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Hammond Teaser ???


M_G

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Unfortunate about the mono limitation... even 4 (preferably 6) note poly with a mono switch would have been welcome.

 

 

Here"s my guess - their budgeted CPU can"t handle their VA synth engine with additional polyphony.

 

For comparison, Nord Stage 3 has a 16 voice poly synth which is basically most of a Lead 2. So, probably additional DSP in the Nords.

 

XKPro will have to be priced under a Stage 3.

 

Disagree. I can't see any cut corners here, they appear to have thrown everything into this, right down to an internal power supply which the other SK units don't have, the only compromise being front panel real estate choices, with the larger screen making up for it. I'd bet mono synth was a conscious choice, and it has far more performance controls than a Nord Stage synth. It will compete with the Nord Stage Compact with a price point to match.

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

 

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The features certainly look enticing, but I consider the E-to-E layout a major blunder. IMO if you're walking left-hand organ bass on an E-to-E layout, then unless you're willing to sacrifice the bottom four notes (which I'm not), what you have is not actually a 73-note board at all; it's a 61-note board with 8 extra useless keys taking up weight and space on the bottom, and 4 on the top. Unfortunately that alone makes it a hard pass for me. The 61-key version shows promise though. Apart from price, the other great unknown is how much they've improved the piano and EP sounds. Looking forward to more demos.
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Unfortunate about the mono limitation... even 4 (preferably 6) note poly with a mono switch would have been welcome.

 

 

Here"s my guess - their budgeted CPU can"t handle their VA synth engine with additional polyphony.

 

For comparison, Nord Stage 3 has a 16 voice poly synth which is basically most of a Lead 2. So, probably additional DSP in the Nords.

 

XKPro will have to be priced under a Stage 3.

 

Disagree. I can't see any cut corners here, they appear to have thrown everything into this, right down to an internal power supply which the other SK units don't have, the only compromise being front panel real estate choices, with the larger screen making up for it. I'd bet mono synth was a conscious choice, and it has far more performance controls than a Nord Stage synth. It will compete with the Nord Stage Compact with a price point to match.

 

It also doesn"t appear to have user sample space, and Hammond/Suzuki haven"t yet invested in an extensive sample library to pick and choose from.

 

None of these things are to say SKPro won"t be a compelling instrument to own and play, just that there are always compromise decisions made bringing a mass produced instrument to market. It would be nice if their action choice is superior to the Nord Stage Compact. I"m confident their B3 model and Leslie sim is preferable.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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It would be nice if their action choice is superior to the Nord Stage Compact. I"m confident their B3 model and Leslie sim is preferable.

 

I expect it will be a Fatar TP8O, so same as the Compact but reports here suggest the Hammond isn't quite so tightly sprung, but I'd be happy to be wrong, I'd like a lighter more Hammond-like key action, even for AP/EP.

 

Hopefully you can also set the minimum Leslie tremolo speed below the limit on the SK1/2/X, there's more than a few comments including mine about it being a tad too fast. I haven't heard/played an XK-5 so I can't comment on the newer Leslie fx.

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

 

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What might a "virtual multi-contact system" be? Is it possible to replicate the functioning of multi-contacts without actually having multi-contacts? My tiny little brain isn't coming up with anything.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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What might a "virtual multi-contact system" be? Is it possible to replicate the functioning of multi-contacts without actually having multi-contacts? My tiny little brain isn't coming up with anything.

 

VB3 II / Mojo / Gemini simulates 9 virtual key contacts. So your Mojo has it. Though no information yet about the SKpro implementation.

 

Hopefully now the brochure is out they can release Jim from his NDA and we'll see a video soon.

 

Having said that, I've been told by a distributor here that Fatar shut their factory for a while due to Covid and are way behind filling orders, so if the SKpro does indeed use a TP8O then we may have a longer wait than usual to see it in stores.

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

 

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It also doesn"t appear to have user sample space, and Hammond/Suzuki haven"t yet invested in an extensive sample library to pick and choose from.

 

None of these things are to say SKPro won"t be a compelling instrument to own and play, just that there are always compromise decisions made bringing a mass produced instrument to market.

 

I don't see the total absence of feature like loading user samples as a compromise, but in the context of making the obvious comparison with a Nord Stage I take your point.

 

The brochure says 300 piano/ensemble factory patches so there's got to be a big sample library they've developed or acquired.

 

Interestingly it also says: Piano/Ensemble section (which is where you're going to have to get poly synth sounds from): "component: 4; LFO: 2"

 

and: "All Piano/Ensemble voices can be FULLY EDITED. Sample choice, EG, Filter, LFO and other parameters are now in your control and can be saved as a Patch".

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

 

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Dave, I get what you're saying.

My concern is strictly for recording. Personally, I don't like the stereo, 2 mics on the treble horn effect... not a fan of hearing the organ bounce back & forth L to R. I like to pan high rotor R & low rotor L, so the organ travels between the stereo field depending on which register is dominant at the moment. It's just sounds more organic - no pun intended - to me. I do a fair amount of organ OD's for people, and if they want the stereo 2 mic effect I give them a second high track, delayed a few ms. They pan the two highs L&R, and put the lows C, and everybody's happy.

I'm using an A100 & a 122, although if I could find a clone that sounds as good and have the ability to record direct, that would be cool. And that's where my L/R vs high/low concern kicks in.

On club gigs I'm perfectly happy to play my SK1 in stereo with two powered monitors, but for recording I need the high/low option.

 

Incidentally, the Mojo & MojoXT does have that output option, but I haven't been able to try one out. The newer Mojo Classic, does not offer that option, btw...

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I"m a 76"er advocate, but still miss a low D from time to time. I agree with some others that this 73 would be MUCH more useful if it were C to C.

61 is just too cramped for me on piano and when using splits. However really getting into my VR09 again since installing a new pitch paddle. The high trigger is fantastic on the organ.

Being a local bar gig hack, I"ve not been a high-end shopper, but of course Stage 3 Compact often invades dreamland. Now here"s another to lust for.

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Oh Lord, when I look at the PdF I get instant GAS!

 

It is more that I hoped for:

XK5 Engine (so I can use my C3 MG Custom Set)

73 Keys and new Pianos

Mod and Pitch Wheel

New Leslie Sim

11 pin Out

 

AND tadaaaa: INTERNAL Power supply.!!!

 

I think I have to start to save some money.....

Studio: Hammond XK5-XLK5,  Roland Fantom 8, Kurzweil PC3A6, Prophet 5, Moog Sub37, Neo Vent, HX3-Expander, LB Organ Grinder

Live: Yamaha CP88, Yamaha Motif Rack ES, Hammond SKX Pro, Hammond XB2-HX3,  Kurzweil PC3-61, Leslie 251, Roland SA1000, Neo Vent2

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Ah, I remember the days when our main complaint was that these keyboards were F to F, and that if only they were E to E instead all of our problems would be solved!

 

I did feel a little bad about posting the link to be honest, but it was already out in the wider interwebs when we found it, and someone would have posted it here eventually.

Hammond SKX

Mainstage 3

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I did feel a little bad about posting the link to be honest, but it was already out in the wider interwebs when we found it, and someone would have posted it here eventually.

 

Don't feel bad. I'm miffed at whoever leaked it. I've been involved in this project for two years and we've been keeping really tight-lipped about it.

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I'm a VR09 owner and I've been hemming and hawwing about getting a VR730. This is jolly interesting and looks like it will cover the limitations of the rubbishy overdrive and hopefully have better realised parameters for the effects. It's not got a looper which is a little disappointing but...

 

British Racing Green? Am I that vain? ohohohohoh, ohhhhh yes.

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I agree with some others that this 73 would be MUCH more useful if it were C to C.

That's at least 3 of us, in our small sample of people who care enough about this stuff to be participating in this thread in the first place. ;-)

 

I understand 73 key E-to-E on a hammer action board, because that was the scope of a 73 key Rhodes. But if a board is an organ first and a piano second, I think pretty much any Hammond player really wants to be able to slide to that top C with abandon, and if any manufacturer should understand that, it should be Hammond. (I hadn't even considered Josh's point about wanting to cover LH bass starting on C, if the bass you're emulating is based on Hammond bass pedals.)

 

I used to think one problem might have been that Fatar (who supplies so many of the actions) did not make a 73 key C-to-C option (that had long been given as a reason that numerous 73's started on F rather than a more useful E), but they have been making a 73-key C-to-C since the first Numa Organ (it had an octave of reverse keys, but those actual keys are available in either color).

 

Ironically, Korg who has used 73-key C-to-C on numerous non-hammer boards (Krome, M50, M3) opted for E-to-E on their 9-drawbar emulating Vox Continental. Which, it turns out, is not so bad, because that board is actually a better Rhodes emulator than it is a Hammond emulator. ;-)

 

One thing I'll say for Hammond, though, is that on the SK1, at least they gave you the option of silencing the keys above the high C. It's not quite the same, but at least you can swipe up without accidentally triggering an ugly D. It would have also been interesting if there were an option, not to silence those keys above C, but to make them all trigger C when playing only organ sounds.

 

I've had one for over four months.
I'm jealous! Maybe you know why it's E-to-E... and maybe you can pass along my suggestion that they allow the player to make every note above that high C play a C! Or do you think that's too weird? ;-)

 

My concern is strictly for recording. Personally, I don't like the stereo, 2 mics on the treble horn effect... not a fan of hearing the organ bounce back & forth L to R.

You don't have to pan a stereo organ sound hard L/R, you can locate L/R just slightly apart from each other, to get some more "motion" out of it without making it sound like the Leslie is 10 feet wide. (Or however far apart your speakrs are.)

 

I do a fair amount of organ OD's for people, and if they want the stereo 2 mic effect I give them a second high track, delayed a few ms. They pan the two highs L&R, and put the lows C, and everybody's happy.

Clever idea! I suspect even a few ms is too much, considering how fast the horns spin and how close the two sides are (and also the "delay" should be different for chorale vs tremolo). But I guess it doesn't matter, if your goal is simply to get something you like, rather than to be "authentic."

 

On club gigs I'm perfectly happy to play my SK1 in stereo with two powered monitors, but for recording I need the high/low option.

For recording, I wonder if you could get reasonably close just taking a mono out and putting it on two tracks, one EQ'd to cut what's under 800 Hz or whatever, and the other to cut the frequencies above. Wouldn't that give you much of the same effect? (At least as much as the few-ms delay emulates the effect of the left-right split! ;-) )

 

I have thought that a top-over-bottom split into two speakers would be an interesting thing to try live. (Or at least for live playing at home... I tend to want to keep my live rig simple!)

 

Incidentally, the Mojo & MojoXT does have that output option, but I haven't been able to try one out. The newer Mojo Classic, does not offer that option, btw...

Interesting. I wonder about the Mojo61 and Gemini...?

 

With assignable outs on the SK Pro, yes, it would be great to see an option to send the "horn" out in stereo over one pair of outputs, and the "woofer" (whether stereo, or even just mono) out its own. Hey, Jim?? ETA: Doesn't look like it... PDF says, "individual outputs allow the assignment of the PIANO, ENSEMBLE or MONO SYNTH Sections to two separate audio outputs."

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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Also, My favourite paragraph of the illegal pdf.

 

"Hammond's exclusive ProChord feature permits the player to reproduce complex harmonies by playing a single-note melody with the right hand and chords with the left hand." (No chords with the left hand allowed unless you turn on ProChord?)

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VB3 II / Mojo / Gemini simulates 9 virtual key contacts. So your Mojo has it.

The virtual simulation of a key contact system would be that if you had 9 drawbars out you would hear all nine drawbars come in individually in an additive fashion as you depressed a key slowly downward. I have a Gemini module and this phenonenom does not occur for the VB3 organ. If it virtually occurs then it is not hardware dependent, it would be software creating the phenonenom.

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

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I agree with some others that this 73 would be MUCH more useful if it were C to C.

 

IMO, everything "organ clone" coming w/ extra soundsets like AP, EP, ensemble type and synth, should be A - C (64 or 75) keys w/ octave up/down buttons AND a momentary 1-octave-up ft.-switch in addition.

 

I don´t understand why no one makes this when a orig. old wurli already had a 64-key A-C action.

 

A.C.

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VB3 II / Mojo / Gemini simulates 9 virtual key contacts. So your Mojo has it.

The virtual simulation of a key contact system would be that if you had 9 drawbars out you would hear all nine drawbars come in individually in an additive fashion as you depressed a key slowly downward. I have a Gemini module and this phenonenom does not occur for the VB3 organ. If it virtually occurs then it is not hardware dependent, it would be software creating the phenonenom.

Acoustic Samples B5 uses velocity to achieve this affect. However since velocity use the lower trigger point for note-on messages it defeat the advantage of using the upper trigger point for a much faster response.

As I understand it, the XK5 uses a 3 sensor action, and by delaying some of the virtual drawbar contacts, the 9 are scattered in time. So maybe 1 comes in at the high trigger point, three more come in at different points a hair later but still probably before the middle sensor is reached, and the middle sensor does the same thing for four more virtual contacts, and the last one comes in at the bottom sensor, or something along those lines. I suppose the same thing could be done with a 2-sensor action, with just a little less faithfullness in terms of your finger positioning (key depth) having any impact on the result. You would need 9 sensor locations (or a continuous optical sensor) to be able to be entirely faithful. The fewer actual sensors, the more would need to be be simulated for the points in between. (Actually, even a high trigger alone could create a similar effect, if the software just adds miniscule delays to some drawbar triggers instead of triggering all of them right away.)

 

Implementing this over MIDI adds another layer of complication, since for a given key depression on a given MIDI channel, "Note On" (with or without velocity information) is only a single event. I'd be curious to know, on an XK5, if you play a note slowly such that you can hear the mid-point at which additional "drawbar contacts" are made, what happens if you record that MIDI into a DAW, and then send that MIDI back to the XK5. If the DAW only sees it as a single MIDI Note On event, the XK5 won't have the information it needs to fully duplicate that performance on playback.

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 agree with some others that this 73 would be MUCH more useful if it were C to C.

 

IMO, everything "organ clone" coming w/ extra soundsets like AP, EP, ensemble type and synth, should be A - C (64 or 75) keys w/ octave up/down buttons AND a momentary 1-octave-up ft.-switch in addition.

 

I don´t understand why no one makes this when a orig. old wurli already had a 64-key A-C action.

 

A.C.

When i had my ensoniq sd1 i programmed a footswitch to trigger an octave up then back down on the pianos. Worked out well as a workaround.

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

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I agree with some others that this 73 would be MUCH more useful if it were C to C.

 

IMO, everything "organ clone" coming w/ extra soundsets like AP, EP, ensemble type and synth, should be A - C (64 or 75) keys w/ octave up/down buttons AND a momentary 1-octave-up ft.-switch in addition.

 

I don´t understand why no one makes this when a orig. old wurli already had a 64-key A-C action.

A 73 that stops at C on the top still fully encompasses the Wurli range nicely, just with some extra keys on bottom, which don't bother me. Stopping at A is actually a detriment for emulating clavinet (or typical harpsichord), which is just as valuable as Wurli.

 

I've always thought that 69 keys E-to-C would be the perfect compact action... it is the smallest size that encompasses 61-key organ C-to-C, 64-key wurli A-to-C, 60-key clav F-to-F, plus one more key on bottom so splitting the keyboard for LH bass still gives you your low E.

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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Too bad an 88 key version won't be available from the start (at least per the leaked PDF). Hopefully at some point it will be, like the SK1-88. And move the pitch/mod/leslie controls to the top so the total length won't be much more than the 73 & only a few pounds more ~28(?). That seems much more useful for a 1 keyboard setup. Perhaps Yamaha will take care of that desire w/a "YC-88" at some point.
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Stopping at A is actually a detriment for emulating clavinet (or typical harpsichord).

 

It matters how it sounds.

The low F on a clavinet never sounded lower than the low A on a piano,- in fact it sounds like a F above the low E of a Rhodes.

 

So when they design an A - C action and you have octave transpose switches AND the momentary oct-up ft. switch, w 75 key design, it covers all, the AP, the Rhodes 88 or 73, Wurli, clavinet and organ.

It also doesn´t matter if it´s authentic or not,- also the SK Pro isn´t an authentic instrument and even it comes w/ a 61-key C - C waterfall action and a set of drawbar- sliders/faders.

 

When someone wants the original keyspan of the old electromagnetic instruments,- he should buy these and be happy.

 

For a digital instrument covering AP and wurli as well as the other, organ included,- A - C were the best and 75 keys even better, because of more keys in the left hand portion when splitting organ into lower/upper manuals.

I don´t care when low B, Bb and A aren´t authentic for organ,- just only don´t play these or do when you want.

But when playing a piano patch, they are there.

 

You also don´t have authentic bottom key w/ a common 76 keys action E - G as also not F - F or E - E

 

A.C.

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I like the British racing green. If an SK-Pro and Nord Piano were in the same rig it would be a festive look.

 

The organ section intrigues me; the features revealed so far raise the bar for a mid-priced (I'd hope...) performance keyboard. The specs on the synth section point to a very high-quality VA. I suspect that players will be able to get some intense leads, basses and special effect patches out of that. Being that the synth is monophonic, I'm curious as to how much further developed the sampled instrument section is - vs. the original SK series. To be competitive with current, similar instruments it would need a solid collection of polysynth samples and patches. Beyond the organ section, simply having an expanded offering of keyboard/orchestral instruments plus a mono synth would make it come up short - as compared to a Stage 3 Compact, or to a lesser degree a couple of other instruments with less pedigreed organ engines.

 

Still, it looks and sounds great. Looking forward to hearing the pianos. I've always liked the Yamaha C7 sample set in the SK, and thought that with further development it could be a stellar DP voice.

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stopping at A is actually a detriment for emulating clavinet (or typical harpsichord).

 

It matters how it sounds.

The low F on a clavinet never sounded lower than the low A on a piano,- in fact it sounds like a F above the low E of a Rhodes.

I was saying the low F of a clav requires a lower key than the low A of a Wurli, or more specifcally, that the 60-key F-F keyspan of a clav is not encompassed in the keyspan of a 64-key A-C Wurli, you need to go down a few more keys.

 

It also doesn´t matter if it´s authentic or not...You also don´t have authentic bottom key w/ a common 76 keys action E - G as also not F - F or E - E

I don't care about an authentic bottom key. Only a top key, and only for organ, because sliding up to the C is a classic Hammond maneuver that is impeded by having any other top key. Other than that, extra keys on top or bottom don't bother me. I would just like to be able to encompass, at a minimum, the 61 notes of a Hammond manual, the 64 notes of a Wurli, and the 60 notes of a Clav. 68 keys will do that, but I'd add the 69th, the low E, just to facilitate left hand bass splits. That, to me, is the most compact (most portable) good design to cover all these usages. Of course, if you also want to better facilitate splits, or acoustic piano, or organ bass as Josh said, more keys below that would be useful, too. Whether it's 73 down to C, 76 down to A, or all 88. Regardless, if it's an organ oriented board, I'd want the top key to be a C.

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'd bet mono synth was a conscious choice, and it has far more performance controls than a Nord Stage synth.

Hmmm... I'm not seeing that. True, its two envelopes have 4 full controls vs. 3-ish. But Nord seems to have more filter controls, more oscillator controls, more LFO controls. And, of course, it has both mono and poly modes.

 

It will compete with the Nord Stage Compact with a price point to match.

Places it seems to lag the NS3 (from what we can tell so far): no aftertouch, no custom sample loading, probably less split/layer flexibility, lesser synth I just mentioned, and no direct effects manipulation (though unlike the others, that one could conceivably be pretty well addressed through a good screen implementation). I also don't see easy on-the-fly octave manipulation of the individual sections, except for the mono synth section, I hope there's more flexibility there.

 

Some of the things that look better to me about the Hammond: better display (we'll have to see how they use it), 10 patch selection buttons vs. 5, support for 3 external MIDI sounds vs. 2.

 

The X factor for the Hammond could be the quality of the organ emulation, including the Leslie and multi-contact key simulations. (I expect Nord to maintain an edge on the pianos.)

 

Another interesting comparison could be with the Yamaha YC61. Hammond adds the mono synth and assignable outs. Yamaha has the direct effects manipulation (and again, it looks like, section octave controls). A Hammond patch can apparently consist of 4 internals sounds and 3 external ones, while I believe a Yamaha patch can consist of 3 internal sounds and 4 external ones. But at least until Yamaha updates the rotary (and maybe implements a high trigger?), Hammond will have the edge for organ. Yamaha's action provides a higher bar for comparison than Nord's, though.

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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"For recording, I wonder if you could get reasonably close just taking a mono out and putting it on two tracks, one EQ'd to cut what's under 800 Hz or whatever, and the other to cut the frequencies above. Wouldn't that give you much of the same effect? (At least as much as the few-ms delay emulates the effect of the left-right split!"

Scott...thanks. I hadn't thought of that. I'll have to try it.

 

"I suspect even a few ms is too much, considering how fast the horns spin and how close the two sides are (and also the "delay" should be different for chorale vs tremolo)."

Yeah, you're right... I just slide the second high track a smidge to where it sounds correct to my ears. As far as the difference between rotor speeds, the effect is more pronounced on tremolo, so I just get it sounding right on trem.

 

I wish all the clones out there would offer the option of assigning outputs to Leslie hi/low. You would think it shouldn't be too hard to implement...especially on the boards that have displays & menus, like Hammond and Nord.

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It's possible that MIDI 2.0 could help this situation, with its "per note" expression messages, which are not unlike MPE for gestural control. I'm just guessing, but it greatly expands the concept of what can be communicated when playing a single note... Time will tell.

 

MIDI 2.0

 

Steinberg led the way in this with their VST Expression:

 

VST Expression

 

Jerry

 

VB3 II / Mojo / Gemini simulates 9 virtual key contacts. So your Mojo has it.

The virtual simulation of a key contact system would be that if you had 9 drawbars out you would hear all nine drawbars come in individually in an additive fashion as you depressed a key slowly downward. I have a Gemini module and this phenonenom does not occur for the VB3 organ. If it virtually occurs then it is not hardware dependent, it would be software creating the phenonenom.

Acoustic Samples B5 uses velocity to achieve this affect. However since velocity use the lower trigger point for note-on messages it defeat the advantage of using the upper trigger point for a much faster response.

As I understand it, the XK5 uses a 3 sensor action, and by delaying some of the virtual drawbar contacts, the 9 are scattered in time. So maybe 1 comes in at the high trigger point, three more come in at different points a hair later but still probably before the middle sensor is reached, and the middle sensor does the same thing for four more virtual contacts, and the last one comes in at the bottom sensor, or something along those lines. I suppose the same thing could be done with a 2-sensor action, with just a little less faithfullness in terms of your finger positioning (key depth) having any impact on the result. You would need 9 sensor locations (or a continuous optical sensor) to be able to be entirely faithful. The fewer actual sensors, the more would need to be be simulated for the points in between. (Actually, even a high trigger alone could create a similar effect, if the software just adds miniscule delays to some drawbar triggers instead of triggering all of them right away.)

 

Implementing this over MIDI adds another layer of complication, since for a given key depression on a given MIDI channel, "Note On" (with or without velocity information) is only a single event. I'd be curious to know, on an XK5, if you play a note slowly such that you can hear the mid-point at which additional "drawbar contacts" are made, what happens if you record that MIDI into a DAW, and then send that MIDI back to the XK5. If the DAW only sees it as a single MIDI Note On event, the XK5 won't have the information it needs to fully duplicate that performance on playback.

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