B3 Mk2

[liam kealy]

I have just purchased the new Mk2 B3 portable i love it i upgraded from the new b3 portable and can really hear the difference but was wondering if any one had any tips on setting up the custom tone wheels

[Outkaster]

Talk to Jim Alfredson on here. He will probably see the thread anyway but has done some work in this department.

[JMcS]

In the XK-3 Yahoo Group:

 

XK-3 Group

 

There are PDFs of the settings a couple of people have come up with to match their Hammonds. Jim A's 58 B3 is one and an A-100 is the other. They are in the XK-3 and XK-3c Tonewheel Bank folders in the files section. These could be used to start with and then you could tweak from there if you wanted. Since the audio system of the New B3 MkII is different they might sound a little different. However, you could look at it like the tonewheels would sound the pretty much same but like any two Hammonds, there will be differences in the final sound.

 

There is also a PDF of the process I used to tweak a set of tonewheels. What I did was take much of the leakage and motor rumble out and adjust for a strong, fairly clean signal. This is what I think a new Hammond was intended to sound like the day it left the factory. IMO, YMMV, Yada Yada Yada

 

I don't know how hard they are to get to in the Portable B3 MkII but you might also try some old 50's/60's era tubes in it. They make a big difference in the XK-3 and '3c. The New B3 MkII tube preamp works differently from how the XK-3 and '3c's preamps work. The XK-3 and '3c are different from each other as well.