Sonokinetic offers EMP Mark II, a vintage electric piano instrument for Kontakt Player 7 by Native Instruments.
EMP Mark II (Electro-Mechanical Piano) is the latest freebie from Sonokinetic, and it works in Kontakt Player 7.
If you don’t use Kontakt Player, the library also works in Logic’s EXS24 sampler as a basic instrument with no effects panel.
As Sonokinetic states, the electro-mechanical piano has been sampled over and over already. There’s no shortage of options if you want that recognizable Rhodes sound. But the developer also mentions that each variation has a unique sound, and that’s very true. Sonokinetic focuses on the often-overlooked Mark 2, which maybe lacks a little bite compared to other models but is ideal for soulful ballads.
One of the common talking points when discussing different Rhodes models is the keyboard action. The action influences how you play and is a big part of why specific models are best-suited to certain styles of music.
While the keyboard action isn’t something Sonokinetic could mimic, they worked hard to capture the character of the real thing. With any vintage instrument, imperfections often become a sign of authenticity, and the developer has worked hard to capture those imperfections in EMP Mark II.
EMP Mark II comes with some effects and controls common in iconic electric piano performances, like Tremolo and Wah. It also features various Cabinet and Ambience settings, along with Bass/Treble controls, Drive, and Chorus.
Some of the audio demos sound great, especially the slower tracks. If you play through the demos, you’ll hear a snippet of Stevie Wonder’s I Wish, which is an incredibly fun song to play on the electric piano (if you’ve played keys in any sort of function/wedding band, you’ll already know).
While we’re on the topic of free Kontakt libraries, Cinesamples recently released five cinematic libraries for Kontakt Player, and Sonixinema released the Hang Drum percussion library. Also, Sonokinetic recently gave us Vivace Legacy free for Kontakt Player, but that offer expired on December 9th.
To summarize, get Kontakt Player 7 (it’s free), try EMP Mark II, join a wedding band, play I Wish, and get in the bass player’s way all night; it’s fun.
Download: EMP Mark II
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