Boss RT-20 with VK8

[Allister]

Quick question, i brought a vk8 a while ago and the leslie sim isn't doing it for me (speed wise) i checked out a few local music shops this weekend to see if i could try out a vent. none of the music shops around me had ever heard of them and i was pointed in the direction of the boss RT20.

 

only concern is that it might be a boxed version of the internal sim on the vk8. apart from that i love the speed controls and the sound so i was wondering is it worth picking one up? or should i contact roland to see if there is some way to edit the leslie fast speed on the fly through the vk8 without having to go into all the invisible menus every time i would like to change the speed and the rise times.

 

Thanks.

[Joe Muscara]

By all accounts here, the Ventilator blows away the RT20 and just about everything else out there. I don't think the RT20 would be a significant improvement over the VK8 sim. That being said, you might want to buy it locally and see if it works for you.

[Delaware Dave]

You said the speed is not doing it for you but speed is adjustable on the VK8. What makes you think the speed on the RT20 will cut it? If you can adjust the speed on the RT20 to your liking you should be able to adjust the speed on the VK8 to your liking as well. So I'm thinking it isn't totally a speed issue.

[Allister]

Thanks for the replies guys. the fast slow rotor speeds are adjustable on the vk8 but the parameters are inside "invisible" menu's which are practically inaccessible during a gig to change between songs. the main thing i liked about the boss was that i was able to change the parameters with ease on the fly.

 

though to be honest i've checked out the vent before and it was out of budget but i just found one thats only around £100 more than the boss rt20.

[LX88]

With the VK8 you might want to try out the budget Ventilator.

 

I always found the VK8 overdrive to be excellent, so you might not need the more expensive Ventilator . I think one of the only other differences would be mic distance.

 

And Guido of VB3 and Mojo is coming out with a leslie simulator too, supposedly priced less than the Ventilator.

 

One of the interesting things about the VK8 is the key bounce feature. Some like it and some don't. But I really like the VK8 engine, which apparently is still being used.

[Allister]

it would be interesting if someone could make an interface for the hidden menus in the vk8. if you can update the software via midi cables surely it would be possible to create a programme that could bypass the vk8 so it could be edited via a laptop.

something like the interface yamaha provide for the mox8.

 

rant over lol

[wineandkeyz]

You might also try the VK8 Upgrade Pack from Soundside. I owned a VK-8M a while back, and thought the upgrade pack made a marked improvement to it.

 

Clonk here.

[Allister]

Thanks Wineandkeyz, i was looking at that a while back i was slightly hesitant to try it. might pull the trigger now you've mentioned it.

[Piktor]

While I don't think most organists want to have more than stopped, one set slow speed and one set fast speed, I think that I kind of know where you're coming from. I had a somewhat similar idea many years ago. In an attempt to emulate the way wind or string player might vary their vibrato speed in expressive ways, I thought that it would be cool to modify a Leslie so that the player could have continuously variable speeds from stopped to fast and any speed in between. My idea was to control the Leslie speed from something like a volume pedal. My tech friend explained that this mod would be more involved than I had expected - changing the motor, etc. etc. (Today I like the dynamic of the rotor changing speeds and am able to get more of what I'm hearing by using a momentary switch to vary speed from stopped to a bit of motion or a lot of motion.)

 

For you, I'm not sure that there is going to be a big enough user base for a clone wheel that came out 10 years ago to make it worth anyone's efforts to develop software that I suspect most organists wouldn't use any way. However, if you are willing to mess with interfacing the VK8 with a laptop on stage (I'm not), you might want to consider try this idea: Having recently retired my Leslie 147 from gigging duty, I was experimenting a bit before deciding to buy a Vent. I was able to run a VK8 into a VST host and pass the audio through GSI's VB3fx (the "Leslie" part of the VB3 organ). It's possible to set up a midi controller to change the speeds. The VB3/VB3fx package is 50 Euros, which might be cheaper than the Roland pedal and is certainly cheaper than the Vent. Of course, this is not a cheaper alternative unless you already have a laptop, audio interface and software that runs VSTs.

[Allister]

i think you have hit the nail on the head Piktor. i have been digging around some other forums and any solution is going to take a fair amount of time and knowledge that i don't have. and i am also beginning to think that it may be my limited experience with manipulating drawbars and organ settings which is the problem.

[Doerfler]

You might also try the VK8 Upgrade Pack from Soundside. I owned a VK-8M a while back, and thought the upgrade pack made a marked improvement to it.

 

Clonk here.

 

+1. I sold my VK8 almost 5 years ago but I remember liking this upgrade plenty. Pass on the RT 20. Most everyone who bought a Vent when they first came out bought it without hearing it, myself included. Still have mine, bet most others do also.

[Delaware Dave]

i think you have hit the nail on the head Piktor. i have been digging around some other forums and any solution is going to take a fair amount of time and knowledge that i don't have. and i am also beginning to think that it may be my limited experience with manipulating drawbars and organ settings which is the problem.

I think what you might want to look around for is a Motion Sound Gas Pedal. Coupled with the Motion Sound Pro3T it allowed variable speed control. Here is a picture of one:

 

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/motion-sound-gas-pedal-ex-cond-134683602

 

This site has a zip file containing information regarding the pedal.

 

http://motionsoundamps.com/support.php

 

From time to time they popup on Ebay.

[brenner13]

Before landing a VR09, an RT20 gave my non-clone organ tones adequate sim for many years. RT stays in the studio now 'cause the VR's internal sim is a tad better after some speed tweaks. Neither has decent overdrive, but from what I remember from a VK8 demo several years ago, that overdrive is quite tasty.