Produced by	Pyramid Sounds
CD-ROM
Kurzweil Format
Data files   Released	103Mb   1998

Real Rhodes is from the independent American producers Pyramid Sound who are based in Denver, Colorado. They produce a small range, to date, of Kurzweil format sample CD's. This is the first of their products that we've looked at and it's described by them as "There must be a reason Harold Rhodes will be going back into production! Classic keyboards continue to used in many pop, R&B and jazz mixes. If you've been looking, you know these sounds have been elusive to Kurzweil users. Other sound companies carry emulations and derivatives. We're offering real Rhodes - the only Kurzweil native CD ROM dedicated to the original Fender Rhodes. Multisampling, velocity sensitivity, plus panning, tremolo and phase shifter effects capture the soul of the original instruments. Included are four models, including an excellent Dyno Rhodes, each sampled in different settings for a wide range of tone qualities. Also featured on this CD ROM are real Wurlitzer EPs, classic DX7 Rhodes, and Hohner D6 clavs...."

The collection is a Kurzweil format CD, and is compatible with all 2x00 series models, you'll need at least 16Mb of sample memory installed. The price of the collection is pitched at US$139, which is a little lower than the standard price for a CD-ROM sample CD, which are normally US$149 or US$199.

The CD has a little bit of a "home made" feel to it, though it is still very well done, the inlay card on cartridge paper rather than the regular glossy paper that is the norm in factory run productions. The CD is a CDR and my CD-ROM drive had a little difficulty in reading it, I'm sure it's just my rather creaking CD-ROM drive, it certainly loaded OK, but wouldn't turn off after loading a program. Its not an issue for a review, but if I was recording it would mean taking the CD out of the drive. Pyramid-Sounds would of course give you a replacement if a CD was faulty.

Real Rhodes Inlay Card

The documentation is good, you get each of the main programs listed out with a brief description of the contents and the differences between one variant and another, you also get the file name and volume size. Ideally you might want the programs listed too, each volume has a number of variations presented, with reverb, chorus, panning etc. though this isn't mentioned in the inlay card.

The sounds have been sourced from a range of original instruments, in particular five different vintages of Rhodes pianos, probably cleaned up a little as these samples sound distinctly clearer and cleaner than some other Rhodes samples that we've come across.

The license agreement is brief, but pretty standard. There is no demo program.

On to the sounds...