchase the alternate format for $49.00.
All Scarbee W.E.P. versions can be ordered NOW in our online web
shop www.scarbee-shop.com.
For more information, online manual and demoes visit our web site at
www.scarbee.com.
Best regards
and thanks for your support
Thomas Hansen Skarbye
Creative Director, SCARBEE
Phone: +45 5946 1676
Email: thomas@...
Website: www.scarbee.com
Web Shop: www.scarbee-shop.com
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