This is a MUSIC forum. Irrelevant or disrespectful posts/topics will be removed by Admin. Please report any forum spam or inappropriate posts HERE.

All things Keys.

Moderators: bandmixmod1, jimmy990, spikedace

#101007 by SpencersForHire
Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:22 am
unless you use a rotating speaker......no. I use a Roland V-Combo, The Nord is nice, Have not tried the new Hammond yet.
The easiest way to get authintic sound (without getting a hernia) is to use a Motion Sound Amp. Its an amp with the rotating horn only, and it simulates bottom speaker. You cannot tell its not the real thing, as long as you have decent organ pluged into it.
#102056 by b3playr
Sat Feb 27, 2010 1:21 am
I gig with a b3 and two leslies so my comments may be a bit biased. Having said that, I too own a nord (stage). The Hammond sound is just ok. With all clones, the secret is running them through a real leslie or at least a motion sound. This will make your sound so close that most in the audience will not know the difference (I and the rest of real b3 players will). You still have to put up with the weight of the leslie, but you can reduce it a little by using a "short" leslie (i.e. 145). Just my $.02

#111191 by x-trade
Tue May 11, 2010 10:32 am
No-one has mentioned the Roland VK series.

I'm not sure about the 7 or 9, but I've played the VK-8 and it was fantastic!
Interesting use of the D-Beam controller too for rotary speed or more interestingly ring modulation or tonewheel break (shutdown).

I did try an XK (can't remember which one. It was new at a trade show in 2005) and it was quite nice, but didn't stand out to me like the VK did.

#111683 by Doc Lawson
Sat May 15, 2010 11:08 pm
HELLLNO!!!!!!!,maybe an XK3 with a REAL LESLIE.

#130491 by Dalevis
Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:40 pm
When I gig, I take out two keyboards: a Roland Fantom X7 and a Roland VK7 just for organs, although it's not the best (see below). Depending on the size of the gig is whether I take a Leslie out or not. Usually not. Say what you like about samples, they just can't cut it. A decent organ player plays with drawbar registers and effects all the time when he's playing, even just pads, and samples simply can't recreate that.

I just moved back to the US from the UK, where I had a Hammond XK-3 (with vintage Mullard valves) running through a Leslie 860 (solid-state) with a valve pre-amp, and it rocked (all now sold). I still own a proper/real Hammond A-100 (home model of the B-3 as noted above in the thread), so I have a 'point of reference', so to speak. The XK-3's built-in Leslie simulation isn't as good as the Roland VK7 (which I also currently own and believe to have been the best Leslie sim, although it's tonewheel modelling is very thin and outdated now). The new Korg CX3 has too springy of a keyboard feel for me. I just plain didn't like the Roland VK8 or the VR-760. Nord gets close with it's dual-manual machine (C2? I forget the model number at the moment) but still needs a real Leslie somewhere to make it fill out.

So: Hammond XK-3 has the closest raw tone but needs a Leslie
Roland VK7 has a great Leslie sim but is lacking in tone
VK8/VR760/CX3 have weak points for me in tone and/or feel
Nord is good enough but, like the Hammond XK3, needs a Leslie.

Personal opinion - everyone's got one!
#131781 by RedRiver
Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:07 pm
not much invested in the roland rt20, but i like the end result. this is a great pedal for 200.00. i use it on my yamaha 625 keyboard and get a b3 sound with numerous combinations.

#135078 by Douglas Rawlings
Tue Dec 28, 2010 3:56 pm
If you can find one, the old Yamaha Symphonic Ensemble is pretty darn good. I have an SK-20, and I'd never part with it.

#137307 by catfish Al
Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:43 am
in my home studio i use a e-mu b-3 module & a korg k-4 for leslie simulation..... my e-mu proteus 2000 has a couple of b-3 patches that are really great.. i do miss drawbars...

i used to have b-3 and 2 leslies.. that was then, and now is 63 years old..

Regards
ted

STUDENT:School of Hard Knocks...

#137672 by Brad1954
Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:40 am
I toured with a B3 in the 80s. Today i use a Roland VK-8m. It is about as real a sound as u can get. If u use a dual output controller that splits u have a B3. You could also check out the VK-8 itself and not the module version. That is all you would "EVER" need.

#139272 by ejand2ks
Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:04 pm
Korg CX-3. Don't care for the Nord as it has no DrawBars although I have seen on you tube where someone designed a MIDI DrawBars interface for it. It was very cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMLXWccxm8E

#139841 by VinB
Thu Feb 10, 2011 8:21 pm
As the picture indicates, I vote for the Nord C1. I think they did a great job with this build, but I still prefer to plug it into a real rotating speaker.

#151831 by Twangdaddy
Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:39 pm
VinB wrote:As the picture indicates, I vote for the Nord C1. I think they did a great job with this build, but I still prefer to plug it into a real rotating speaker.


Vin, Singer multi-instrumenatlist here in Morristown. Send me info on your band a [email protected]

#154454 by holdsg
Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:43 pm
I went the Hammond clonewheel route when I was looking for a dedicated organ to add to my rig. I ended up finding a used XK1 (the step down from the current state-of-the art XK3c that's been mentioned). It has the same sound engine, and just fewer bells and whistles, and costs about a $1k less. Works for me. I do wish the leslie sim was a little better, but really, we're just talking the difference between sounding good live and sounding like John Lord, live. I don't need to sound like John Lord. I pair my clonewheel it with a Korg M-50 76 and that combination covers everything I need in my 60s-70s CR cover band.

#154455 by holdsg
Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:30 am
I went the Hammond clonewheel route when I was looking for a dedicated organ to add to my rig. I ended up finding a used XK1 (the step down from the current state-of-the art XK3c that's been mentioned). It has the same sound engine, and just fewer bells and whistles, and costs about a $1k less. Works for me. I do wish the leslie sim was a little better, but really, we're just talking the difference between sounding good live and sounding like John Lord, live. I don't need to sound like John Lord. I pair my clonewheel it with a Korg M-50 76 and that combination covers everything I need in my 60s-70s CR cover band.

#160729 by Kurt Gepke
Thu Dec 22, 2011 7:46 am
I love my XK3c and to me, it sounds as good as my 1961 B3 w/L-145.
As for the Leslie sim on the XK3c, it's been improved since the XK3 and it's REALLY a chore to tell the difference.
In a genuine rotating speaker, you can 'feel' the sound. Actually, you feel the air pressure changing and it adds an ambience that you can't get out of a static speaker system. It's just a matter of physics and there's no work around.
That said, the average Joe claiming to be able to tell the difference by sitting in the audience only has a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly.

I'm VERY pleased that I don't have to worry about tilting the B3 to far and spilling oil while griping and cursing about the weight of the damn thing! I like this under the arm carry method and I'm planning on getting the lower manual in the near future. Somehow, it just doesn't feel right having a genuine Hammond with one manual. Know what I mean, Vern?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests