A five-decade legacy meets the next generation of Rhodes sound
Grammy-winning producer, keyboardist, and composer Jason Miles has spent more than fifty years shaping the sound of jazz fusion and contemporary music. Known for collaborations with legends including Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, and George Benson, Miles has always viewed the Rhodes as both an expressive instrument and a vehicle for sonic exploration.
In his latest project, he revisits Chuck Mangione’s “Doing Everything With You” as a heartfelt tribute to a late friend – powered by the Rhodes V8 Pro virtual instrument.
A Lifelong Relationship with the Rhodes
Jason Miles emerged from the vibrant New York City jazz scene of the 1970s, where he quickly became known for a forward-thinking approach to keyboards. Throughout his career, he owned and customised several Rhodes pianos, from a Suitcase 73 to a Mark I, modifying outputs, experimenting with wah and phase effects, and EQ’ing sections independently to create a signature tone.
That innovative mindset carried into his studio work with major artists. His warm, song-centred approach helped shape timeless recordings, and he remains deeply connected to what makes the Rhodes unique. As he reflects, “Every great keyboard player had their own sound… You could tell who was playing just by listening.” For him, the Rhodes demands feel: “You have to let it breathe… when you approach it like an acoustic piano, it loses what makes it special.”
Carrying the Rhodes Language Forward
Today, based in Lisbon, Miles continues to push his sound in new directions while staying true to the musical language he helped shape. For this project, he immersed himself completely—playing the tune more than one hundred times before recording a full take. He began with a click for the opening eight bars, then performed the piece straight through, making only light adjustments afterwards. The result, as he describes it, is a “hybrid performance” that balances human feel with subtle digital precision.
The performance centers on the Rhodes V8 Pro plug-in, played via a MIDI keyboard with carefully chosen touches of delay, gentle panning, and a light phase effect—created entirely within the instrument.
Miles praised the V8 Pro’s authenticity, noting that its sampled architecture captures the unmistakable character of the Rhodes he knows intimately. “What I like about the V8 Pro is that it’s sampled in a way that feels true to the original,” he explains. Earlier digital emulations often fell short for him, lacking warmth or depth, but today’s technology finally delivers the nuance he expects.
“The V8 Pro brings that classic sound into the present,” he adds. “It has the warmth, the vibrato, and the musicality that make the Rhodes sing.”
“Doing Everything With You” is now available on streaming platforms and via Jason Miles’s Bandcamp page.
About the Rhodes V8 Pro
The Rhodes V8 Pro is the official software recreation of the acclaimed Rhodes MK8 electric piano. Built from over 30,000 samples and enhanced with advanced modelling, it captures the depth, warmth, and expressive nuance of the original instrument.
Expanding on the V8, the V8 Pro introduces deeper sound-shaping capabilities, including a detailed recreation of the MK8’s FX board with VCA compressor, phaser, bucket-brigade chorus, and delay. Designed for modern musicians and producers, it delivers the unmistakable Rhodes character with the flexibility of a fully digital workflow.
