ETI releases ETI Roads, a free Rhodes electric piano sound library for Kontakt (requires full version).
ETI Roads is a free Kontakt library delivering the sounds of the iconic 1980 Rhodes MKII electric piano.
A full version of Kontakt 5.6.8 or higher is required to use this instrument, as ETI Roads is not compatible with the free Kontakt Player.
It’s a bit disappointing that ETI Roads isn’t compatible with the free Kontakt Player, but there are understandable reasons that compatibility isn’t always possible or sensible for some projects.
However, if you’re an existing Kontakt (full-version) user, ETI Roads is absolutely free, and who doesn’t love a good Rhodes sound?
ETI Roads was created at the Erich-Thienhaus Institute (Detmold, Germany) as part of a bachelor thesis. The project generated around 50 hours of recorded audio (5790 samples), and after the samples were cleaned up and processed, a GUI was added, and ETI Roads was ready to go.
The developers clearly put some serious effort into creating this instrument, and that’s somewhat reflected in the hefty download size of 9+ GB.
From the MKI to the far more recent MK8, there’s something to like about each version of the classic Rhodes piano and opinions on which is the best overall can vastly differ from one musician to the next.
But, it’s fair to say that the instrument’s heyday came with the release of the MKI and MKII pianos.
t’s also fair to say that the MKII has more widespread appeal for a few reasons: it ironed out any kinks from the initial release and was a mainstay on stage with superstar keyboardists like Herbie Hancock and George Duke.
The ETI Roads interface features a Bass Boost knob, which emulates the original instrument. In addition, you get a Treble knob, Vibrato, Amp Simulation, and a Dynamics section. The interface is lovely and another indication of the effort put into this project.
There’s nothing worse than a Rhodes library that sounds like a toy piano with no bite or real sense of dynamics. ETI Roads has 42 velocity levels and adds realism by emulating pedal and mechanical noise from the instrument.
I think it sounds more authentic than some paid products, and if you have Kontakt, it’s well worth downloading.
One last call for Plugin Boutique’s August gift: only a couple of days are left, so if you’re planning to grab a freebie, do it now.
Download: ETI Roads (FREE – Full version of Kontakt 5.6.8 required)
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18 Comments
Moisés
onThe sound is really amazing, but the file is way too big. 9gb+.
Over the years we get access to small files, including some paid ones for free if we read BPB. As a owner of a novation launchkey, I have the lounge lizzard for free, but there are plenty others we can use for smaller sizes, wich helps a lot.
My opinion only.
Ike
onSmall file sizes is usually indicates physical modelling, which is different from sampling.
If its sample based and small file size, there is usually a lack of depth and variation. In Sampling you want huge file sizes for quality!
T
onThis one is stunning. I’m not even an EP guy (although I’ve got several other good EP options on hand) but this one really grabs me. It feels very real and organic and the dynamics are something special. Probably the best virtual EP I’ve ever come across, paid or free. At first I got lost in it for a good 20-30 minutes just listening to chords and noodling around. I routed it through an aux I/O bus with a Strymon BigSky pedal and then fed that wet reverb aux into another aux I/O into a ping pong delay from a Line 6 Echo Pro rack and it was otherworldly and deep. I need to write stuff around this EP for sure. It really is next level.
Klaus
onSounds great. Love it. The size is really big with 9gb. But if that is the only criticism, that’s fine.
AB
onKontakt is just really overpriced.
I’d wish to see a bigger discount for some of the Komplete packages to justify the spend.
C
onThere’s usually 50% off for the Komplete bundles once or twice a year which includes kontakt and loads of other stuff, that may be worth checking in to. You’ll need Komplete Standard or higher to get full version Kontakt.
Numanoid
onOne patch that is made up of 5790 samples! No wonder it has to be 9-10GB in size
Would be great if it could have been made with Maize Sampler instead of the need for Kontakt.
DMN
onA very generous offer.
Unfortunately after several attempts in the past 24 hours, this large download kept on timing out and failing.
Partial download will not resume.
Now there’s a message:
“Sorry, you can’t view or download this file at this time.
Too many users have viewed or downloaded this file recently. Please try accessing the file again later. If the file that you are trying to access is particularly large or is shared with many people, it may take up to 24 hours to be able to view or download the file. If you still can’t access a file after 24 hours, contact your domain administrator.”
Hopefully the developer is aware of this problem and may provide alternative mirror download facilities ?
Cheers…
Eduard Telik
onHello,
Dev here. We are, and have been aware, of the problems that people experience with the availability of downloads for the past couple of weeks. We did not expect such an inrush of people wanting to download the library and have recently added links to both our dropbox and google drive downloads on the website. If you experience any issues, try again after a day.
We also want to adress the issue of the large download size, which is mostly due to the samples being in 96k. We are considering releasing a future version with 48K samples as a more lightweight alternative. You still will be able to download the original version.
Thanks to all the love we are getting right now!
Cheers
DMN
onThanks, I only just noticed your fast reply after my 2nd post which refreshed this page.
Much respect for your generous work.
Obviously, I’d prefer the highest quality 96k, so hope you may also eventually be able to provide this spit into smaller files [eg, 4 2GB rars/zips]
Cheers.
Darryl Lim
onWould very much appreciate having an 48k-sample smaller version. Huge thanks for this high quality gift, devs! :D
DMN
onUpdate: I’ve found another download button that allows me to start downloading despite still showing the “Unavailable download” message ???
However, every download still fails after about half an hour / approx half way.
I’m in the UK with download speed capped at about 19 Mbps.
Sadly, this download is proving impossible.
Perhaps the developer could consider splitting the download into smaller more manageable chunks, maybe 4 x 2 GB.
Cheers.
Numanoid
onCan’t you use a download manager ?
DMN
onIf I seem to be making a bit of a fuss, it’s also on behalf of others stuck with the same problem.
I haven’t needed to use a download manager for several years.
since I moved my day to day browsing and downloading to Chromebooks,
Except for this file, my downloads have been completely reliable.
Including other single files of similar large size.
So I’ve completely lost track of current popular download managers.
Any suggestions for good freeware download managers [ideally Chromebook compatible] would be appreciated.
Though I don’t know if this file will support any resuming when it fails part way ???
cheers…
Eduard Telik
onRight now I am uploading a split .zip version (2.5GB each) onto Mega.nz – I probably have to keep my computer on through the whole night for the upload to finish ;) Once it’s done, I will update the links on the website and add the split ones there.
If you are on OSX, you will probably need a different archive program like Keka to unpack those files.
Oliver
onHi Eduard,
As someone who is having the same issue as DMN, the split upload is truly appreciated, thanks for taking the time to do that!
I really look forward to using it once it’s on Mega, but thanks already in advance for making what looks and sounds like a great instrument!
Eduard Telik
on@DMN @OLIVER
New Download Links are up and ready on the Homepage!
Oliver
onAh, the Mega uploads worked perfectly for me, thanks!
As for the instrument, it’s brilliant! It has character but no wonkiness and is enjoyably playable across the whole range; it truly feels like one of the most accurate captures of the real instrument.
All that to say, thanks again for your hard work and for sharing it with the community!