【Free!】New Electric Piano Bass Library by SpitfireAudio's Christian Henson! Origins - Electric Piano Bass

  

Origins - Electric Piano Bass by Christian Henson, an electric piano bass library with three BOSS effector, designed with three Boss effects pedals to add a variety of overdrive, distortion, and fuzz effects, has been released and is now available for free. 

I wanted to understand the differences between overdrive, distortion, and fuzz. But since I'm not a guitarist, I tried this.

Christian Henson

Story

Over the past decade, composers' desks have undergone a major transformation. Desktop synths like Kaos Pads and Virus have disappeared, replaced by pedals and stompboxes like these. We've accepted that as the new normal. But from a purely hygienic standpoint, desks are made for working with your hands, so why would composers put things designed to be manipulated and stomped on with their feet on them?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty guilty person. I built my first "fuck box" about 18 years ago. Six years ago, the guys at Strymon (or rather, a guy) thought it was funny that I'd called a pedal rack a "fuck box," so they made me a blank plate for a Strymon-branded Blue Sky pedal and labeled it a "fuck box." It caused a bit of a stir at Strymon, and some of my more foul-mouthed collaborators threatened disciplinary action if I exposed the transgression. Hopefully, that's all in the past now... or at least I've come out of the fuck box thing.

Anyway, as a piano player, I always feel somewhat out of place when I go to a guitar shop to look at pedals. Like I'm up to no good, like I'm not welcome, like a fifth-grader in a sixth-grader common room. If I open my mouth, people will probably laugh at me, but not in a good way.

So I've conveniently avoided any serious research into what these devices are all about. The reason I use them is often because they weren't made by engineers. They're dingy, unpredictable, have funny names, and hand-painted faceplates. While you might have to buy keyboards and computers from companies to make music, these devices are produced in small batches in garages and workshops. They give us, as keyboardists and composers, an edge we can never get from a Roland or Yamaha. Yes, I'll be honest: these devices make you feel cool.

So, as part of my new YouTube series, "Origins," I decided to thoroughly investigate the differences. I purchased three Boss pedals, one for each saturation type, to compare them. I chose a rare electric piano bass, like a Ray Manzarek's, because it provides the impedance signal of the instrument, making it the perfect tool for evaluating these saturation boxes. Also, for those of us who don't play guitar, a familiar sound is easier to relate to than a dry guitar sound. So, I decided to further validate my findings with a few "studio-grade" saturation units.

Overdrive: Jimi = Overloading a 1960s mixer king.

Distortion: Overstayer.

Fuzz: (Not so hot) Culture Vulture.

The essence of this experiment came when I struck the electric piano keys. Everything was crushed to pieces, and the harshness of the 1960s became like the gasping of a strangled instrument. I had to recreate this sound. I added knobs in the GUI to adjust these levels. You can also remove the fuzz with the LPF to tame it if you like. Enjoy.

Requires the full version of Kontakt.

Origins – Electric Piano Bass