New York, NY (December 8, 2023)—In January of this year, Rhodes released its first official plug-ins, the V8 and V8 Pro, sampled from the company’s MK8 electric piano. Now, the company has released another, the V-Rack (Mac/Windows), which models the analog multi-effects section of the MK8.
The company says the V-Rack effects are not just for electric piano; they’re also meant to be used on guitars, drums, and other instruments. Having tried out the V-Rack on several different sources, I heartily concur. The effects sound terrific.
The plug-in features seven effects modules that can be used singly or in any combination. Each effect has its own on/off switch, which allows for more CPU-efficient operation. A row of primary controls runs across the middle row of the GUI, and extended parameters are available in the bottom row.
The horizontally oriented plug-in starts with the Drive section, which can be set to MK8, Saturate or Overdrive. Overdrive provides significantly more distortion than the other two. All three modes can be driven harder by turning up the global Input control. Also, the Drive module’s position in the signal chain can be switched between Pre and Post.
The next module to the right is the EQ/Filter section, which includes three bands. The Low band offers three frequency settings: 50, 100 or 250 Hz. The Mid band is semi-parametric and ranges from 100 Hz to 3.6 kHz. The High band provides 3, 7 and 10 kHz options.
The Filter controls govern the multimode resonant filter, which affects the Mid-band only and makes it possible to create dynamic filter effects. Filter choices include Peak, Bandpass, Highpass and Lowpass. Sliders for Resonance and Envelope make possible a range of resonant and non-resonant effects.
The Vari-Pan effect is a souped-up version of the autopan from the MK8 piano. You can adjust the Rate, Depth and wave type. In addition, Rhodes added a Vari-Wave slider that makes it possible to smoothly morph between the four wave types: Square, Sine, Triangle and Ramp. Slew and Smooth(ing) sliders are also included. The Sync button allows you to sync the effect to the DAW tempo.
Next is the VCA compressor. It gives you knob control of Amount, Makeup Gain and Mix (dry/wet), and sliders for Threshold, Attack and Release. Pressing the Sidechain button makes it possible to trigger the compression from another DAW channel. Like the Drive section, the Compressor can be set to a pre or post-position in the signal chain.
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The next two effects, BBG Chorus, a stereo, bucket-brigade chorus, and VCA-4-Stage phaser, have almost identical controls. These include Rate and Depth knobs, Sync buttons, and Phase and Spread sliders. The only difference is that the Chorus features a Channel Delay slider and the Phaser a Resonance slider.
The final effect is BBD (bucket-brigade) Stereo Delay. It offers Time and Feedback controls, a dry/wet Mix knob, and Sync and Tap buttons. Its extended parameters include Low and High Cut filters, a Clip control for adding saturation to the delay taps and Jitter and Spread sliders.
The V-Rack plug-in sells for $124.95; a 14-day free trial is available. Go to the Rhodes website for more info.
