I don't want to hijack this thread any further either TWD...all I am going to say, is the organ sounds I got from Bo Tomlyn were awesome...I had several pro keyboardists wonder where/how I got that realistic sound, and I personally was very impressed, and I am a former owner of a B-3 with two 147RV Leslies, and I play a B-3 once or twice a week in a jam band.

Perhaps if you had used Bo's patches, you would better understand where I'm coming from...and maybe you would have kept your DX-7MkIIFD.

I can't send you a recording of the sound, so I really can't prove to you how it sounded, so other than telling you from a Hammond player's POV about my own impressions, there's little else I can do.

As far as starting another thread, I'm open to it as well, but, it isn't that important to me anymore, I just wanted to relate my past impressions.

I worked quite a bit with the DX7MkII, as I had just started with Yamaha, although I did do a lot of my own programming before that and helped with the creation of an awesome piano patch on the TX-816 Rack mount where each module did a particular part of the piano sound...one the hammer thunk, another the resonance, and so on. These synths were very powerful.

Did it sound exactly like a real Hammond B-3 with a Leslie...in short, no.

Nothing does.

But it did sound virtually identical to the Korg CX-3 (not the new one) with it's own rotary sim, which was an excellent Hammond clone at the time...we actually A/B'd them.

Of course, I also didn't have any drawbar control, variable percussion settings (Bo's only had 2nd harmonic on/off) or an authentic action, but it was darn good enough to enable me to leave the Hammond B-3 and Leslies home (and eventually sell them) and play the several tunes I used organ in, for example, A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Gimmie Good Lovin' (by the Rascals), In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Smoke On The Water, Light My Fire (the Farfisa patches worked great for that one).

I did examine Bo's patches, but it was so long ago, I can't remember any details, but they did use the last algorithm printed on the panel...the operators in a straight line, and the slow/fast Leslie was in the patch itself, and controlled by the mod wheel...it was more like a slow chorus effect and the rate increased when you pushed the wheel ahead.

I say again, nothing sounds exactly like a real B-3 and Leslie, including the newer clones, although they are getting awful close...a buddy of mine has the Hammond XK3C system (dual manuals) and it is astonishing, especially through a real Leslie.

Back then it got way too hard to haul the B-3 around, especially since most of our gigs were in second and third floor nightclubs, so, for the time, the DX7MKII with Bo's patches, did the trick.

I'm not sure a seperate thread on FM is warranted here on an arranger forum, but, feel free to start one if you think there'll be some interest.

I did however, enjoy the discussion we have had already...it brought back some great memories.

Ian