North 7 Vintage Keys

Features

• 4 vintage keys, sampled "the Spitfire way"
• Rare but pristinely maintained instruments
• Sumptuous vintage and high-end signal paths
• Performed by session giant Sean Hargreaves
• Recorded by in-demand engineer Simon Changer
• Deep sampled for ultimate character and realism with multiple takes and dynamic layers.
• Tested exhaustively with session players for realistic response.
• Presented in Spitfire's eDNA interface and instantly tweakable.
• Over 100 presets designed by Christian Henson
• Bass keyboard section

SPITFIRE ELECTRIC PIANO "EP"

Arguably the most successful electric piano of the 1960s and 70s, this 73-note instrument generates sound using keys and hammers in the same manner as an acoustic piano, but instead of strings, the hammers strike thin metal tines, which are then amplified via an electromagnetic pickup. Our favourite exponents of the instrument are Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Richard Tee, and Chick Corea, and appears on countless classic Jazz Funk, RnB, Pop and Rock tracks throughout the 1970s, possibly most famously on The Doors' Riders On The Storm. It features all over a plethora of pulpy crime caper films of the same era, from Dirty Harry to Towering Inferno, as well as Vince Guaraldi's soundtracks for Peanuts / Charlie Brown films and Vangelis' masterful score for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.

ELECTRIC CLAVICHORD: "CLAV"

Arguably the clavichord's most famous incarnation is on Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' written originally as part of a collaboration with Jeff Beck, with this instrument being used merely as an illustration of what Stevie wanted the guitars to do. The sound is produced by a harp of 60 tensioned steel strings oriented diagonally below the keys' surface. Each key of the simple keyboard action is a single lever element that pivots on a fulcrum point at the rear. A spring returns the key to the rest position. The unique playing feel of this instrument comes from this abrupt impact of the pad striking its anvil point against the string. The Clavichord responds well to guitar effects, especially the wah-wah pedal, as expertly demonstrated on the seminal Head Hunters recordings by Herbie Hancock.

STAGE PIANO: "THE WURLI"

Not only a stalwart of RnB classics from Ray Charles to Donny Hathaway, this instrument found its way onto countless hits of the 70s and 80s with Elton John, Richard Carpenter, Edward Van Halen, and possibly most famously on Supertramp's Dreamer. The 64 note Stage Piano (known to many as a "Wurli") comprises a single steel reed for each key, activated by a miniature version of a conventional grand piano action and forming part of an electrostatic pickup system. We love it for its soft mellow tones at the bottom, and its biting totally transformed angry mid-tones when played harder and louder.

ELECTRIC PIANO BASS: "FINGER BASS"

A much rarer, but no less pristinely kept instrument from 1962. The world's first dedicated keyboard bass instrument made uniquely famous by Ray Manzarek of The (bass guitar-less) Doors. His use of the electric piano bass was so iconic, his widow recently donated his model to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, dating back to 1962, with a serial number of 000463! This set of samples enable you to create an amazing dub-bass and sub-harmonic Hip Hop style bass lines. Using the same technology as the "EP", the Finger Bass is an instrument finely tuned to provide the richest low end, with pump and attack you can only get with a piano style instrument.