Which Brand Has The BEST Rhodes Piano Sound? - Nord Vs Yamaha Vs Roland Vs Keyscape

The links below may be outdated, use the links above to start browsing the website.

Producers, pianists & keyboard players have been trying to find the best digital Rhodes sound for decades. With an array of plug-ins & new models offering a better touch, feel & sound, how can you tell you're getting the best sound for you?
Today Mike Patrick returns for the ultimate Rhodes blindfold challenge, stripping each preset back to its basic form & using only the Yamaha Montage 8 for the feel.
With some of the biggest brands such as Yamaha, Nord, Roland & Keyscape, which digital piano will Mike pick when trying to find the best Rhodes piano sound?

🎥 Looking to watch something else? Check out our previous episode!

↪️ Episode Guide ↩️
» 0:00 Ultimate Rhodes Blindfold Challenge
» 1:43 Keyscape
» 3:22 Nord Electro 6D
» 4:42 Yamaha Reface DX
» 6:20 Yamaha YC61
» 7:59 Roland VR-730 V-Combo
» 10:36 Let's Compare It To The First One
» 12:15 The Reveal!
» 15:41 Let's Hear How Keyscape Sounds Without The Blindfold

Check out Mike on his social channels:

📱 Why not give us a follow on our social channels?

You've watched the videos & seen the store, now join the Andertons Family with our exclusive, official merchandise! With free UK delivery on all orders containing only a T-Shirt, Hoodie or Jumper & super low international shipping costs, there is no better time to be an Andertons fan than now!

Interested in other Andertons YouTube channels? Click on one of these links to find out more…

#Andertons #BlindfoldChallenge #RhodesPiano

[trevvorgorman]

I could listen to this guy play Rhodes for an entire day with no breaks.

[pte]

Rhodes-sound gives me so warm feel. And this guy really has the right style to play it. It's like I'm back in seventies and life is still ahead.

[halcyone]

This guy sounds fantastic on keyboards across the price range. The real best sound clearly comes from practice, note choice and taste.
On another note, I love how well the little reface holds up!

[lukedrysdale]

I have played them all and Keyscape is the most realistic in my opinion. If they incorporate the Keyscape sounds into a module it will be a big seller

[bwalkeri]

“Let’s see if I can play” literally every musician that says that destroys the keyboard

[meaviad]

Keyscape rocks! Eric Persing - you are genius

[GZ]

In my experience Rhodes have so much character that a Rhodes doesn’t sound like a Rhodes sometimes! But this was a cool shootout and good reason to buy all of the libraries for different flavors!

[Superphilipp]

The thing about Rhodes pianos is that you would set the position of the pickups and tines to your own preferred sound .... and these different ones represent different philosophies.

The Roland has the tine closer to the center, which accentuates the first overtone more. it's a certain kind of sound that you might not want. The Keyscape samples are the opposite, they focus on the fundamental by having the tine set up more off the pickup center, giving you that round, bassy sound.

[musicfuchs]

I'm not even here for the test, I'm just here to listen to Mike play. He sounds absolutely wonderful, I can't stop smiling with listening.

[AndertonsKeyboardDept]

Looks like we made a little typo in this video & referenced the Yamaha Reface DX instead of the Reface CP.
Thanks to those of you who spotted & we have now changed the description links accordingly.

We hope that you all enjoyed this shootout as we've got plenty more to come! 🤘

[gtoger]

Sometimes I can hear Mr Rodgers talking to me when he plays.

[greggoso]

these two guys could conquer the world with a keyboard

[jdwhoa]

There's a great video of Greg Phillinganes doing a demo of keyscape and he seems to like it. I probably watch it once a week lol

[altdelet]

Mike has an amazing feel for space, definitely a jazz and/or gospel background

[sandscribbler]

I need to get me a pair of those magic red goggles! (Oh...It turns out those aren't what made the music sound so great. It sounds even better without them!) This video is closest thing I've watched to a legit test of the various keyboards. Even then, it's hard to control for all the variables. The Reface benefited from the Montage keybed. And as Jack pointed out, we're just listening to one basic sound — without any effects or amp simulation. Still, I loved it. Mike is an amazing player. Plus, he's honest and a really good sport. Thank you, Jack and Andertons!

[MrMmcfly]

Jack, good on ya for staying so calm and polite after the Nord not getting love.

[andersjeppsson]

I’m personally blown away by my Nord Grand EP’s. Sparkle top and the Nefertiti are just soooo inspirational, responsive and with the easy tweakable effects it’s hard to stop playing.

[grafyghtgaming]

The best part about this video is to see Jack's face and in awe of Michael's musicianship. I love it!!

[berniem.]

To be fair and put things into perspective - a single Keyscape sound uses more or at least close to all memory that most hardware instruments have installed.
On top of that, the amount of effort and detail work that went into Keyscape is unique and stands out by far. They organized all those (sometimes extremely rare) instruments, had some of them restored, tuned them perfectly etc.
That's why Keyscape simply stands out from the competition and easily beats them all.
Having said that, you also feel they put most of the effort into the electric instruments. The acoustic pianos, while not bad and having some very rare, antique models, can't compete with libraries that put all their effort into that one category (Ivory II, Alicia Keys etc.).

I knew from the beginning Keyscape was gonna win. But the really magical thing about that library is watching people actually play it. You can see that 'wow' in their face after a few seconds, followed by that enjoying smile. At a certain point they forget they're playing a VST and dive into the music.

Therefore, a big thank you to the whole Keyscape team. You've created something special and helped preserving the sound of many legendary instruments that will not last forever (ok, so does software - but I hope projects like yours continue to exist).

[ralphgross]

Mike is a brilliant player. I love this test that many of us have wanted. The tasty grooves being played I could listen to all day.