Jamal Hartwell over at GospelMusicians.com has just released a nice expansion update to the famed Neo Soul Keys 3x. The expansion pack is called the NEO Soul EX5 Expansion. What Jamal Hartwell did here is apply his meticulous sample techniques to the Yamaha EX5 vintage keyboard.

The aim was to introduce NEO Soul Keys owners to the Yamaha EX5 electric piano patches. Why, you may ask? Because apparently the Yamaha EX5 electric pianos are some of the best kept secrets thus far. It seems that Yamaha developed and used a technology called FDSP (Formulated Digital Sound Processing) in this particular keyboard that resulted in some pretty cool physical modeling of the old EPs pick ups. I liken the technology to Korg’s RX Experience used in the Korg SV1.The entire idea is that these EPs have that certain realism in sound that gives you the cabinet noises, key-off, damper and hammer noises that you may hear when playing a real vintage EP. These sounds are the mechanical sounds that lay into the sweetness of the EP itself and give that authentic feel reminiscent of the old classic electromechanical EPs of yesteryear.

Jamal explains “The result is a more naturalistic and ‘breathing’ electric piano sound, both richer and mellower, than the same original sounds without the FDSP processing. Adding FDSP on an electric piano suddenly creates new creative possibilities and realness to the EP.” Coupled with the processing , programming and effects already included in the NEO Soul Keys x3, this NEO Soul EX5 Expansion sounds as beautiful as any classic electromechanical EP.

The NEO Soul EX5 Expansion weighs in at just under 400MB. It is compatible with Neo-Soul Keys V1 or 3X using Kontk 5.03 Free Player. This expansion will only work if you own Neo-Soul Keys V1 or 3X.  The NEO Soul EX5 Expansion costs $29.99.

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