wannjl

Venue size matters. :-) Tried my new SS3 at home w/o sub. Sounded great. However, in the 1400 seat auditorium using only one SS3 I really needed the sub to support the volume I needed to enable the SS3 to not be burdened with below 100Hz material. Last night I played LHB with a bass patch blended with a sub bass patch and it was fabulous. There is no way the SS3 alone could have done that in a venue that large. This is NOT a ding on the SS3. Was not designed for this. Kicked bass with Xk3 and it sounded better than any Leslie I have used (from a full bass perspective). So, Aspen did us all a GREAT favor by giving us a CHOICE with the mono out signal. Aspen, two thumbs up! By the way, I have had to turn DOWN my SS3 to 12:00... this is just amazing considering the size of the venue. Last week, my first time using the SS3, I was clocked at 105 db by an unhappy sound guy. Oops.

Review Update. Reasonably full house today, about 650 people (1400 seat venue, balcony empty, floor about 3/4 full). Piano guy complained that it was too loud at times, others said finally the keyboards were clear. A number in the crowd said the new sound was fabulous. "It sounded like a real Leslie." Stereo flute patch that I use for counter melody/color came through amazing. The SS3 was my birthday gift from my wife. She really liked it. That was the true test. In other words my spending has not been cut off. :-) I really did not think one SS3 would be enough for that huge room. With my powered sub, it was more than enough. Never broke 1:00 on the SS3 gain. I even took over for our bass payer tonight who had the audacity to go into labor. The SS3/sub handled both solid bass and XK3 with ease, as well as trumpet hits. I would not hesitate to use this in just about any venue. If I was in a high db club situation, I may want two stacked for headroom. I still might try the dual Neo Vent/ Dual SS3, but I will hold off until I really get comfortable with the SS3. I am going to have to figure out how to make the sound guy happy. He freaked out at not being able to control me. I really don't want to lose this great sound with FOH speakers. Traditionally we are all in ear monitoring. I am going to have to get creative to allow sound booth to control the SS3. Maybe a two channel wireless monitoring system?

That is exactly what I had in mind using two Neo Vents (with different settings on each vent) and two SS3s to emulate two leslies. Not really surround sound, but four separate signals.

To be honest, I prefer the smaller unit with a sub. Its easier on my back to pack around two 40# units than one 65# unit. Even if I end up having to use two SS3s! For perm music-oriented installations I would really like the guts of the SS3 in a rack mount. That would finally enable a usable "stereo" setup for large 300-2000 seat auditoriums using the cluster method (vs. array). Thoughts?

About an inexpensive crossover... I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this unit. Only $99. Works as well as my Rane. (gasp). I still prefer Rane as my #1 choice, but not cheap. http://www.altoproaudio.com/products/ax2304

Initial thoughts. I just took my new SS3 through its paces solo in the empty 1400 seat auditorium which I play 4X per week. Physical Set up: Center stage. Sitting on top of powered sub. Tried straight out towards seating then angled up about 40 degrees. Very high ceilings with wooden roof. Signal path: XK3 dual manual mono going into Neo Vent, stereo out. Neo Vent stereo into stereo inputs to Yamaha PSR-s610 arranger keyboard. Yamaha keyboard stereo out to Yamaha SW500E powered sub 100Hz Bypass stereo out to stereo in SS3 Observations: In this config loud as all get out! Would blow away a 122/147 in volume. Clean, quiet, absolutely full range. Fidelity was excellent. Just as loud as my Motion Sound Pro-145 with a sub. No question, with this setup, SS3/sub, the rest of the band has met its match. For the record, tried without sub. For what I do, left handed bass, deep synths, etc., got to have the sub. A sub takes the load off the SS3 and lets it sing. Seriously, follow the advise of others here and get a sub. Aspen: Sub out (I know, full range), two thumbs up. Leslie reproduction was killer. I use Jim Alfredson's XK3 setup, so I have a very near vintage Hammond sound. However, though its the best reproduction of a Hammond/Leslie I have heard yet, its just not quite the same. I ran some YouTube Hammond/Leslie video tracks through this via iPhone. Great sound. Ran arranger stereo patches through this. Sounded very much like live. You could hear various instruments as if they were were coming from two sources... anywhere in the room. But for some reason it seems to emphasize the reverb in the channels in an unpleasant way. I have not experienced that in true stereo config. When I backed off default reverb settings, it helped. Otherwise stereo patches sounded great... very 3D. I never have played piano (organ only since '68), so I really cannot comment fairly on that topic. However, I play lots of horn, sax, string, and bass patches. I put on a loop of a horn section and walked around the room. Wow, everywhere, front to back, side to side you could hear trumpets coming from one way and saxes coming from the another. I experienced far R or far L seat hearing the side firing speaker louder than front firing. Maybe that tweaking. Maybe its just too big a room for one SS3. However, 3D was still present. For all you who roll your eyes at arrangers, I played full blues with deep bass, drums, background trumpet fills, strat guitar, etc. along with screamin' Xk3 8884 C3 with high tube gain. Played high intensity dance, ballads, arena power rock, and the kitchen sink. I did this to emulate what an entire band might sound like through the SS3. Everything was crystal clear, no distortion... just as good as a good PA setup. SS3 at 1:00 gain. Filled the entire venue with quality sound. I ran it at about 92 db @ 5'. For those who expect no canceling, sorry. It was very apparent as I walked slowing from left to right with a single note, middle C continuously playing with an 888888, Neo Vent on choral. What I experienced was a very noticeable mid range dropout. Low rotor was pronounced, then I would move a couple of feet and it would not pronounced at all. This was almost continuous from far left to far right. To be fair, the acoustics are terrible, including criminal slapback. So, I blame the venue rather than the SS3. But that brings me to a point. The venue is always a part of the sound which requires adjustment and compensation. I am sure Aspen would agree. I tried MP3s. I was disappointed for some reason. It was a bit mushy. Will do some more experimentation on this front and report back. I will report back on how it goes with a full house and the rest of the band. I will probably drag out my small mixer so if the sound guys absolutely insist on running through FOH, which is the norm, I can keep the current setup as my stage system and send them the signals they may want. I hope I can go it alone with the SS3/sub w/o FOH. So far, its a keeper.

SS3 arrived this afternoon. I should have asked ahead of time, but since there is no specifics in the instruction page that came with it, need some quick answers: 1) Inputs, are they TRS or TS 2) Sub out, TRS or TS Going to buy some new matching cables. My powered sub has XLR high pass out.

My SS3 was shipped today and is arriving PM tomorrow.

Just notified by Sweetwater that my SS3 has left the building... and so it begins. Lots of SS3 back orders being shipped today.

Aspen, now for my most important question. When is the slow boat from China going to arrive so SW can get it out to me?

Maybe I missed something,but I thought it was the sum of the same material of both left AND right out the front, and the different material out the sides (driver pointed one way, open back the other). So, turning it upside down would not matter.

Timwat, I mean no disrepect. I have made my career out of spotting the pivitol technologies and embracing them. While generally I agree with your commentary, allow me to slightly differ. I bought an Apple Lisa the week the Mac shipped in 1984. The Mac changed the world. However, the components were not disruptive, after all "it was just a computer." It was the innovative way it was all put together in a unique way. They sold like hot cakes ... Amid huge controversy from the "real" computer green screen dweebs. The iPhone, as it "just another cell phone," changed the our everyday life... And again it was the innovative assembly that changed our world. I remember sitting with Cisco engineers in 1997 and drawing on a restaurant napkin how to use that "best effort" protocol "IP" to build a bullet proof network as Federal Reserve CTO and seeing IP begin to be used in "real" financial networks (FYI, the basic design is still on Cisco's web site). My point is that a technology not need fit the textbook definition of "disruptive" to totally change the game. Not all disruptive technology is obvious to all. As a matter of fact most disruptive change is met with resistance and doubt. I have many battle scars on that front. So, disruptive technology is obvious to some, but not all. Who in this forum does not agree the the Neo Ventilator has dramatically changed the Leslie market? Yet, there were many Leslie clones before it... and significantly improved clones now. The SS3 has all the makings of a "game changer" for typical gigging musicians in small/medium clubs, but as with all potential game changers... time will tell. And speaking of that, I will review by new SS3 when it arrives and is put to the test in our 1400 seat auditorium. I have my powered sub awaiting its mate! I have great respect for game changing technology. While the SS3 may not change the world, I think it could significantly impact what we see on stage at the local pub. As we used to say when I taught college in Jamaica, "respect mon." Timwat, good commentary.

Since the group think on my idea was positive, I ordered my first SS3 today from the Hoosier State. They said it may ship the latter part of May. "Phase I" test will be a solo SS3 in the 1400 seat auditorium. I have a killer Yamaha powered sub, so I think the phase I test will be fair. Will be picking up the second Neo Vent, modifying the Neo Vent remote footswitch to control both Vents then on to phase II with a second SS3. I will post the venue when it's ready for each phase.

I play 3X per week in a 1400 seat auditorium. I use the Neo Vent through FOH for my XK3. Would love feedback on this idea: I spoke with Guido Kirsch from Neo Instruments about using two Vents, set slightly different using one foot controller for both to emulate two Leslies, far stage L&R. Would using two SS3s help me achieve that effect, or would the two SS3s muddy things up? I don't think one SS3 would be able to replace the volume of the FOH and don't know where I would put just one SS3.