confidence

Hmm, you got me thinking now. I just downloaded Korg's MIDI guide to the Grandstage, and it's surprisingly limited. Might have to rethink my piano board choice. Not many options though as I was hoping for a 73/76 key hammer action.

So, I'm looking for a strong Hammond solution to augment my currently piano and EP - centric sound world. Posted recently about Viscount Legend, Mojo etc. and got some good feedback, thanks all. At the same time, I'm probably going to be changing my primary piano board to a Korg Grandstage. The ins and outs of that decision are not important for the current discussion. Now the Grandstage includes the Kord CX3 organ engine, which - while people will always argue the finer points of such things - is at least up there with the leading players in Hammond emulation. Someone pointed me to this, and I'm listening thinking it's really actually rather rather good: So I'm wondering if the solution to the Hammond side of my overhaul might lie in a dumb MIDI controller triggering the sounds in the Grandstage, since I'm looking to get that for other purposes anyway, Of which the most obvious controller (I think?) would be the Gemini DMC-122. Anyone got experience with this combination? I'm hoping that all the drawbars and panel controls on the DMC could be set to trigger the correct target in the Korg with a minimum of fuss. (Are there template files you can load into the DMC to do such a thing?). Although I've done it before, I don't really want to get into spending hours and hours programming MIDI controller assignments etc. for each patch. Part of what I'm trying to achieve here is a more "holistic" Hammond solution that I can just sit down and play and enjoy. OTOH, if I'm already going to be buying a shit-hot Hammond engine, because it comes with something I'm planning to buy for other reasons, it seems a shame not to use it.

That's kind of where I'm at already. But in a general sense, I'm quite keen to reshape both my studio and live setups around simpler, all-contained instruments rather than MIDI senders and receivers as I have currently. As I've always loved the sound of the Hammond, and there are so many high quality clones on the market now, getting one seems like a good way to do that. I realise it will involve a change of mindset; in a sense that's exactly what I want it for. I think I'm getting the idea, and I also think a lot of things will be clearer once I actually have an instrument and just dig into it for a while. It also seems that a lot of what I want can be done via the editor software. Not sure about the intended patter of using that though, Is it a "set and forget" - until you next want to majorly upgrade the instrument - idea? Or is it the sort of thing where you could have a range of presets stored on a laptop at a gig and send them via MIDI to set the Legend up differently for different songs? Also curious about how this works on the Mojo and the DMC-122, as their editor software appears to only work from a live internet connection. Is that right? It seems ridiculous, given the inherent problems that can give rise to - why not just let people download it and run it offline like any other hardware editor?

Yes, I did basically realise that but I think you raise a good point which is that only part of what I'm used to hearing when changing rompler presets will be these changes of model. The greater part is probably drawbar settings, chorus and vibrato settings etc, which won't be part of this at all.

OK I've had another look through the Legend manual, and I think it's becoming clearer. Actually I think what I was really looking for was this: The user can select six different types of electromechanical organ from different periods, each with its own sound features. and this: 12. [TONEWHEEL MODEL] (only available on Legend and Legend Classic models). Use these buttons to select one of the three general Tonewheel organ models. Each model was made to resemble the sound features of the most iconic decades when this organ was used: - [TONEWHEEL MODEL '30]: typical '30s sound, without drawbar 16' foldback. - [TONEWHEEL MODEL '50]: typical sound of the '50s and' 60s and is often used in jazz music. - [TONEWHEEL MODEL '70]: typical sound of the '70s, mainly used in progressive music, pop and rock. In the modelLegend Live,the tonewheel model is selectedthrough the upper manual keys. To select the desired model, press and hold the[TRANSPOSE SELECT]button, then simultaneously press the upper manual key: - F5: corresponds to the button [TONEWHEEL MODEL'30] on Legend and Legend Classic. - G5: corresponds to the button [TONEWHEEL MODEL '50] on Legend and Legend Classic. - A5: corresponds to the button [TONEWHEEL MODEL '70] on Legend and Legend Classic. You can also select the sound of specific Tonewheel organ models. In both Legend organs you can select these sounds by pressing and holding the [TRANSPOSE SELECT] buttonand then pressing the following keys on the upper manual: - F#5: BC Model from 1936. - G#5: B3 Model from 1956. - A#5: A100 Model from 1961. That's the kind of thing I had in mind, setting the instrument as a whole into a certain starting point before the manual controls build on that starting point. It's fairly limited, but I can live with that. Does the Mojo have anything similar? Off to look through the manual again now. For some reason these things seem to take several readings before they penetrate my brain.

Thanks a lot Paul. Do you use a Legend?

Hi all I'm getting very confused looking at specs for various clonewheel organs. In most respects I'm finding that the mojo classic or viscount legend live would be right for my needs, but I don't understand how they manage presets. They seem extremely limited. I'm a pianist and keyboard player by background, not a Hammond specialist. To me, from experience with MIDI controllers, stage pianos etc, presets are very simple. You choose a sound, and all the effects etc. to go with it, save it, and next time you call up that preset it's all there. But I can't figure out how these organs relate to that. They seem to have only a few presets, which recall some things and not others, and have all kinds of weird limitations like disallowing percussion. Presumably this all makes sense to Hammond afficionados, but to anyone else it's just weird. You're designing an emulation in 21st century technology: why not use it to the full and just do things the obvious way? The only major player that seems to do that is Hammond/Suzuki, but I don't think their offerings are right for me for various other reasons. For example I'm looking at the specs of the Legend Live here: http://www.organmusiccenter.com/viscount.html Under "controls" it lists "upper presets 1/2" and "lower presets 1/2", but then under "drawbars" it says "Set A or Set B + 9 presets". ????? Similar confusion with the mojo. If anyone with experience playing and managing these could summarise how it works, I'd be very grateful.