John Tweed

I don't have much experience on a real console - they are not all that common in Australia. One of the reasons I got the Mojo is because of its reputation as sounding close to the real thing. Listening to early Hammond recordings the bass is often hard to discern. Even some modern recordings - eg Dr Lonnie's CD Spiral from a couple of years ago - seem to be somewhat deficient in the bass department. But there are plenty of examples nowadays where the bass is pretty good - eg Gerard Gibbs with the James Carter Organ Trio.

I've tried the pedal coupling, but it doesn't sound quite right for the traditional jazz organ sound, and it interferes with using the pedals. It's a useful sound for non-traditional playing but I can play the SK1 without any pedal coupling and it works just fine.

Can someone describe in more detail what the Tonewheel Shaping parameter does? The takeaway from Mitch's comment is that Boost 1 increases the bass without increasing the mids and treble? Is that correct? I'lve tried all the settings and it seems to me the cut or boost is fairly evenly applied across the tonewheel range, and doesn't really help much with the keyboard balance. I played an XK5 today, and the keyboard balance was perfect. My SK1 works like this too, after a bit of tweaking. Try as I might, the middle keyboard section (the comping zone) of my dual manual Mojo always overpowers the bass end. For more bass, first of all check what your "Resistor Wires" setting is. If you are on "Standard" then that could be your problem. To hear the difference, set up the lower manual with 838000000 and play some left hand bass with right hand comping. On the "Old" setting the bass is fuller and the balance across the keyboard is good. Now try it on the "Standard" setting - the bass drops a bit and becomes a bit more uneven and the comping sound is fuller. The overall keyboard is not as well balanced with the "Standard" setting. The full explanation is related to changes in the wiring in the original between earlier and later versions, as described here. http://www.dairiki.org/HammondWiki/LoudnessRobbing Based on reading this article I had experimented with both settings, but I was thinking it was going to affect the sound more when using full organ settings with more drawbars involved. I didn't try it out as described above. Since it didn't seem to make any difference I always returned to the "Standard" setting, and that's how I have been using it. I have been battling to get the keyboard balance sounding right for LHB gigs, and have spent a lot of time messing with tonewheel sets. I could get the bass louder but the comping still always seemed to overpower the bass. If you are playing LHB, you'll probably find that "Old" is the way to go. I have a trio gig coming up this weekend and hopefully that will fully prove the results for me.

Can someone describe in more detail what the Tonewheel Shaping parameter does? The takeaway from Mitch's comment is that Boost 1 increases the bass without increasing the mids and treble? Is that correct? I'lve tried all the settings and it seems to me the cut or boost is fairly evenly applied across the tonewheel range, and doesn't really help much with the keyboard balance. I played an XK5 today, and the keyboard balance was perfect. My SK1 works like this too, after a bit of tweaking. Try as I might, the middle keyboard section (the comping zone) of my dual manual Mojo always overpowers the bass end.

I've been using my SS3 with my K10, as per Al Q's setup, and it solves the two shortcomings of the SS3 - it gives me good solid bass for LHB gigs, and/or it gives me raw power for the times when the SS3 by itself is just not loud enough to compete with the rest of the (too loud) band. I've tried various other ways of combining the two units (a separate crossover unit feeding the two, or a graphic equaliser between the sub out and the K10) and this is the most reliable from a setup point of view. As it is I usually carry both speakers in the car and can use either separately or both, depending on the exact situation. The only thing that occurs to me to improve the sound and usefulness would be if there was some way of turning off the front facing speaker in the SS3. So far as I understand, a D-Class amp can be run quite safely without a load, so in theory I could disconnect the front speaker and have just the side-facing speaker and not be restricted to having to place the SS3 face down. While a separate unit with the side-facing speaker only sounds appealing, in reality if Aspen sold that, he'd just end up cannibalising his sales of the SS3 unit. If he came up with a larger, more powerful SS4 (?) unit I'm not sure that I'd buy one when the current solution works so well. Big ups to Al Quinn for the idea.

After being seriously tempted at various times with the idea of a subwoofer or a bass amp, I've decided a crossover - a Rolls SX45 http://www.rolls.com/product.php?pid=SX45, with the lows going into my QSC K10 - is the best way to go. This is a cost effective solution as the K10 is very versatile, whereas a sub is always a sub. The K10 works as an all-purpose monitor or as a bass amp should I ever decide to go with a dedicated kb or module for bass. I don't need the extreme low range, just a an octave or so below the SS3. I've been thinking about the crossover idea ever since I got my SS3. Using it with the K10 straight out of the sub output, it messes with the 3D sound too much. I experimented with a sub filter patch on my Nord Micromodular, but then as luck would have it, I found a basic home entertainment style 100w sub on the street. That was OK at low volume but gave up when pushed too hard. There are a lot of crossovers out there, all designed for rack mount, which I did not want, and way overfeatured for what I need. Ultimately I found the Samson S-xover just as it seems to have been discontinued. Then I discovered the SX45, with similar specs. A slight inconvenience with the SX45 is that it uses RCA sockets for inputs and outputs. The device is quite small, whereas if jacks had been used it would have made it larger. As it is it fits easily on my "pedalboard" (which is actually just a piece of mdf with velcro on it). Last weekend I had an opportunity to try the crossover setup out at an outdoor gig, and it worked well, with lots of volume and nice clean bass. I'm looking forward to comparing this with my 147, when I get that fully functional again. I had a second gig the same day, with a bass player, two guitars and harmonica. Setting up stage right with a PX3 and SK1, and up against some nice tube amps, I put the SS3 on its side, angled up from the corner of the tiled floor, on my right, and it worked its magic by itself, no problem without the sub. Congratulations to Audio Chocolate and Aspen for setting up an Australian dealership. The SS3 is already on their web site, and the price is comparable to a K10, as it was over a year ago when I got my SS3 ;-)

Back to baffles - I've been experimenting and here's my latest prototype made from a piece of scrap perspex ($2 from the local reverse-garbage center). I also experimented with a trifold to redirect the sound on both sides, but this means that as the side firing speaker moves the air is being redirected forwards on one side and backwards on the other, as if it were two speakers wired out of phase, so it doesn't make sense to me. I've used this at a couple of gigs and it definitely improves the experience for me when the SS is close for me to experience the 'bloom' - in both situations I was almost on top of it - and helps avoid blasting the guy next to me. The single free-standing design is also easier in that it doesn't interfere with the cabling at the rear, and overall has a smaller footprint which helps on small stages. I plan to cut the height down a bit, but I'm inclined to leave it around the same height as the SS3, mainly for aesthetic reasons. I have yet to work out how to configure it to go with my recently acquired sub, found on the street where someone had kindly dumped it. It's nothing flash but at 100 W it may well be enough for me to use for left-hand bass (or solo) gigs where the volume is moderate.

About a half-a-dozen gigs have gone by with the SS3 I'm still very happy with the sound. They were mostly of the relatively loud blues/rock variety, always with a bass player and varying numbers of guitar and horn players. I did not use a sub. At all times the SS3 was loud and clear, except for one occasion where there was too much competition for anything to be heard properly! If anything it may be easily driven too loud due to its wider dispersion when compared to a QSC K10 (which I have been using), and I received some requests from the drummer at one gig to ease it back a notch (very politely). Otherwise comments were all positive in terms of level and the clarity of the overall sound, both from the bandstand and audience perspective. Initially I had the amp on the floor behind me. Previously I've used the K10 in the same spot in wedge position, angled up. With its wide dispersion the SS3 was OK, but better when either higher up (chair or milk crate) or leaning back against something. Putting it on a sub would be ideal. The recent suggestion of putting it in a corner to take advantage of reflections is a good one which I'll try - with a Leslie the reflections can really help to fill the room. I did notice the lack of the extra bottom end compared to that of the K10. Usually I run that in the Ext Sub position when working with a bass player. I haven't yet done a proper comparison of the two yet but the K10 even in this position has a bit more down there. Having said that the only time I really noticed this was when holding a low piano note and letting it ring on at the end of a song. At the end of the gigs the SS3 level setting was at 6-7. I experimented with width and and mid/tweeter levels at various times, generally running them around midway. Having never had a rig that works quite like this, I've found the best approach is to 'tune' the SS3 to the room, using either a familiar mp3 (here's where the demos often found in synths can be quite handy) or to the sound of the piano which seems to be more finicky than the organ. On two nights some other keyboardists had the opportunity to play the rig and were all impressed with the amp's sound. It also gave me a chance to have a listen from the floor and confirm others' listening experiences. The band and other musicians present were also impressed by the level and quality of the sound on and off stage. Keyboards used: Hammond SK1>Ventilator and direct outs Privia PX3 Yamaha CP4 Korg Triton LE>Ventilator and direct outs The SK1 organ sounds great, never better and with minimal fiddling of the SS3 knobs. Winding up the SK1's bass fattens the low end, whereas on the K10 I'd leave it in the mid position. Running in stereo the Ventilator rotation becomes apparent , and it loses the phasiness that I hear in mono when the rotors are speeding up. At one gig we played a short set of Booker T tunes and the organ sounded magnificent, loud and full, detailed, very musical, wonderful to play. There's no doubt that organ into a leslie simulator is absolutely killer thru this amp and to a large extent makes me just want to play organ. I've never liked the SK1 piano much, but the SS3 improves it, and with a bit of tweaking maybe could even be made to sound reasonable. The Wurly sounds fat and full though and I tend to use this a lot in preference to "piano" in these situations. By the time I did a second gig with the PX3 I was hip to the idea of tuning the SS3 for the piano (ie width, mids and highs) for the room, before I touch any other eq. This sounded good, but the mono piano thru the K10 works well too in loud bands where there's not a lot of subtlety required from the piano. The CP4 acoustic piano sounds better through the SS3 than anything else I have tried for solo playing. At a loudish gig I used the CP4's master EQ to fine tune the sound and I wasn't totally satisfied. Next time I'll tune the sound on the SS3 first as I did with the PX3. Electric pianos and stereo effects were impressive. Autopan is not as dramatic as with widely spaced speakers, but it sounds much better than a mono tremelo. I used the Triton by itself on one night, playing a lot of chorused ep on stage with 3 horns and 2 guitars. It seems it's not to hard to overdrive the SS3 if it's in the wrong spot and there's too much else going on onstage. I noticed some distortion at times. An overload led would be useful and not too expensive, Aspen? At home I've been using the SS3 to listen to music. It definitely needs a sub for this, else it lacks depths to my ears but otherwise works well, and I intend to use it for keyboard monitoring while recording at home. I've rigged a crossover up using the K10 via a Nord Micro Modular with a low pass filter. This may be a gigable solution for left hand bass and I will be trying it out in this configuration in a couple of days .

Over the last couple of days I've had the chance to just play through the SS3 and what a great experience it is. I have never heard my CP4 sound this good! Always mono on the gig, even at home the piano's location is not in the "sweet spot" of my studio monitors, so it's underwhelming. But through the SS3 it's just like the sound you experience when sitting at one of the Yamahas with built in speakers, eg Arius or P120, where you get the sensation of sitting behind the soundboard of a real piano. Playing organ and piano together each instrument is very clear, seeming to sit in its own audio space, while at the same time the positional clues in the sound make it sound like there's a leslie sitting in the grand piano. As luck would have it, I've just picked up a gig for tonight after a band cancellation at the local blues society jam, so I'm going to be able to put the SS3 through its paces live. I'm planning to use the SK1 with my PX3 piano. Hopefully there will be at least one keyboard jammer there so I can have a listen from the floor. Stay tuned.

Whoops, thanks, fixed now.

After urging restraint upon myself, when I realised how small the SS3 is, and after listening to the demos, and taking account of the positive reviews, I had to have one. I placed an order directly with CPS, and as promised 10 days later here it is - first one in Australia, across the Pacific via USPS and AusPost. Thanks Aspen. The shipment arrived all in one piece, unscathed except for evidence of a couple of minor bumps. The unit itself is spotless. I fired it up using my SK1 through a Ventilator leslie pedal and it sounds great! I can hear the rotors spinning round. Its not exactly the same as sitting next to a real Leslie, but as has been suggested you can still hear the movement even when you walk into another room, so it promises an exciting live sound. The unboxing ... All in one piece Had a couple of minor bumps on one side, otherwise looks good Well packed - everything looks OK inside The dimensions are very close to the K10. Next to the QSC K10 On top of the QSC K10 It sits on top of the K10 at a slight upward angle. I think I'd be OK with using it like that at most gigs, especially if there was a wall or something behind. It feels quite secure - I doubt it would move unless the floor was unstable. From the side (not as top-heavy as it looks) My unboxing assistant At this point I grabbed my SK1 and a few cables and plugged it in for a quick first blast. The SS3 was sitting on the floor about 2 feet to my left. The signal path was SK1 -> Ventilator -> SS3, and listening at moderate lounge room levels. Starting with all knobs at 12 o'clock (halfway) except for the width at 0, I can tell immediately that there's plenty of gain to run without mixers or preamps if you are only dealing with a single stereo signal. The SS3 doesn't have a much bottom end as the K10, and I do quite a few LHB gigs these days. For LHB gigs I run the K10 with LF switch on normal, and the SK1 bass eq at 12 o'clock. Winding it up all the way puts the sound in the ball park. Dialling the width control up and the sound opens up nicely. I also quickly tried bypassing the Ventilator to use the internal Leslie (not as much separation evident), and the phased and auto-panned Rhodes, both of which came alive with the width control on halfway. My initial impressions are that this is going to work well for my purposes. I'll post a few more thoughts when I've had a chance to play with it a bit more.

From what I am reading and hearing in the demos the Spacestation 3 could be a major gamechanger, and I am pretty sure there is one in my future. I'm in Australia and I've just received an answer to my enquiry to Sweetwater - the cost, including shipping to me (at today's $US price), would be under $1000 Australian, or slightly more than the price I paid for a K10 a year or two back. I can't imagine that any importer/retailer would be likely to make it available any cheaper. Generally the rule of thumb here is to double the US $ price, which would bring up to $1200. Considering that it would do more or less the same job as two K10s, it's a bargain. The GST would apply if more than one SS3 was landed.That's 10% or roughly $70 AUD. If the shipping cost could be halved by going in together, we'd save money. This might well be offset by the cost of transporting the unit to the various cities around Australia. It all starts to get complicated. I don't think I have ever bought anything new directly from outside Australia (second-hand yes) due to concerns over the warranty, and in any case I like to support the local music stores. At this stage I'm waiting to hear reports from other forum members who I'm sure will tell us how it works with various digital pianos, and confirm there are no likely warranty issues. Aspen welcome to the forum, and I wish you every success with this venture. It's great to hear the technical talk, especially from a supplier. Question: one SS3 is claimed to be sufficient for a small room, but what about large auditoriums - could one giant SS replace the line arrays (?) in concert venues?

I use the SK1 mono upright piano if I need piano from my "organ" rig - the SK1 sitting on a Yamaha NP30, which is just used as the lower manual. The Yammy itself does not sound good in mono, but its kbd works well with the SK's external voices. The SK's grand piano does not sound all that good (imho) but the upright has a certain character which works well with blues etc. If I need better piano then I'll use my PX3 instead.

+1 The active sensing is in case the midi signal is interrupted, in which case the receiving device can shut off any hanging notes.

I'm planning on gigging until my body goes stiff. No need for a B3 for gigs, exactly :-). Which is good, today's technologies have extended the life of anyone doing gigs into extremely old age. +1

Good luck, you will have a fun gig. I've asked the band members in my jazz/blues band which they preferred for bass - the PX3 (using either acoustic or fingered bass) or the SK1, and they all went for the SK. You can tweak the SK1's expression pedal to not affect low frequencies so much as higher ones. This can allow you to use a normal range of expression without the bass disappearing when you pull back.

Thanks JMcS. Took your advice, and yes it was easy from the Japanese site. The only slightly weird thing was, when I put the usb in to verify that it was the one I'd used for previous upgrades, it immediately went into the upgrade process and re-upgraded me to release 5 - no power on while holding down the three buttons required. Now I'm off to try the upgrade out for the first it at a daytime gig at the market. John

This is great news! I was thinking I'd have to wait for an SK1c before it'd have this feature. My Japanese is non-existent, so I'll wait till the update appears on the US site before I dive in. John

Hi to the forum, I've spent years lurking here and on other keyboard forums, but never felt I had the time to get actively involved. So now that I've hit the ripe old age of 60 (yipe), I have got the time and here I am. Brief bio: I was born and grew up in Tasmania (Australia) and now live in Sydney. I discovered the piano in the corner of the living room when I was 16 and found it made musical sense to me, more so than guitar which I had been playing for several years. Bought an organ and joined a band, and went on to enjoy a musical career thru the late 60's to early 80's working with some of Australia's top acts of the day. I got out of the music game full time and went to Uni for a few years and then onto a career in computers, although I never stopped gigging altogether (came close though). These days I play with some bands around Sydney, and whatever else comes my way. I sing a bit here and there (not very well) and like to play guitar too when I get the chance. John