5/15/2023 0 Comments Uvi grand piano attackOne of my first thoughts on playing the instrument was that with all this timbral subtlety available, to use this instrument in a typical jazz or rock context, where it’s just one voice in the texture, was an incredible waste of resources – one would want to write pieces for solo electric piano sounds, so that one could really appreciate all the sonic subtlety available here. These variations can be saved as programs in the host software – either the UVI Workstation (free), or the UVI Falcon sampler/synthesizer. The sample set comes with a lot of presets (I didn’t realize that electric pianos could come in so many colors!), and then, when you start adjusting the sound, you can construct an infinity of subtle (and not so subtle) variants on the basic electric piano sound. Each of these (electric and acoustic signals) has its own path of effects and settings to tweak. Then, with the interface, there are separate panels to adjust sound aspects of the electric signal and the acoustic signals. But if you want an instrument for use with one timbre at a time, say, for studio work, or for live work where you would only change timbres between songs, then this instrument will suit you just fine. If you want to have an electric piano with rapid switching of radically different timbres, this instrument is not for you. Note that as well, with this many samples, instant loading of timbres is just not possible. I recommend having an external hard drive for the sample set, and loading from that. In fact, there are over 47,000 samples in the set, and it takes up 10 GB of hard disk space. So, obviously, we’re talking an immense sample set here. Separate samples were made of both sustain and release parts of each attack. Each note was sampled at 8 velocity levels and with 5 round-robins per sample. They recorded the electric output of the piano, both with a DI box and through a tube amp they put a contact mic on each individual tine, and sampled each tine individually they put mono and stereo mics over the body of the piano, and recorded the acoustic sounds of the keys striking the tines. They then proceeded to sample this instrument in many different ways. UVI have taken this idea one step further – instead of an acoustic piano, they inserted tacks in the hammers of a Rhodes MK1 88 key electric piano. A number of mid-20th century composers explored this instrument with its strident timbre, including Count Basie and most extensively, the California composer and instrument builder Lou Harrison. The “tack piano” is a piano that has thumbtacks placed into the felts of the hammers of an acoustic piano, such that the tack contacts the string, instead of the felt of the hammer. ![]() Starting from an historical model, they’ve actually created a new musical instrument, one based on samples, but combined in a very controllable manner. This third way is what the Paris-based software musical instruments company UVI have done with their latest offering, the Attack EP88 Tacked Electric Piano. Another is to design a completely unique instrument from the ground up, without regard for any idea of “acoustic reality.” (And thus, in the way of every adventurous musician, creating your own reality.) A third way might be to take an interesting angle on an existing acoustic sound source and then design a versatile and subtle instrument around that. ![]() One is to make as faithful a recreation of an acoustic, or electronic, instrument as possible. In the world of sampled-instrument design, there are several design philosophies. ![]() Priced at $149 USD, it works with UVI Workstation or Falcon. UVI Attack EP88 Tacked Electric Piano is a sample based instrument with immense possibilities. UVI’s Attack EP88 Tacked Electric Piano is just about the most versatile electric piano you’ll ever come across – a sound designers dream.
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