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Hammond SKX....new hammond board


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If it's VASE III, that means I'm definitely sticking with my Viscount Legend Live and iPad for EVs (Neo Soul Keys, Ravenscroft 275 and Poison synth) for the foreseeable future when I want to gig with just a dual manual organ.

Yamaha U1 Upright, Roland Fantom 8, Nord Stage 4 HA73, Nord Wave 2, Korg Nautilus 73, Viscount Legend Live, Lots of Mainstage/VST Libraries

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No mention of any sonic improvements at all

Maybe improved piano/EP? It mentions "the inclusion of hi-definition acoustic and electric pianos." (Also something about the action feeling different for piano voices, so maybe there's an enhancement there.)

 

just improved features extra drawbars, ability to split and layer two extra voices, more extra voice memory, more banks of favorites, and an 11-pin jack.

Good features, though. In fact, the inability to have more than one bank of ten Favorites or to do a split/layer where one voice was not an organ were two of my biggest complaints about the SK1. The latter made it pretty useless for LH bass (other than "organ bass"). And more Favorites would be especially nice if you're using the MIDI functionality (i.e. to add more sounds from an iPad or whatever). A second manual without a second set of drawbars always seemed a bit weird to me, and more EV memory is good, and especially since the drawbars didn't send continuous MIDI, the fact that the new second set can is an especially nice MIDI improvement for controlling external sounds, so they are useful enhancements.

 

I hope they also now support putting the same one EV across both manuals on an SK2... in lieu of 88 keys, I always thought it would be cool to put the piano on both 61s, octave shifted apart.

 

I had some other issues with the SK, which I'd be pleasantly surprised to see addressed. All the knobs sent out the same MIDI CC (fixed at 6), which was limiting (and kind of weird). You couldn't prevent the expression pedal from affecting a zone (because the min and max settings ranges are too far apart, they don't overlap, so you can't, say, set them both to 127). IIRC, you could not select a different top voice while continuing to play organ uninterrupted on the bottom. And there was some ergonomic/interface stuff... I haven't seen a good pic of the panel yet, maybe some of that is addressed. And when they do bring these enhancements to a 73, of course I want to see the low E and pitch/mod wheels which there is plenty of room for there!

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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No pitch bend still.

They did program in a useful pedal workaround for that on the SK1/SK2, though unfortunately it only affected internal voices. It would be nice if they at least added MIDI pitch bend to that same pedal function.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Yup, VASE III disappointing but predictable. As I said, I can't imagine Hammond will want to cannibalise the XK5 engine yet for fear of undermining that product's sales.

 

It'll be interesting to see what they've achieved with the extra voices. It's at least useful that they've removed the restriction on combining types of sound (essentially getting one up on the Electro, in one sense at least) but the samples need to have improved dramatically.

Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37

Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D

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I'll be honest I'm not so worried about the VASE III, I'm more interested in the ergonomics of the thing. I've had my Electro 4D for a while and 90% of what I use it for is Hammond, but I've come to the limit of what I can do with a single manual and a single set of drawbars. But I also need the extra EP/AP voices for the 10% of the time when I'm bringing it to a jam and someone wants to sing something that needs them. It does all depend if it's priced as a replacement for the SK2 or as a intermediate between the SK2 and the XK5. I can't think they could justify the latter if it's still got the old engine though.
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Yeah, unless I'm forgetting something, the SKX may be the only 2-manual clonewheel that has 2 sets of drawbars and a piano sound. Seems like a nice niche to have for yourself.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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True, it's not clear exactly whether "Vase III" means "the exact same sound as previous models." I thought the chorus in the demo video sounded better than the current Sk. And if that's true, then there's hope for the overdrive, which I found to be their biggest weakness.

I agree about the overdrive, and I suspect that the overdrive has nothing to do with "Vase III" which is described as their system of recreating the sound/behavior of the tonewheels (apparently superseded in the XK5 not by "Vase IV" but rather by "MTW"). I'm not sure, but I think VASE III employed phase-locked samples, and MTW is fully modeled.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Yeah, unless I'm forgetting something, the SKX may be the only 2-manual clonewheel that has 2 sets of drawbars and a piano sound. Seems like a nice niche to have for yourself.

The DMC-122 with Gemini is probably the only real competitor on features. It had a big edge being able to have two non-organ sounds at the same time, but Hammond catches up on that feature now.

"If you can't dazzle them with dexterity, baffle them with bullshit."
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I couldn't find specifics on the keybed used, even when squinting my eyes. Is it Fatar or proprietary Hammond like most (but not all) of the XK series?

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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Yeah, unless I'm forgetting something, the SKX may be the only 2-manual clonewheel that has 2 sets of drawbars and a piano sound. Seems like a nice niche to have for yourself.

The DMC-122 with Gemini is probably the only real competitor on features. It had a big edge being able to have two non-organ sounds at the same time, but Hammond catches up on that feature now.

Ah yes, forgot that one! And as a controller, that's still got the benefit of pitch/mod wheels and aftertouch.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I couldn't find specifics on the keybed used, even when squinting my eyes. Is it Fatar or proprietary Hammond like most (but not all) of the XK series?

 

Bound to be Fatar. Actually, I think the keybed is one of the best things about the SK series, at least for organ playing. Very nicely balanced.

Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37

Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D

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Let's hope the SKX has some good pipe organ sounds in it. They're terrible in every other instrument Hammond makes, just like they're terrible in Nord and other drawbar organs. The only drawbar organ, that I've heard, that has good, realistic pipe organ sounds in it, is the Dexivell J7. That would be handy for churches that have a diverse music program.
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Yeah, unless I'm forgetting something, the SKX may be the only 2-manual clonewheel that has 2 sets of drawbars and a piano sound. Seems like a nice niche to have for yourself.

The DMC-122 with Gemini is probably the only real competitor on features. It had a big edge being able to have two non-organ sounds at the same time, but Hammond catches up on that feature now.

 

Too bad the DMC-122 has terrible pipe organ sounds in it. Otherwise it might be perfect for some churches.

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Let's hope the SKX has some good pipe organ sounds in it. They're terrible in every other instrument Hammond makes, just like they're terrible in Nord and other drawbar organs.

Really, that surprises me... I thought the pipe organs in the SK1 were excellent.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Let's hope the SKX has some good pipe organ sounds in it. They're terrible in every other instrument Hammond makes, just like they're terrible in Nord and other drawbar organs.

 

I owned a Nord C2 for a while. I thought the pipe organs were very good.

What are you using for amplification?

:nopity:
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I thought the pipe organs in the SK1 were excellent.

 

From the demos I've heard, I agree, very nice! I was hoping Hammond would expand on that strength in newer clonewheels.

"It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule."

"You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden

 

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Pipe organ geekery is as bad as Hammond geekery, but I've never heard great pipe organ sounds on these clones either.

 

Part of it is that I like German baroque stops like Silbermann organs with lots of chiff and character, and nobody has modelled or sampled these yet.

Moe

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Everyone's got different tastes for sure. The Dexibell pipe organs are to my ears the worst I've ever heard, outside of the Korg M1.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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"The SKX's keying system replicates the feel of a weighted keyboard when playing piano-type voices, yet remains supple and responsive to every Hammond technique."

 

Sorry but this sounds like voodoo - or maybe it's the keys from the SK1-88 - and I'm not expecting much of the new extra voices, but hopefully I can load them into my SK2 anyways, any new acoustic piano sample would be an improvement. And I can't quite make out whether the 2 extra voices get two separate fx chains or not?

Gig keys: Hammond SKpro, Korg Vox Continental, Crumar Mojo 61, Crumar Mojo Pedals

 

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Does VaseIII refer to the organ tone or the EVs?

"The SKX's keying system replicates the feel of a weighted keyboard when playing piano-type voices, yet remains supple and responsive to every Hammond technique."

 

Sorry but this sounds like voodoo - or maybe it's the keys from the SK1-88 - and I'm not expecting much of the new extra voices, but hopefully I can load them into my SK2 anyways, any new acoustic piano sample would be an improvement. And I can't quite make out whether the 2 extra voices get two separate fx chains or not?

 

I'd imagine this is just a fancy way of saying "we changed the key response a lot for piano." I wouldn't be opposed to voodoo, however...

Hammond SKX

Mainstage 3

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some SK pipe organs...

 

This doesn't have the best quality, but I like it for showing the versatility of being able to alter the sound on the fly (start at about 8:45)

 

[video:youtube]

 

and this one...

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZZWaUFw5R4

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Yeah, unless I'm forgetting something, the SKX may be the only 2-manual clonewheel that has 2 sets of drawbars and a piano sound. Seems like a nice niche to have for yourself.

The DMC-122 with Gemini is probably the only real competitor on features. It had a big edge being able to have two non-organ sounds at the same time, but Hammond catches up on that feature now.

 

Too bad the DMC-122 has terrible pipe organ sounds in it. Otherwise it might be perfect for some churches.

 

I you want good pipe organ sounds, the one to get is the Dexibell Classico L3 ---- remarkable - plus it has a wide variety of other sounds also, including their wonderful AP.

Thomas Shea

Nebraska

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Yeah, unless I'm forgetting something, the SKX may be the only 2-manual clonewheel that has 2 sets of drawbars and a piano sound. Seems like a nice niche to have for yourself.

 

I think it will have a unique position since it has two manuals and a wide variety of sounds....... I am looking forward to hearing the videos.

 

 

Thomas Shea

Nebraska

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