what is trip-hop?

the styles of trip-hop

essentials

essential recordings

chord progressions

tips and tricks

triphoppin radio

links

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Trip-hop essentials (for producers/musicians)

01 pianos 02 virtual pianos 03 synths 04 VSTs 05 sequencers 06 sample CDs 07 mics/efx

VIRTUAL PIANOS (VSTs)

click the screenshots to read more about them and listen to mp3 demos made exclusively with each instrument only. You can also download demos of all of these instruments from their company websites to see which ones best fit your songwriting and producing style.

A lot of us live on a fixed income, so we can't afford to buy the actual thing (a Rhodes Mark I Stage 73 piano takes up a lot of room in a small bedroom studio, trust me). And plus, they're damn heavy. Damn heavy. So is the Wurly 200A (but that is at least light enough for one person to carry). And there are a lot of fickle electronics with old electric pianos. And grand pianos of course have no portability whatsoever..... but fear not! There are solutions! Enter virtual instruments (aka VSTs, aka "plug-ins").

Some of the best virtual piano VSTs are listed below (grand piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and more):

Applied Acoustic Systems Lounge Lizard 2.0
Most popular Rhodes/electric piano VST. Great sounds, very tweakable, and great effects!

Native Instruments Elektrik Piano
(the BEST Wurlitzer 200A emulation... very realistic, especially when played with a midi controller with weighted keys). Great rhodes and clavinet, too!

Lazysnake 1.0.3 (FREE!)
This instrument is FREE and sounds incredible!!!!! Designed by Andreas Ersson. Extremely nice virtual Rhodes... gorgeous. Donate some money to this guy, he worked hard on making a great free instrument!

Steinberg The Grand
A very impressive grand piano. Currently on version 2, but version 1 was damn nice, sounded extremely realistic. New version even better, with tons of tweakable piano nuances.

Special mention:
IK Multimedia Sampletank 2XL
Sampletank 2XL is a true virtual instrument powerhouse. The quality and usability of nearly all the sounds is unprecedented, but especially the pianos. GREAT Rhodes, some decent Wurlies (could be better and more authentic, like the Elektrik Piano above, but still sound really good), lots of great grand pianos (and I mean GREAT grand pianos- from 1920's uprights to current Steinways), Hammond and VOX Continental organs.... plus tons more. The pianos are awesome, though. Worth the price alone.