When I finished my review of Session Keys from e-Instruments, I was hoping they would eventually release an electric piano version of the instrument. e-Instruments came through by releasing Session Keys Electric R, a virtual electric piano built for Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player.
Electric R is modeled on a 1976 Rhodes Mark I stage piano, modified with eight individual outputs so the sampling process could capture every detail of the instrument’s sound. Alongside the electrical line-out recordings, e-Instruments used an extensive microphone setup to capture the piano’s raw acoustic character, and built the results into two selectable sample sets. Studio was recorded through high-end preamps and converters for a clear, bell-like tone, while Live runs through vintage outboard gear for a rougher, edgier sound.
The sound design tools go beyond straightforward sample playback. A Pentamorph control lets players move between the instrument’s mechanical noises, its electric piano tones, and reverse-sample textures using a single knob, and a built-in effects section adds tremolo, chorus, amp simulation, delay and reverb. The Animator function supplies hundreds of pre-built phrases and licks that follow along with whatever key and chords are being played, useful for sketching an idea quickly rather than building a part from scratch. A Smart Chord feature works alongside it, turning single keys or pad hits into full chords once a song’s key has been set.
Session Keys Electric R runs inside the free Kontakt Player and is NKS compatible with Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol keyboards. It followed e-Instruments’ Session Keys Grand Piano instruments and its Session Horns line, continuing the company’s approach of pairing detailed vintage sampling with flexible sound design controls. For anyone who spent time with the original Session Keys, as I did in my Hands On with Session Keys review, Electric R applies the same idea to the electric piano side of the catalog.
