Blue3 questions

[funkyhammond]

I've been comparing the latest demos of VB3-II and Blue3. I'm looking at them mostly for a soul jazz context. There are different things that I prefer about both of them. I haven't dug into the parameters of Blue3 too much yet, so I'm wondering if anyone might have some suggestions.

 

1) I like the up-front sound of VB3-II because it reminds me more of sitting near my Leslie rather than listening to a recording of a mic'ed up Leslie. Any suggestions for getting a bit more of a direct up-front sound from the Blue3 rotary sim?

 

2) I like being able to control where the Leslie stops in stop mode. Is there a way to do that in Blue3? And/or is there a way to set up the Leslie to color the sound less so you don't get a really muffled sound sometimes if the horn stops is a bad spot? (Maybe related to point 1 above).

 

3) The top octave seems a bit too loud with a typical 888.. type register. (In contrast, the VB3-II seems a bit too quiet in the top octave.) I want the soup that's not too cold or too hot, but just right. Any suggestions to adjust that in Blue3? (I already tried using EQ to roll off a bit of high-mids but that also muffled the mids and key click).

 

4) I like a tiny bit of crosstalk/leakage but the particular sound of the Blue3 crosstalk sounds a bit weird to me. It seems to emphasize the middle harmonics too much and actually changes the tone of the sound. I realize that different Hammonds age differently but my own A-100 and clonewheels I've played don't emphasize the middle harmonics so much. I don't know if there is any way to adjust this in Blue3 other than completely dialing off all crosstalk.

 

Overall, I really like the sound of Blue3, the emulation of tube saturation, and it's very low latency (something that has always bugged me a bit about VB3). I'd like to be able to tweek some of the things above. I think the deal breaker right now is that I get wildly different tones in stop mode.

[funkyhammond]

I should clarify something. I have already tried adjusting the mic setup so that the distance is close. This gives a more up-close sound but creates its own problems. The tone changes a lot as the horn/drum rotates, exacerbating the stop issue I'm having, and it also might be what is causing the top octave from sounding too loud.

[TWB121234]

I won't venture to answer all your questions, but you can definitely front stop the Leslie. On the edit page there is a button to switch front stop on and off.

 

I have Blue 3, VB3, B5 newest version, Arturia B3 V2, a Mojo 61, and probably some others. Blue 3 and VB3 are my favorite software versions, B5 is also good. It's 6 of one half-dozen of the other. All are very tweakable and very usable, at least for my needs. A blessing of abundance. Cheers

[funkyhammond]

Thanks for pointing out the Front Stop switch. I missed it because I thought that button was part of the Memphis feature. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't seem to be working for me! I can still quickly turn corale on and off to move the horn a bit and get different stopped tones. I noticed the drum is also a big part of the tone variation, so I even tried turning on the Memphis switch (which I don't like but just did as a test) and I can still hear changes in stopping the horn at different spots. Also tried changing the mic placement between front and back but still the stopped sound is not consistent.

[BenWaB3]

What would be really great is if these software emulations, and the hardware clones too, had a way to adjust the position of the stopped rotor to the virtual mic. They always stop facing it squarely and then when you go to tremolo the whole eq curve goes out of whack. A way to set it where the stopped rotors stopped at a certain angle away from the mic would fix the problem.

[GG Audio]

Hey there,

 

Here are a few suggestions to your questions:

 

To get a more "up-front" sound, try: turning down the Reverb and Ambience, decreasing the mic Distance. The Distance parameter has a HUGE impact on the sound of the Leslie and because of the way most recordings are done, especially live recordings, we tend to hear close micd Leslies quite often.

 

There isn't a way to control where the horn and bass rotors stop except for the Front Stop button. Engaging that will predictably stop the rotors in the same front position regardless of where the mics are. Try the Cabinet view to see what's going on better.

 

If you feel like the top octave is a bit hot, here's a couple of things to try: on the Edit page, try adjusting the the High and High Mid Tonewheel Levels. You can also try another tonewheel set. There's more than 30 to try. Also, the Tonewheel Levels and tonewheel set will affect the sound of the Crosstalk.

 

Hope that helps! And feel free to send me an email directly from our website.

 

Cheers!

[funkyhammond]

What would be really great is if these software emulations, and the hardware clones too, had a way to adjust the position of the stopped rotor to the virtual mic. They always stop facing it squarely and then when you go to tremolo the whole eq curve goes out of whack. A way to set it where the stopped rotors stopped at a certain angle away from the mic would fix the problem.

 

BTW, it turns out VB3-II has this feature. You can set the stop position, although the documentation states it's an approximate position that may vary a bit (something about maintaining the physics).

[funkyhammond]

Hey there,

 

Here are a few suggestions to your questions:

 

To get a more "up-front" sound, try: turning down the Reverb and Ambience, decreasing the mic Distance. The Distance parameter has a HUGE impact on the sound of the Leslie and because of the way most recordings are done, especially live recordings, we tend to hear close micd Leslies quite often.

 

There isn't a way to control where the horn and bass rotors stop except for the Front Stop button. Engaging that will predictably stop the rotors in the same front position regardless of where the mics are. Try the Cabinet view to see what's going on better.

 

If you feel like the top octave is a bit hot, here's a couple of things to try: on the Edit page, try adjusting the the High and High Mid Tonewheel Levels. You can also try another tonewheel set. There's more than 30 to try. Also, the Tonewheel Levels and tonewheel set will affect the sound of the Crosstalk.

 

Hope that helps! And feel free to send me an email directly from our website.

 

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the reply! I'll give it another shot.

[hardware]

Overall, I really like the sound of Blue3, the emulation of tube saturation, and it's very low latency (something that has always bugged me a bit about VB3). I'd like to be able to tweek some of the things above. I think the deal breaker right now is that I get wildly different tones in stop mode.

 

Stop on most fake Leslies is God Awful.

For example on Melbas MRotary if was so bad I badgered the developer.

Nobody else in the forum used stop or they wouldve heard.

The work around was to set Stop @ .01 as the LFO rate so it un noticeable as far as Rotary motion is concerned, and got rid of that nullified dull sound.

 

I was Relieved my HX-3 sounds exactly as it should with no tone or volume changes.

Its the first thing I check on clones and softies.