I am a huge fan of organs. I've been doing gigs with solos on Roland VK series organs and real leslie cabs and it feels great!

But I really want to get the vibes on the real thing without spending as much as the real thing costs. I want to go with a keyboard/software, where do I land?

Well, when it comes to keyboards I think Roland is the company that makes the best organ simulations. However, I think software based simulation is getting closer to the real thing. In my opinion it is generally the rotary speaker effect that they cannot simulate well enough, the organ sounds themself seem to get pretty dark and real.(I have heard real B3s only on records)

An interesting peace of software is NI B4. I have only tested it with a bad sound card but I thought it could compete with the organs in the Yamaha Tyros. What would be interesting to test would be B4 with a real leslie cab! Have any of you tried such a combination? What do you think?

Well, anyways, here is a comparison between the real thing and the NI B4. In my opinion the rotary effect of the B4 is not as good and the sound is a little sharper which makes a difference. Check it out:

Comparison between a real B3 and NI B4

BTW, what do you think about the B3 sounds in the Roland G-70? I have only heard the demos, but I thought it was good sounding, much better than for instance the Korg PA-1X...!

Best regards,
YamahaAndy

[This message has been edited by YamahaAndy (edited 03-13-2005).]

[This message has been edited by YamahaAndy (edited 03-13-2005).]

YamahaAndy, I use NI B4 thru Tannoy 15" Studio speakers and I think it sounds very good (emulates the real B3). You can also us samples (e.g., Sonic Implants).

I use a Hammond XM1 and a Pro3T motion sound speaker.very nice lightweight combination

Arno

Nothing beats the B4....not even the B3!!!

I agree Fran !

It is almost impossible to mike/record/amplify the B3 as good as the NI-B4 sounds.

Roel

G-70 drawbars are same as VK. If you like VK you'd like G-70.

I suspected that, it sounded too similar... It is not THAT great, but it has pretty good dark organ sound. I prefer B4 because it is sweeter on the whole range.

[This message has been edited by YamahaAndy (edited 03-14-2005).]

Cool... I will try something similar hopefully this week. It'll be fun to try it out and see how good it is. I have a feeling that the leslie should be taken from a real leslie cab in order to come as close to the real sound that you cannot hear the difference. I also think B4 is one of the best simulation units on the market for B3 organs.

[This message has been edited by YamahaAndy (edited 03-14-2005).]

I still play my B-3 four times a month at a local country club, where it "lives". I'm biased, but a "B" with a tube leslie...man, "ain't nothin like it!"


Russ

Lucky dog.
Remember that old "Monkees" tune ....
"I wanna B3?"