Keyboard In Blue is a genuine electro-mechanical piano built from scratch. Its construction improves on the much loved vintage instruments with better sustain and tone from of the high register, and a stronger, fuller tone in the bass.
The Recording Process
Our intention was to present an electro-mechanical keyboard in a very organic and acoustic way. So instead of recording the direct output, a very popular method, we sent the direct out into a vintage tube guitar amp-cabinet. The room at Hollywood Scoring Studios provided a well-balanced room in which to capture this very lively, acoustic tone. Keyboard In Blue offers 5 separate mixes: 2 close mics on the amp – ribbon and FET, a mid-room perspective, and a full room perspective. Lastly there is a FULL mix that combines the best ratio of the above.
KIB FUNCTIONS
CHARACTER
Keyboard In Blue definitely has character! The first knob you see is the CHARACTER knob. This controls the bias between softer and louder samples whilst maintaining the same apparent loudness. So ultimately it’s a timbre control.
DYNAMIC RANGE
Adjust this for your keyboard response and/or playing style – essentially a MIDI dynamic compressor.
Mixes
To the right of the CHARACTER knob are 5 mixes: FULL Mix, Ribbon (mono close mic on the amp), FET (mono close mic on the amp), MID (stereo room mics near the amp), and ROOM (stereo room mics far from the amp). Each mix has a level control and an OFF/ON switch (OFF purges the samples from RAM). You can also select a different output path for each mix.
Pedal and Release Volumes
To the left of the CHARACTER knob are volume levels for note releases, the physical pedal noise, and the physical key release noise. A sample start adjustment is available to either tighten the response or to include more pre-note noise.
LONGS / SHORTS
This echoes the latching keyswitches on G-1 and G#-1 that select normal playing mode and staccato (short) mode, respectively.
REVERB
We provided a wide variety of reverbs that pair nicely with KIB. Small Hall is the default reverb.
The TREMOLO and PHASER offer additional character. The GLOBAL FX switch turns on the Tremolo, Phaser, and all effects on the FX page.
KEY PANNING
The PAN page allows you to bias the lower notes toward the left channel and the higher notes toward the right. The WIDTH control adjusts the extremity of panning and the DIVERGENCE control adjusts how quickly the panning takes place from the center point.
FX Page
The EQ is a simple 4-band EQ with gain compensation. The LOW and HIGH bands are shelves.
Adjust the ATTACK TIME for an interesting soft attack effect. The CRUNCH knob adds tape saturation. Remember – a little goes a long way!
PATCH LIST
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- 01 Keyboard in Blue – Default
- 07 Keyboard in Blue – Just the Way You Aren’t
- 02 Keyboard in Blue – Staccato
- 08 Keyboard in Blue – Just a Few of Us
- 03 Keyboard in Blue – Close and Dark
- 09 Keyboard in Blue – Riders on the Rain
- 04 Keyboard in Blue – Close and Bright
- 10 Keyboard in Blue – Atmosphere
- 05 Keyboard in Blue – Mid
- 11 Keyboard in Blue – Glass
- 06 Keyboard in Blue – Room
- 12 Keyboard in Blue – I Can Tell You Why
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Requires the FULL version of Kontakt 5.6.8 and above. This will NOT work in Kontakt Player.
- Requires a minimum of 14 GB free hard drive space during installation. Library size is approx. 7 GB after installation
- Minimum 8 GB RAM Recommended
Kontakt 5.6.8 Minimum System Requirements
- Mac OS X 10.10 or higher (i5 CPU or higher)
- Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 (latest Service Pack, 32/64-bit) Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2
Kontakt 5.6.8 Supported Interfaces
- Mac OS X (64-bit only): Stand-alone, VST, AU, AAX
- Windows (32/64-bit): Stand-alone, VST, AAX
KEYBOARD IN BLUE CREW
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- Produced by: Michael Barry and Michael Patti
- Project Director: Tim Starnes
- Kontakt Scripting: Ben Chrisman
- Recording Engineer: Adam Michalak
- Mix Engineer: Tim Starnes
- Sample Editor: Elan Hickman
- Sample Editor: Elvis Bates
- Keyboardist: Ben Chrisman
