Electric Keys Virtual Instrument

Released at the 2008 Winter NAMM show, MOTU's Electric Keys is a cross-platform virtual instrument that delivers authentic sounds of 50 classic, vintage electric keyboard instruments from the past 40 years. This massive 40GB sound library includes over 20,000 meticulously crafted 24-bit/96 kHz multi-samples of legendary electric pianos, electric organs, clavinets, Wurlitzers, tape samplers, string machines, keyboard basses, and other rare and exotic electric keyboard instruments. These include models from names like Fender, Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Hammond, Wurlitzer, Hohner, Elka, Farfisa, Mellotron, Moog, RMI, and Arp.

Though the authentic nuance of each original instrument was captured at 24-bit/96kHz resolution, they can be played at any standard sample rate via Electric Keys' flexible 32-bit UVI playback engine. Presets consist of carefully crafted multi-samples with multiple velocities, layers and/or release samples, depending on the instrument. Samples are streamed from disk, so even the largest presets load quickly while conserving computer memory. Sounds are organized in 12 banks, each with its own custom look ("skin"), letting you to install on your hard drive only the banks you wish to use.

The Electric Keys interface offers a few simple controls, including volume, pan, tone, and tremolo settings, along with two preset slots, which allow you to layer two sounds using the convenient multi-column preset browser. When a preset loads, the background displays the "skin" for the corresponding bank, but the controls and their operation remain the same. Once one or two sounds are loaded onto MOTU's Electric Keys, the user can simply play, adjusting parameters as desired, while CPU-efficient 256-note polyphony ensures that notes are never cut off due to voice-stealing.