synthdogg

I've always been a wheels guy, still love them to this day.......but Nord really came up with something cool with their pitch/mod wheel design. I really love their pitch stick, and the mod wheel placement works great alongside it. Very fun to play.

Which generation is this again?

I love the top comment: “Listening to this is like eating pizza with all of the cheese and pepperoni scraped off.”

Well, support finally fixed my registration issue so I went back to purchase B-3X and the price is now $130. Ugh.

Ugh! I'm trying to purchase this, but IK is making me register first and then I'm not receiving the confirmation email. Crap

Holy hell Analogika! I've read a few of your posts over the years recommending the Nilserik, and finally decided it was time for me to have my own throne for certain gigs and made the Ikea order. I LOVE this thing!! I'm regretting waiting so long to get one. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

Oh sorry - Max is the developer of the MAG

The Ventilator is an optional add-on for sure. You could absolutely opt out of the Vent and use the HX3's own Leslie simulator, but I'm not sure how Max sets that up. That would be a great question for him. One of the cool things about his Ventilator set up is how he has the whole thing synced with the Leslie 122 output, so the Half-moon switch and pedal trigger have the same result with the Leslie and the Vent speeds, always in sync fast and slow. I'm not sure how he sets that up with the internal Leslie sim. Through communication with Max, it sounds like he's in the final stages of designing his own Leslie simulator to replace the Ventilator...I'm very excited to hear what he comes up with.

Mitch Towne, you’re a badass! and it sounds like Max has something up his sleeve as an internal Leslie sim solution. I’m excited to hear what he comes up with!

Got it, I didn't realize you had a previous issue/dislike of the HX3 C/V. Sorry I can't comment further on the differences, so far I've liked the effect, but I've also only used it with a Leslie or Leslie effect as that's the only way I ever really use it.

Awww man, I really loved Jellyfish, and also casually follow Roger Manning for years. He had a band called Imperial Drag in the 90's that I got way into. If Jellyfish was more 60's/Beatles inspired...Imperial Drag was the 70's/Glam rock answer with heavy T-Rex influences.

And seriously, check out the video posted above. He has the chorus on pretty much the whole time.

It's hard to comment without context. The version that I received is based on the 3.6 engine, but my understanding is that it's not at all different from 3.5 in software. I know that Max has his own custom settings that he requests from Carsten at Keyboard Partners, but I have no idea how he has the chorus vibrato set any differently from a standard HX3. All I can say is that I've been playing it on it's own for less than 24 hours and have mainly kept the chorus on C3, and have not done any kind of A/B with the real thing. At this point, any time I've switched on the chorus I've been pleased by the effect....but that's WAY less than a scientific response.

This is the video that really sold me on the MAG, and there's not even an actual MAG in the video. It's a comparison of a B3, XK-5, Viscount Legend, and what he calls "The Diversi" which is an older Diversi controller using an HX3 (same engine as the MAG)....all through a Leslie. I really loved the HX3 sound in this...not to mention that Dude is a great player and I love listening to him.

Yeah, it's definitely not a budget item. I paid a little over $5k A few years ago I had a bit of an epiphany; As much as I love synths and piano, I always end up bringing B3 into everything that I do. It's really become the heart of my sound on any gigs that I do......and I'm getting my sound from a computer using a controller that only has 8 sliders. (I'm talking about live gigs, I have a C3/Leslie at home). If there is one thing that I want to actually splurge on, it should be a Clonewheel that really gives me the B3 playing experience that I love on the real thing. I started by looking at the Hammond XK-5 along with the lower manual. Back in the day, I used to have a Hammond endorsement so they're my immediate go-to. Unfortunately, I no longer have any relationship with them, and the street prices of the XK-5 system were really making my eyes water. As I looked at other clones, none of them were set up the way I'm used to playing a Hammond...and I was really thinking about putting my C3 into storage and just having this keyboard be my main B3 even for recording if needed. I hadn't heard about Mag up to this point, and when I stumbled across them doing my research, I fell in love pretty quickly. When I saw that their pricing was actually fairly significantly lower than Hammond I decided to jump on it. I placed my order before Viscount's recent offerings were available. Honestly, I may have gone with one of the newer Viscounts if they were available just due to $$ and my own fear of spending too much. I'm glad that it happened this way, I absolutely love this thing so far - it's built like a tank, it's a joy to play, and it sounds amazing. The P2 is their premier model...the reverse keys are a total luxury, most people won't need those at all, and the C2 without the reverse keys is definitely cheaper. Mag is way more cost competitive than I would have thought for a boutique item.

The blue is their standard color, I really like it...although I was a little concerned about how it might clash with the standard wood stand. I wanted the blue for any gigs that I'm not using that stand though, so I took the plunge. They do have 3 standard options of colors for the sides though, the other 2 are different wood grains for a more standard look. If you want to pay a little extra, you can customize the end cheeks however you like!

I bought the stand from Valhalla Woodworking I really like their work, and they're not too insanely expensive, especially if you don't mind doing your own staining.

I haven't tried it yet, but according to the manual you have control over speed, balance, drive, distance, and mode (keyboard or guitar). To program you need to turn on the organ while holding down the Ventilator button, and then it's a series of button pushes to control different parameters. Once you've dialed anything in you can have 2 different presets stored for recall via an A/B switch.

Well, it's been a journey but the Mag P2 finally arrived today...most of it at least, the accessory package should be here tomorrow. So far, I absolutely love it. It feels right. I opted for the lighter keyboard, and I went with MAG because it's laid out like a real Hammond so it's all very intuitive. It should feel a little better once I have the volume pedal and the half-moon switch. I'm waiting on those before plugging it into a Leslie (it has a 6-pin Leslie output!) - but running direct going through the internal Ventilator sounds pretty damn good. I'm still getting adjusted, but I'll post more once I get everything hooked up.IMG_2892.HEIC

Ha! Well, I received an email from Lync today saying that the shipment is actually a gift from Lync appreciating the patience since the orders are taking longer than expected. So - I guess I won't be opening a new keyboard up on Monday. Hey, I've ordered a number of fairly esoteric or brand new pieces of music gear over the past few years, there's been delays with almost all of them, and sometimes flat out betrayals and disappointments. Although the Lync has taken longer than expected, so far the company has been outstanding with their communication. They've been proactive and have taken full ownership of any issues that they've faced. I have nothing but good things to say about them so far, and I have a TON of grace for their situation. I'm looking forward to the day I'm actually opening the box for the new Lync!

I just received shipping info for my order. Hopefully there will be good news soon!

I ordered the MAG (specifically the P2) based off of the layout being the closest thing I had seen to a real Hammond organ. I was really looking for the closest thing that I could find to having a "Hammond" experience without having to haul my C3 out on stage. The MAG has all the drawbars and switches in the right spots so I can play it the same way I would play the real thing. I had heard from multiple sources that ordering a MAG with the lighter keybed was much closer to the Hammond feel, but I haven't played it yet to comment on it. Since I placed my order, Viscount has definitely been working on doing similar things with their organ line and they are definitely contenders also - but I'm happy with my P2 order, I like the customizations I was able to specify - specifically for use with my Leslie 122 - and I'm excited to eventually have it in my possession.

Back to the original topic, as far as 73 note waterfall keyboards go....all I can really think of is the Nord Stage compact, the Nord Electro, the Hammond SK-Pro or SK1-73, and the Vox. Another option would be to go for the MAG C2 and opt for the additional sounds, but that would limit you to 61 keys, and I am not familiar with the quality of those additional sounds that MAG uses. It would be pretty convenient though to have have everything in one keyboard. In your case - I would probably opt for the Nord electro, maybe even an older model to save money knowing the Rhodes sounds will be the same in both older and newer models.

I've been waiting on a MAG P2 and emailing back and forth with Max on this. The HX3.6 boards have been the current bottleneck in his production getting new MAGs out the door. Yesterday's announcement from Carsten is huge, he's been working on finishing the firmware for quite a while now. Max indicated that he should be getting the HX boards in shortly and will be using them in any new MAGs that he ships out (It sounds like the 3.5 boards are no longer available...)