Sampleson has introduced Electrix, a freeware electric piano virtual instrument in VST and AU plugin formats for compatible digital audio workstations on PC and Mac.
Electrix is a detailed emulation of the Hohner Electra Piano T electric piano. This isn’t a sample-based plugin but rather a digital model of the real-world instrument. According to the info provided by the developers, it took them over 1,200 hours of work to develop and test Electrix. Their goal was to fully recreate the Hohner Electra Piano T sound in digital form, emulating its characteristic behavior, release noises, tines, and resonances.
See also: Free Soft Piano VST/AU Plugin By Spitfire AudioThe plugin features a simple and well-designed user interface. The on-screen controls are used for adjusting the intensity of the phaser and vibrato effects. The standalone version of the instrument also features a MIDI section for choosing the active MIDI input. There doesn’t seem to be a way to configure the active audio device in the standalone version and this is something I’d like to see improved in a future version of Electrix. Speaking of future versions, you can support the developers via donations (click the Donate button on the user interface to launch the donation screen).
Although I can’t compare the Electrix plugin to the real Hohner Electra Piano T, there’s no denying that the virtual version of the instrument sounds very good. It is a highly expressive musical instrument with a wide tonal spectrum covered by different note velocities. It sounds mellow on softer notes and quite aggressive when played hard. I would describe the tone as a mix between the Wurlitzer and classic FM electric piano sounds. It sounds great in the context of a mix, too. The standalone version is convenient for firing up quickly when you feel like jamming or working on musical idea outside the DAW.
You can download Electrix completely free of charge from the product page linked below, with optional donations. The plugin version of Electrix is compatible with VST and AU plugin host applications on PC and Mac. The download archive contains a DLL file for manual installation and the EXE launcher for the standalone version of the instrument.
Electrix is available for free download via Sampleson (11.8 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU plugin format + standalone application for Windows & MacOS).
10 Comments
Markus Scholl
onNice Plugin. Sadly the standalone app will not detect my USB keyboard, so no “quick jamming” is possible
Tomislav Zlatic
onThat’s unfortunate. It recognized my KeyLab right away.
Markus Scholl
onMIDI-In of my RME Babyface is listed, but my M-Audio Keystation 61es is not recognized. I think I don’t need to write to the developers, because the readme states “Electrix Rare Electric Piano is offered AS IS. No support or customer service is available for this product. Despite this, comments and suggestions are always appreciated. Just contact us on http://www.sampleson.com”
It’s working fine in Cubase 9.5 Pro though…
Tomislav Zlatic
onMight be worth it to drop them a comment if you plan on using Electrix a lot. Perhaps they could fix the issue in a future version, who knows.
Chris
onIf I’m not mistaken, this is made in HISE. Perhaps check around at http://hise.audio at the forums there, to see if anyone else has any advice for this issue.
Augusto
onDeveloper here :) thanks for posting that. We will add a more detailed midi/audio panel on next update. best. Augusto
Markus Scholl
onOh, thank you! That would be really great! :-)
Homer
onIf you add a Rotor – Effect on this one, would make it mad unique & also compliment the sound.
very good work & plug!
thank you
Nicola Boschetti
onHello Tomislav, I now read your blog everyday: you have some fantastic resources, and this is one of them. Thank you for putting out this Electrix Plugin and thanks to Augusto for developing it :-)
Atme
onIt sounds brilliant!