I got the Crumar Mojo last Thursday and a Motion Sound KP-500sn on Friday. I didn't do much more with the Mojo before my gig on Friday other than get familiar with how the instrument works, how the presets function, and to hook it up to a computer monitor and get a feel for the different tonewheel sets. I played a gig with a great soul band on Friday night and a jazz trio gig Saturday night. My comments are based on this experience. This won't be a totally complete review because there are some things that I haven't had a chance to mess with yet.
By the way, as a result of the climate of certain other review threads, I offer up the fact that I am a regularly gigging musician from Omaha, Nebraska with no ties to Crumar in any way other than the fact I now own one of their instruments. I have posted on the board many more times than the 178 that my profile says. At some point, for a reason that escapes me, I changed my Keyboard Corner handle. I used to be Calumet and had 686 posts under that name. In other words, I am a long-timer and my opinions represent no one's but my own.
On to the review.
1. Sound
The Mojo is by far the best sounding clone I have ever played. At various points, I have owned a Voce V3, VK7, XK3, XM-2, Electro 3, C2 and Numa. (I have not played the SK1 or 2 and, based on what I have heard in demos and read about the innards, it doesn't seem like much of an advance from the original XK engine, so I never considered buying it). In fact, the Mojo is a better sounding and feeling organ than many actual Hammonds I have played. I know it seems like lunacy, but this thing is so satisfying and inspiring that I think I would choose to play it on a gig or in the studio even if there were a real Hammond handy. (I am sure there are some folks who will check out of this review after that last sentence. Let me just say that I am a B3 and A100 owner and have spent plenty of time on the real thing. I am not just a clonewheeler. I know the sound and what I am looking for.) I played at a festival recently on a beautiful Hammond chop running through a Ventilator and the Mojo experience I had at my gigs this weekend was way better.
The thing for me when it comes to the instruments I use is how inspiring I find the sound and the reaction of the instrument to be. For instance, when I go to play something and it just feels and sounds "right," the next line is inspired from that first line, and then the next line, and so on. That's why I prefer the Scarbee Rhodes sounds to the Nord Rhodes sounds. Yeah, the Nords are some of the best in the industry (until the Kronos came out, anyway) and they are very playable, but they don't inspire my playing like the more natural and responsive Scarbee sounds do. The inspiration might only go for a couple lines on the Nord, whereas on a real Rhodes or the Scarbee, the inspiration can carry throughout an entire solo. Additionally, and some what conversely, an inspiring sound results in more space in my playing. I find when I have an uninspiring tone, I tend to just play a lot of notes because I don't feel like the slow notes can hang on their own. I am sure I am not alone in this. Joey D sounds killer on the KeyB, or the Numa, or the VK-7. or whatever he is playing, but if you are really familiar with his playing style, you can tell he is even more killing on the real thing. That perfect sound and feeling inspires him even more, at least to my ears. (Of course, I am not putting myself in his category or anything...just using him as an example.) I am sure that even different Hammonds inspire him differently.
I say all of that as a setup to describe what it is that I find so thrilling about the Mojo. I played lines and phrases Saturday night at the trio gig that I don't know if I have ever played. I am a pretty experienced player and have been playing organ (and clones) for a while now. Last night seemed like another level. It was a mix of inspiration and feeling like what was coming through the amp behind me sounded like the records I have listened to for all these years. It seemed effortless to sound good. It was as if I had set up a tent in the mythical "zone" and no one was telling me to leave. There was no feeling of, "Ohalmost," like there has been with every other clone and some actual Hammonds I have played. I did not want to quit playing at the end of the gig.
So, what is it about the sound? Anyone familiar with the VB3 has a good idea about what separates the Mojo from the other clones. However, VB3 ver. 2 has improved on every aspect of what made the original version great. The depth and thickness of the sound have increased. The multi-layered sound of the Hammond organ is totally present in the Mojo. The click, crosstalk, and leakage all sound like they are organic parts of the sound, not effects added in to imitate the real thing. These things are adjustable parameters so you can really tailor the sound. Other clones allow this level of editing to a certain extent, but none are as realistic as the VB3, ver 2.
Something special about the Mojo is how it handles the percussion. You can read more about how the percussion is programmed on the Crumar website, but I will try to describe it. If I push in all the drawbars and turn on the percussion and roll a chord as one might do during a ballad, the percussion triggers across the chord, but the power and volume of the percussion decreases as the notes continue until it no longer triggers. Then, as you continue to play, the percussion only re-triggers at volumes based upon the percussion regeneration level. Other clones do something similar, but I have never heard it done quite like this. According to the Crumar website, it has to do with the difference between the rates of regeneration and decay . I have always felt like the classic Jimmy Smith sound of 888000000, 3rd, Soft, Fast was the hardest sound for clones to really nail. I think some of that has to do with how clones deal with this aspect of the percussion. The Mojo really gets it right. I don't think there is another clone that even attempts this.
Another part of the sound that the Mojo gets right that the other clones don't (in my opinion) is the upper octave. Using the Jimmy Smith sound described above, the upper octave is either too shrill (XK, Nord, Roland) or too weak (Numa). A real Hammond cuts through the mix yet isn't too sharp on the ears. The Mojo is the same way. There is a warmth to the sound even in the top notes. I always ended up avoiding the top octave on the XK3. The Electro 3 cuts, but it isn't full enough. The Numa doesn't cut the way it should and I tried everything (internal sim, Vent, real 147) to get it to do that. I tweaked the other clones endlessly. The Mojo sounds the way I want it to right out of the box.
The Chorus/Vibrato is in a class all its own. The only clone that comes close is the Numa. One of the things that pushed me to return the Nord C2 was hearing how warbley the C/V sounded, especially when run through a Leslie. Same with the XK series, only worse. It is just too deep to inspire playing long notes for me. The C/V in the Mojo sounds as shimmery as it should without adding any extra warble to the sound. I can't overstate how important this is to the overall feel of the instrument. When the chorus is on C3 and the Leslie sim is on stop, it sounds the way it should, not like there still might be a Leslie sim on the sound.
The drawbars interact with each other in the way you would expect them to and the settings you create sound like they should. 888000000 sounds right and switching to 888888888 sounds right with the same settings. Some clones need different EQ for different settings to sound right. The Mojo does not need that.
The pedal tones are deep and huge. There is a dedicated "Pedal to Lower" button that, obviously, provides the pedal tone on the first two octaves of the lower manual. It does not disable the lower manual drawbars. My Mojo came with the pedal sustain feature turned on, so I had to change that.
Virtually all of the aspects of the sound are tweak-able. However, it sounds so good with the stock settings that I haven't felt the urge to tweak anything yet. Usually with a clone, I am tweaking from the word go. Not so with the Mojo other than just messing with the readily available click, reverb, drive and eq knobs.
The Mojo comes with 20 different tonewheel sets. Guido (the Keyboard Corner forum member who designed the VB3) told me that the different sets are based on actual measurements he took from different Hammond models, so the 1965 B3 is actually a model of a 1965 B3. These measurements affect all of the different aspects of how the programming responds. The differences between the different models (some B3s, C3s, A100s and a couple A105s) vary between extremely subtle and obviously different. The default is referred to as the VB3HE2 Standard (although, for some reason, my Mojo showed up loading one of the A100s as the default set). The only way you can tell what tonewheel set you are using is if you have a monitor hooked up to the Mojo.
My assessment of the sound is based only on what the Mojo sounds like through the internal sim. I have not by passed the sim or run it through a real Leslie. This brings us to part 2.
2. Leslie Simulation and Drive
Again, best among all clones and a vast improvement to the Leslie simulations in the original VB3 which, I think, were surpassed only by the Ventilator. When I tried the Nord C2 with its newer generation Leslie sim, it sounded like a towel was draped over the speakers compared to the Ventilator. I knew right away that it wouldn't do the trick. The Numa Leslie sim sounded interesting but never good enough to really use. From the time I plugged in the Mojo, I haven't even considered trying to run it through the Ventilator. It sounded that good on its own. I didn't miss the Ventilator on the two gigs I played this weekend at all. Pretty sure there will be a Ventilator on the "For Sale" board very soon, along with an Electro 3.
(By the way, this assessment is based only on running it in stereo through my studio monitors and in stereo through the Motion Sound KP-500sn. I have not tried it in mono and probably won't anytime soon now that I have the MS.)
Most of the Youtube demos of the Mojo have the Leslie running on slow which is not my favorite setting. The videos don't give you a real sense of how great this thing sounds with the rotors set to "stop." That's where the real grit happens. The rotors do not have a "front facing only" stop option like the Ventilator does. They stop in a more organic manner, however I have yet to hear it go from fast to stop and end up with a really empty "facing opposite the micas" sound. Some people (myself included) didn't like that about the first generation Ventilators but it doesn't seem to be an issue with the Mojo. No matter where it stops, it still seems to sound good.
Unlike the VB3, you don't have a choice of different cabinets (122 Jazz, 122 Rock, 147, etc.). What you have are 6 editable parameters (Balance, Ambience, Cabinet, Mic Angle, Mic Distance and Horn EQ). I have not messed with these at all yet because I am very happy with the sound out of the box. However, I have a feeling that you could achieve most of, if not all, of the various cabinet choices that the first VB3 version offered.
The overdrive is natural and not at all digital sounding. I think it is just as warm as the Ventilator and is easier to achieve with the dedicated knob.There are two different drive types that are selectable through the software. The difference between the two is described on the Mojo website. I believe they refer to one of them as "hot tubes." The Drive 2 setting makes the upper octave percussion really cut, so if you are looking for that kind of rock sound, it's there.
I have not tried out the Mojo's often-mentioned alternate Leslie simulation where the sound is divided between the top and bottom rotors using two different amps. I will be trying that once I get a chance to set up the MS and a QSC K12 in the basement. Should be interesting. I'll report about that after I try it.
I am intrigued about running it through a real Leslie. I only tried running the VB3 through my 147 a couple times and I wasn't totally thrilled with the results. Eventually, I will try the Mojo through the 147.
3. Physical Layout and Presets
Here is where some purists might shy away from the Mojo. The C/V and the percussion sections are in generally the right places, but since the Mojo has a design style all its own, they certainly aren't in the place you are used to reaching for if you play the real thing. The Leslie simulation buttons are on the top which is not where they naturally fall, so you would probably want to opt for a hand switch or a foot switch. I opted for the package with a hand switch. One quibble with the switch is that it sticks up just a little higher than a normal Leslie switch, so if you are playing left-hand bass and you tend to let your hand sag to more of a flat position, your palm will touch the switch. I thought it would be more of an issue than it turned out to be when I actually played a gig where I was playing LH bass, but it is worth noting.
The Mojo itself is a beautiful and sleek looking instrument. Some people have chuckled at its distinct 70s look and the "Logan's Run" graphics, but I actually like it. It's eye-catching in a better way than if it were all red.
Each manual has 6 presets and a "manual" button. This is another place where some people might complain about how the Mojo works. It actually works more like a real Hammond than any other clone, but this might be a case where the original way isn't necessarily the best way. The 6 presets are programmable but not tweak-able. The only setting where the drawbars or the percussion have any effect on the sound is when it is set to "Manual." When playing one of the other presets, the drawbars are disabled and the percussion cannot be turned on. This is exactly how a real B3 handles presets. However, most other clones offer drawbar adjustments and percussion on each preset. If you work the drawbars a lot, you will need to stay on the "Manual" setting. I would prefer it if you could save any type of setting, percussion included, to a preset and then be able to add or subtract drawbars from that. I don't mind the way it is but some people might.
The dedicated knobs for volume, click, drive, reverb, treble and bass all work as you'd expect. These knobs are also used to tweak various settings of the software (leakage amount, rotary balance, percussion volume, etc.) I haven't done this much since I set up a monitor. The Mojo comes with a cheat sheet that lets you know what does what when in edit mode.
The action of the Mojo is a Fatar Waterfall action and is very quick and pleasing to play. It has a high trigger point that makes fast playing and repeating notes a breeze. There is also a mode for making the keys velocity sensitive for use with an external module or computer program that needs velocity information. If you change this setting, it changes the trigger point of both manuals, making it lower like a traditional synth action. I asked Guido if it were possible to set the manuals independently and I think that feature is coming soon. If this was eventually implemented, the Mojo would become capable of being a killer all-in-one (well"almost all-in-one") gig solution similar the SK2 if you added a module or a laptop with piano, Rhodes, etc. For someone like myself who insists on schlepping my Macbook Pro to gigs for the Scarbee samples even though I have a perfectly good Nord Stage, this would be a great option. Hopefully, this will be implemented in a future OS. Also, the USB connection sends MIDI information, so using a laptop for extra sounds is really easy. I have run the Scarbee Rhodes and Wurly sounds with the Mojo and they played as well as any waterfall keyboard I have used with non-organ sounds, and better than the C2 did. Adjusting the velocity sensitivity in Apple's Mainstage definitely helps matters.
4. Operation
Turning on the Mojo isn't quite as simple as, "press power and go." There is actually an XP based computer inside of the Mojo, so when you press "Power," you are booting the computer. It is a dedicated system (Guido has explained this in other threads, I think), so there isn't a bunch of normal Windows OS business going on. If you hook up a monitor and watch the boot process, it takes about 20 seconds or so. You power it on, the lights blink, and when the system is ready, the notes will sound. You then need to hit both "Manual" buttons to finish the setup process. I can see where not everyone will be comfortable with this arrangement, but it really takes no getting used to. A 20 second boot time is not bad at all and as technology is increasing, our instruments are becoming more and more just computers wrapped in a keyboard (see Kronos: Korg).
You can pick the tonewheel set that you want to load as the default. Once it is loaded, you can use the alternate methods of choosing a tonewheel set if you don't have a monitor. This is all explained in the manual. Without a display screen, you have to know where you are starting from tonewheel set wise and count from there. All of the rest of the parameters that can be set using the non-monitor method are audible changes, so you don't really have to keep track of where you started.
I have mentioned hooking up a monitor in previous paragraphs. There is a removable panel on the back that covers all of the traditional PC connection ports - mouse, monitor, usb, etc. If you want to get into the GUI interface and tweak, you have to hook up a monitor and mouse. Anyone at all familiar with what Windows XP looks like will be right at home. From here, you can see what the different tonewheel sets are named and edit all of the parameters.
The manual recommends that you make all of your connections (expression pedal, leslie control switch, audio connections) before you power on the Mojo. I believe this is because the Mojo senses the connections as the software boots and plugging things in after the fact can sometimes yield unexpected results, such as the speed control switch not working as you would expect. The Mojo comes with an EV-5 short-throw style of pedal at no extra charge. I tried the Mojo with my Roland EV-5 but it didn't work. I asked Guido why and he said that it might have too low of a resistance. However, I am using my Yamaha FC-7 with the Mojo with no problem which is good since I prefer a longer throw. There is a purchase option where you can order an FC-7 long-throw style of pedal at an extra charge.
Speaking of the manual, it is pretty thorough, but Crumar might want invest a couple bucks in a tech writer whose first language is English. Like some manuals from Japanese companies, a few of the sentences get a little garbled in translation and can be a bit confusing at first glance.
5. Conclusion
After having said everything above, I think that my conclusion can be stated simply: Anyone looking for a good deal on a Nord Electro 3 and/or a 2nd generation Ventilator can PM me or send me an e-mail at mitchtowne@cox.net
If there are any questions I can answer, I will surely try. As I said above, I will set up the alternate Leslie simulation and test it out soon.
Mitch
