Vintage Synth / Keyboard library (W)

* Format: ALL (.X0A)
* Name: VintageKeysXS.X0A
* Size: No samples used
* Voices: 128
* Performances: 0 (1 user arpeggio)
* Bank loads to: User Bank 1
* This library is also available for: Motif ES, Motif

"Vintage Keys" was the second DCP Productions sound library made for the Yamaha Motif series synthesizer/workstations – dating all the way back to 2003 and the original Motif "Classic". This, the "XS" version, represents a considerable leap forward from the Motif Classic and ES-series versions, and includes significant re-workings of the original voices, as well as a large number of brand new voices. Additional research into the keyboards and synths emulated, plus extensive use of the new features in the Motif XS (such as assignable switches, 8 element architecture, key-off triggering, etc.) result in what is the most comprehensive and authentic collection of vintage keyboard and synth sounds ever created for any Yamaha workstation.

The library is divided into two groups of 64 voices each. The first group (A1 to D16) consists of electric pianos, clavinets and other "keyboard" sounds. The second group (E1 to H16) consists of classic "synthesizer" sounds. By "vintage", we refer to keyboards and synthesizers built before 1987.

It would be impossible to include emulations of every electric keyboard or synth ever built. For that reason, this collection largely contains emulations of what could more or less be considered the "greatest hits" of vintage keys - the Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, the Hohner clavinet, Yamaha CP70, Yamaha FM synthesizers, the Moog Minimoog and Memorymoog, ARP Odyssey and 2600, Sequential Prophet 5 and T8, Oberheim OB synths, and Roland Jupiter/Juno synths, with the occasional “honorable mention” synth such as the Korg Polysix and EMS Synthi AKS. There are a number of voices which are emulations of the hallmark keyboard or synth sounds for particular classic songs, such as Van Halen's "Jump", Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein", Emerson Lake and Palmer's "Welcome Back My Friends (actually the song's title was "Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2"), the Who's "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", and so on. Again, there simply wasn't room to include every emulation for every synth sound that ever appeared on a hit recording. This is where the Performance mode comes in handy - any voice can be altered in Performance mode (for example, changing the filter cutoff or resonance, or the attack time or release) thus creating, in effect, as many variations on the existing Vintage Keys voices as the user so desires.