Once again, Applied Acoustics Systems raises the bar in the re-creation of the classic Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos. Not only does Lounge Lizard EP-3 deliver the authentic tone of the originals but it also preserves their action and feel. Once you get your hands on Lounge Lizard, that elusive electric piano sound becomes a reality, you'll be propelled into inspirational space. Unanimously acclaimed by the industry's top publications and musicians as "one of the most impressive virtual instruments" available today, the Lounge Lizard's "punchy, organic" tone and "unbeatable value" have made it the electric piano of choice for many of the world's top studios.

Unanimously acclaimed by the industry's top publications and musicians as "one of the most impressive virtual instruments" available today, the Lounge Lizard's "punchy, organic" tone and "unbeatable value" have made it the electric piano of choice for many of the world's top studios.

Reaffirming their commitment to producing high quality virtual instruments based on their own award winning physical modeling technology, Applied Acoustics Systems is pleased to announce the release of the Lounge Lizard EP-3 Electric Piano for Mac OS X and Windows PC, an unprecedented recreation of the classic electric piano sound, and a "uniquely adaptable" solution for the creation of "living, breathing" custom tones.

What's New in Lounge Lizard EP-3

* Presets The brand new library fully exploits the refinements on offer and covers all your electric piano needs.
* Effects The high-end effect section has been extended with tremolo, wah, chorus, phaser, delay, reverb, and EQ making Lounge Lizard a complete and self-contained electric piano solution.
* Pickup model Two pickup types are now available for a wider character range: electromagnetic (Rhodes) and electrostatic (Wurlitzer). In addition, scaling has been added for even volume across the entire keyboard.
* Fork model The new and improved Fork model adds upper harmonic content for an even more authentic sound.
* Damper model The improved Damper now closely interacts with the Fork and provides superb dynamic response.
* Audio Recorder The integrated audio Recorder captures inspired moments on the fly.
* Micro-Tuning Custom tunings are now possible with the added support for Scala files.


Modeling an Electric Piano: How it works

The electric piano was invented by Harold Rhodes (1910-2000) during the forties when he was in the army. The first instruments he built were made of aircraft pieces and were intended to entertain army servicemen. It became a very popular instrument in jazz and rock, and has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years through it's extensive use by the world's top hip hop, R&B, and house producers.

The mechanism of the electric piano is, in fact, quite simple. A note played on the keyboard activates a hammer that hits a fork. The sound of that fork is then amplified by a magnetic coil pick up and sent to the output, very much like an electric guitar.

The AAS Models
Physical modeling provides great advantages in recreating the sound generating properties of electromechanical and acoustic instruments, accurately mimicking their nuances in a manner simply not possible by other synthesis methods or sampling. For example, because the sound is calculated in real time in accordance with the controls it receives from your MIDI keyboard and on screen knob movements, the Lounge Lizard will produce a slightly different sound if the tine is in motion than when it is at rest.

Great care was taken in the development of Lounge Lizard to provide access to all of the various components in an intuitive manner, giving you the power to tweak your sound in a way that would have taken many painstaking hours with a screwdriver, and incredible patience to accomplish with the real thing. Far from being just a collection of good presets, the Lounge Lizard is a custom sound designing tool sure to please any discerning keyboard enthusiast.

While the various models give you the ability to create unparalleled reproductions of classic electric piano sounds, all of the various parameters can also be pushed far beyond the range of their hardware equivalents, opening up a completely new realm of sonic possibility.

Using an external MIDI knob box or continuous controller messages (cc envelopes) from your host sequencer, this idea can be taken even further, allowing you to modulate various on screen parameters in real time, creating ever changing tones, from the sublime to the ridiculous!