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MOTU Electric Keys

Item ID: ElectricKeys

Vintage Keyboard Virtual Instrument with Electric Pianos, Organs, Mellotron, Clavinets, and More - Mac/PC

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  • Retail Price$295.00
  • Sweetwater Savings-$16.00
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  • Sale Price:$279.00
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From Our Research Team:

Tons of great vintage sounds!

NOTE: This product requires an iLok (not included) for authorization. Please call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer if you have questions.



MOTU extends their virtual instrument expertise to the world of vintage keyboards with Electric Keys. Inside Electric Keys you'll find recreations of legendary electric pianos, electric organs, clavinets, Wurlitzers, tape samplers, and other rare and exotic electric keyboard instruments, which are multi-sampled at 24-bit/96kHz. MOTU enlisted fifty well-preserved and maintained vintage instruments from the likes of Fender, Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Hammond, Wurlitzer, Hohner, Elka, Farfisa, Mellotron, Moog, RMI, Arp, and others. Electric Keys is like taking a trip through the annals of rock n' roll and R&B.

MOTU Electric Keys at Glance:
  • Sampled vintage keyboards
  • Simple interface
  • Separate multi-effects rack
  • Plug-in and stand-alone operation

Sampled vintage keyboards
Fifty well-preserved and maintained vintage instruments were used to create the sounds in Electric Keys, including models from Fender, Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Hammond, Wurlitzer, Hohner, Elka, Farfisa, Mellotron, Moog, RMI, Arp, and others.

Most instrument samples are supplied at 24-bit 96 kHz resolution, but 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 large presets load quickly and conserve computer memory. Sounds are organized in 12 banks, each with its own authentic look ("skin"), allowing users to install on their hard drive only the banks they wish to use. Electric Keys presets can be loaded into MachFive 2 for advanced sound design and layering.

Simple interface
The Electric Keys window offers a few simple controls, including volume, pan, tone, and tremolo settings, along with two preset slots, which allow users 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, regardless of the unique look and feel for each bank. Once one or two sounds are loaded, 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.

All parameters can be automated via convenient "MIDI learn," where the user can simply right-click any control to assign any MIDI controller. Users can load and save "combis" consisting of a snapshot of the entire plug-in, including effects. Combis can be shared among plug-in formats and the stand-alone version - even across computer platforms. Dozens of factory presets and combis are supplied.

The three-dimensional piano keys across the bottom of the Electric Keys window highlight during playback. Users can click the keys to audition sounds.

Separate multi-effects rack
Users can click the FX button to open the FX-Rack, which is a separate window with eight effects that can be applied individually or in combination as a multi-effect to any preset. Effects include amp simulation, filter, chorus, flanger, phaser, UVinyl (to add "wear and tear"), delay and reverb. Since effects can be loaded, created and saved independently of instrument presets, it is easy to mix and match effects with presets, allowing users to experiment with practically infinite combinations. All effects parameters can be automated with one-click "MIDI Learn" CC assignments.

Plug-in and stand-alone operation
Electric Keys supports all major plug-in formats on Mac OS X and Windows (XP and Vista), including VST, DXi, MAS, Audio Units, and RTAS. It also runs as a stand-alone application, turning any laptop or desktop computer into the ultimate electric keyboard instrument.

MOTU Electric Keys Features:
  • Vintage keyboards for all genres and styles
  • Intuitive user interface
  • 24-bit/96kHz resolution
  • Separate multi-effects rack
  • Plug-in and stand-alone operation
  • Mac or PC
  • VST, DXi, MAS, AU, RTAS

Add vintage flavor to your tracks with MOTU's Electric Keys!
Specification Detail
Software Type Keyboard Sample Player
Supported Computer Format Mac, PC
Supported Plug-In Formats Standalone, RTAS, VST, AU
Hardware Requirements - Mac Apple G4 1GHz CPU or faster, 256MB RAM
Hardware Requirements - PC Pentium 4 1GHz or equivalent AMD CPU or faster, 256MB RAM
OS Requirements - Mac Mac OS X 10.4 or later
OS Requirements - PC Windows XP or later
Manufacturer Part Number 5000

Electric Keys Image Gallery

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Recommended Accessories

From the customer service call after my order, to e-mailing me a copy of the invoice, to the great price, free shipping and candy in the box...a pleasure!


Rick, Gloucester, MA

Reviews

based on 3 reviews

Are you kidding me?

by Walt Bucher from Asheville, NC
July 24, 2009
Music Background:
OK. 50 impressively multi-sampled vintage keyboards with a great built-in effects rack for $279? This is a bargain. The sound quality is seriously impressive. Well done MOTU!

I like the product, needs more Hammond sounds

by NIck Nichols from nashville, TN
May 23, 2012
Music Background: Musician, Songwriter, Recording Engineer, Artist
I think it is a great product, am looking forward to using it on my demos, wish it had a greater selection of B3 sounds

Sweetwater Advice

Randy Akins
This is an amazing collection of the most popular keyboards from back in the day... but MOTU takes it one step further by packing this library full of rare and hard to find keyboards as well. A tasty treat!
Nick Schenkel
There are instruments in this collection that you won't find anywhere else. If you like vintage keyboards, this is a virtual treasure trove. MOTU has created a wonderful opportunity for composers to get their hands on some of the most readily recognizable (and insanely difficult to find) sounds from rock's yesteryears. At this price, don't "consider" it; just buy it.

Nice Sounds But Auditioning Them Is Awkward

by from NJ
August 13, 2012
Music Background: Musician/Composer
Like my review title says - it's got some great sounds. But, much like the Motu Symphonic Instruments, you have to open a series of windows and CHOOSE the sound, hit "OK" and then try it - it's not re... read more [+]ally "auditioning" the sound. I find that particularly strange since, within MOTU's Digital Performers, you can even use a shortcut key to keep moving on to the next sound until you find the one you like, and then choose it. close [-]

Also popular

See Also: Piano Software , MOTU , MOTU Virtual Instruments: Synths, Keyboards, & Organs

MOTU Electric Keys

Today's Payment: $103.00
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Payment 2: $93.00
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Payment 3: $93.00
In approx. 60 days

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