You can adjust this with the Harndess slider, which is split in two in the Mac OS X version I tried: The bottom (blue) half adjusts hammer stiffness, and the top (gray) one is a treble boost/cut to further EQ the tine sound in or out. For a nastier sound, I set both of these almost all the way down, and turned up the Drive. The results, while not quite as throaty as what’s possible in, say, Sampletekk Tubed Keys, were not bad . . . not bad at all. Playing at hard velocities above high C on the keyboard, there was a bit too much “pop” in the sound, with some overtones that are more inharmonic than what occurs on the real thing. Again, reducing the hardness and treble boost mellowed this out. Overall, where Mr. Ray and Mr. Tramp (described above) lean towards retro, gritter EP sounds, MDA is perfect for that cleaner, chorused, early-’80s jazz and fusion vibe.
INSTRUMENTS
Modeled tine-based electric piano.
PLUG-IN FORMATS
VST, AudioUnits.
PROS
Surprisingly playable, expressive modeled sound.
CONS
Sliders-only user interface.
BOTTOM LINE
Covers a cleaner sound than Mr. Ray, but does so just as well.