The Swiss Army Knife Instrument

When you think Swiss Army knife visions of screwdrivers and corkscrews and MacGuyver come to mind. I have even seen some versions with USB thumb drives in them. The Swiss Army Knife represents the priceless tool you would need if you were stranded on an island or had to diffuse some sort of diabolical device when the clock is ticking down.

I am not sure about disabling destructive devices but Key Performer is the tool you need if you find yourself needing an all purpose, all around great sounding instrument in a hurry.

A trusted friend

Genuine Soundware, G.S.I. may be a new name for some but the G.S. is none other than Guido Scognamiglio the force behind this powerful instrument. My first introduction to Guido was through his great SoundFont drum kits he put together many years ago through his soundfonts.it site. I used his sounds on a lot of my early recordings when first introduced to software recording.

Guido has continued to expand as a programmer and sound designer bringing us some fantastic instruments over the years representing the best in Electric Piano simulations as well as the highly rated VB-3 Tonewheel (B3) simulation. Key Performer is his next step to bring the best of these endeavors together into his latest instrument.

Simplicity and Power

Instantly what sets Key Performer apart from the rest of the VSTs and plug in instruments available is the shear simplicity and power of what he has been able to put together. He has combined the Tonewheel simulations, Electric piano modeling (which includes Rhodes, Wurly and DX - FM based piano modeling), a sample playback engine along with a programable virtual analog synth. Any one of these instruments by themselves would be a great instrument but put all of these together and you have a real powerhouse for the gigging musician.

All of the controls and settings are on the Main screen (and only screen). You are not bombarded with menus, submenus and sub, sub menus but a simple screen with everything you need right there all the time. For live situations this is great as you can get into playing the instrument and not spending all your time searching for a parameter to tweak.

Sounds

Guido has done an excellent job in presenting sounds in Key Performer that most keyboard players need the most when playing live or even in a recording situation. He gives you several different types of acoustic pianos that range from soft and intimate to bright and rockin'. Also the Electric pianos (Rhodes and Wurly simulations) are rich and full. The DX pianos are very nice and bright. All of the sounds have such a warm, Rich sound that translate very well in any playing situation.

The Leslie's inside ;<)

One of my favorite sounds in Key Performer is the Tonewheel Organ simulation. It is so full of life it begs to be played. The on screen controls allow you to shape the sound using virtual drawbars which bring a fantastic performance edge to those who remember pulling out real drawbars on the mammoth organs of the past. The sound just smokes!

Not only do you have the rotary effect but also Amp simulations, Chorus, EQ, etc. to help you tailor your sound, your way. Also you are provided with several preset slots to store your favorite settings to get back to them quickly during a performance.

Getting Your Hands Dirty

In my testing of Key Performer I used my Korg nanoKONTROL. This was a great tool to allow me to actually control parameters in Key Performer using the knobs, sliders and buttons on the nanoKONTROL to make changes in the sound in real time as I was playing. No where did this come in handy more than using the Organ simulation. I Midi learned each drawbar to a fader and that allowed me to pull in and out different drawbars in Key Performer to get that rich live sound I was after. You can also MIDI learn any of the controls in Key Performer to have instant control over all the on screen parameters which in my opinion takes Guido's instrument over the top in terms of live playability and performance.

Conclusions

I tested Key Performer on a Lenovo S-10 Netbook using the internal sound chip and ASIO for ALL as well as using Midi OX to help manage the nanoKONTROL and USB MIDI inputs I was using. I was surprised and very pleased how Key Performer handled the limited CPU and audio of the netbook. I would not hesitate to use it live as I was able to get things running very smoothly.

Guido you have done it again by amazing us with another fantastic instrument.
If only MacGuyver had one of these ;<)

Pricing and Ordering

As of right now you can purchase Key Performer directly form the Genuine Soundware website for 99.00 Euros (approx $132.00). There is also a trial version available so you can experience it first before purchasing.