Adam Monroe Wurlitzer

 

Dec 30, 2018  Wurlitzer VST shootout and comparison video between the best VST, AU, AAX, and Kontakt Wurlitzer plugins available. In this video we compare: Acousticsamples Wurlie Adam Monroe's Wurlitzer Arturia. The Kontakt version of Adam Monroe's Mark 73 Electric Piano is is now depreciated (2.10.2020). The VST, Audio Unit, and AAX versions are programmed entirely by AdamMonroeMusic. The goal in any sample library that is also a VSTi (virtual instrument), AAX, or AU plugin is to attempt to match the performance of the Kontakt Player. This tremolo is now included in Adam Monroe's Wurlitzer and Adam Monroe's Mark 73. A Tremolo plugin VST, AAX, or Audio Unit effect isn't that difficult to program. Originally, I intended to make a non-parameterized version, to go a long with an upcoming Wurlitzer sample library that would mimic the traditional 'vibrato' oscillator of a Wurlitzer 200A.

Monroe
Windows / Mac / Samples / KONTAKT

Adam Monroe's Wurlitzer virtual instrument plugin was sampled from an 'early model' 1970's Wurlitzer 200A electronic piano. The process began by close-miking the piano with Beyerdynamic MC930 condenser microphones on the Wurlitzer's built-in speakers, and an AEA R84 Ribbon Mic on the line-out signal through a Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp. These signals were fed into Grace M101 and AEA TRP Preamps respectively.
The wurlitzer's amplifier and preamp were re-capped in an attempt to save the amplifier, but about half way through the sampling process the amplifier died, which eventually killed the power transformer. The preamp, amp, and power transformer were all replaced and sampling continued. Well sampling the bass notes, it became apparent that the Wurlitzer's built in speakers also needed to be replaced.
Most keys on the Wurlitzer were in tune, but a few keys needed fine adjustment, and F2 needed to be replaced completely, as our attempt to 'add solder' to the lead tine, in order to lower the pitch, failed completely. The Wurlitzer samples were processed with EQ to cut a lot of the low frequencies out, in order to better sit in a mix as a more midrange instrument, as the bass frequencies were heavily dominant from close micing.
This was the most temperamental instrument we have sampled thus far. This is to be somewhat expected, as a Wurlitzer 200A contains numerous electronic components from the 1970's that were not designed to last 40+years, such as electrolytic capacitors. Compared to the passive design of a Rhodes piano, there's simply a lot that can go wrong, which is why we recommend purchasing a Wurlitzer sample library!
The library comes with built-in tremolo and delay, but for finer tuning please check out Adam Monroe's Tremolo and Adam Monroe's Delay, free plugins to further customize your sound, as well as Adam Monroe's Mark 73, for a slightly different electronic piano tone.
ENGINEERING:
Some simple linear distortion was added to the VST , AU, and AAX versions as well as some built-in reverb, chorus, wah, tone, and dampening knobs. Kontakt version has been depreciated, as the VST, Audio Unit, and AAX versions require programming beyond the simple Kontakt player. The goal in any sample library that is also a VSTi (virtual instrument), AU, or AAX plugin is to attempt to match the performance of the Kontakt Player. With this library, we feel like we have done just that.
The VST, Audio Unit, and AAX versions include updated, high-performance algorithms that have been improving with each new virtual instrument released by Adam Monroe Music. For example, the buffering algorithm is double-buffered and multithreaded, which means that buffering performance is fast, even on slower computers, and even in lower latencies. Voices are held and iterated over in a pure, C-Style array. Memory use is around 390MB . Because of the solid VST-AU-AAX code base, you can feel confident that the VST, AU, and AAX versions will work just as well as a Kontakt version.Adam

Adam Monroe Wurlitzer Youtube


Why develop a VST, Audio Unit, or AAX version at all? Although a great piece of software, the Full version of Kontakt (required to run 3rd party sample libraries) is expensive. Developing a VST, Audio Unit, or AAX plugin that anyone can use does not add significant time to the development of a Wurlitzer sample library - most of the time is spent sampling and processing the samples - so it's a real no-brainer.
Audio engineering is a large part of creating a VST, Audio Unit, or AAX plugin, but the sounds of this Wurlitzer library have barely been processed. Low Frequency mud was cut, and the tone can be shaped dramatically by blending between DI and amp signals. Adding distortion, even a small amount, can significantly drive the gain and presence of the signal.
The built-in Tremolo is set to match the classic 'vibrato' speed of a Wurlizter electric piano, with variable intensity. The wah knob is matched to the tremolo speed and is a subtle effect. At full level the distortion knob may cause overload and clipping, so it's best to use the smoothing knob in conjunction.

Adam Monroe Wurlitzer Parts


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Adam Monroe Wurlitzer Songs


Adam Monroe's Mark 73 Electric Piano was sampled from a 1976 Rhodes Mark I Stage Piano. The entire keyboard was wrapped in tinfoil, which eliminated EMI noise. The Rhodes was sampled DI through a Radial Pro 48 DI box, and the signal was routed to a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp, recorded relatively clean through an AEA R84 Ribbon Mic and AEA TRP Preamp.

Each note of the 73-note Rhodes Piano was sampled 3 times at 10 velocity layers. Releases where sampled for the DI signal as well as the amped signal, but the amp release notes sounded a bit out of place, so the decision was made to only include DI releases. The sound of the amp can be heard in the amp samples, as a Fender Reverb Deluxe is a noisy amp, even without a signal. The DI samples are relatively clean by comparison.

Adam Monroe Wurlitzer Guitar

This particular Rhodes Piano was relatively in-tune, but some post-processing re-pitching was necessary in order to bring every note into a -2 +2 cent variance of equal temperament. The 'bass boost' knob of the Rhodes Piano was set to 1 and the volume knob was set to 9. The instrument was left natural sounding, without eq tweaking, although one note was eq'd in order to make it fit with the rest.

The phase of the two signals had to be carefully adjusted by hand for each note, as the amp signal significantly lagged behind the DI signal. The settings on the amp were treble: 5 bass: 5. The amp signal has a slightly more aggressive tone, well the DI signal is warmer and fuller. Samples are 16 bit, 44.1 kHz wav files.

Check out Adam Monroe's Tremolo, a free companion-piece plugin to this sample library. The plugin contains built-in Tremolo, but the parameters can be fine-tuned via the standalone tremolo plugin. By utilizing tremolo, distortion, phaser, chorus, wah, and the AMP + DI channels, a wide range of classic Rhodes Piano tones can be achieved, from Air to Steely Dan. We have done our best to create an accurate reproduction of the classic Fender Rhodes Piano. This is not a modeled-tine instrument, this is the real sound of a Rhodes Piano!