Tall&Fat Overdrive vs Vent II?

[lawman]

I have recently acquired a Lounsberry Tall&Fat and a Vent II for my XK3-c. Does anyone have any opinions as to which has the better overdrive?

[Baldwin Funster]

Tall and fat isn't an overdrive. Its a clean boost with a bit of eq. The vent overdrive is the best in the biz for organ in my opinion.

[AnotherScott]

T&F is both (i.e. it's also an overdrive). It emulates the AO28 tube preamp in the B3. Though two of the AO28's tubes are actually also physically present on the XK-3C, and employed in its own overdrive. Which makes me wonder if a T&F may make less of a difference on an XK3C than it would on some other clones. I've never tried either the T&F or an XK-3C, personally. That aside, AFAIK, the Vent emulates the tube overdrive of the amp in the Leslie, so having something else in the chain that also emulates the tube preamp of the organ itself would seem to at least have the potential of creating a more faithful total emulation. IIRC, a number of people have indeed run their clone into a T&F and then into a Vent and been very happy with the result. Whether any of those users were doing it on an XK3C (or XK5), I can't tell you.

[Delaware Dave]

As you have both units in your possession why don't you do a test and report back to us. Perhaps recorded audio of both so that we can hear it.

[elif]

I've had both. I sold the T & F but still have the vent. I dislike and don't use the overdrive on either. I suppose it's a question of what you want the overdrive to sound like, but for me, they're both too buzzy and the onset of the overdrive/distortion effect is too abrupt. That is, a slight increase in volume above the overdrive threshold creates a large change in the overdrive effect. I want something more subtle. Of the two, I suppose I'd give a nod to the vent.

[Doerfler]

try this. Mono out of the XK3c into the T&F, then into the Vent II. Stereo out of the Vent II into your favorite dual speaker system. Adjust knobs to taste. Enjoy.

[Pa Gherkin]

try this. Mono out of the XK3c into the T&F, then into the Vent II. Stereo out of the Vent II into your favorite dual speaker system. Adjust knobs to taste. Enjoy.

 

Dave's recipe would be your optimal signal chain. One of my rigs runs the XK3C into a Vent ll and it needs neither signal boost nor any more grit. AnotherScott is right in saying the XK3C doesn't really need the T&F but I can say the SK2 would benefit from a T&F between it and the Vent for maximum grind.

[lawman]

AnotherScott has opened my eyes. My original question was based on my belief that overdrive was overdrive, and I wanted to focus on either the Tall&Fat or the Vent II for my drive, whichever might be "best." However, now it looks like I'm actually dealing with two different types, the Tall&Fat drive emulating the AO-28 preamp in the guts of a Hammond organ, and the Vent II drive emulating the overdrive of the tubes in a Leslie's internal amp. Two different types of drive. So now I'm using the Tall&Fat to warm up the sound a little, then the Vent II for the grit or dirt that I usually think of as "distortion." Question asked and answered! Thanks, everybody.

[Paul Harrison]

 

I run my clonewheel through a Tall & Fat into a Ventilator. The T&F sits beside the keyboard within easy reach, and the Vent sits on the floor where I rarely adjust it. I usually leave the Drive control on the Vent around 12-1 o'clock, and I dial the Fat (drive) control on the T&F down around 9 o'clock for a touch of grease on jazz, or up around 11-12 o'clock for more growl on blues and rock, adjusting the Tall (level) control to keep the gain even. The overdrives on the T&F and Vent play well together and both respond with a smooth increase as the volume is raised via the expression pedal.