Adam C. Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I remember back in the early '90's reading in Keyboard Magazine about how to use the built-in "Chorus" effect on the Roland D-50 synthesizer to emulate the "speeding-up and slowing-down" of a rotating Leslie Speaker on Hammond B-3 sounds, (in order to make them sound more believable.) The original idea came from some of the programmers at VALHALA, (the guys who designed the famous "Screamin' B3" ROM Card from their "ORGANizer Series", specifically.) The D-50 has always been one of my favorite keyboards since the very beginning, and I've put that 'particular trick' to great use over the years. Nowadays, with all of the great organ-clones and Leslie-effect boxes at everyone's disposal, I realize that using a D-50 synthesizer for recreating Hammond B-3 sounds isn't probably going to be a "go to" move for most people, but after not being able to find any reference to this particular trick anywhere on the internet, I figured that I'd go ahead and post a quick video-tutorial for anyone who might be interested. (Hey...in a pinch, a D-50 organ might be better than nothing, ya know?) http://bobbyblues.recup.ch/roland_d-50/images/Valhala_screaminB3.JPG http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VOe03Ec0rig/TmAxB19InlI/AAAAAAAC528/NfhB0mFvOko/s1600/_MG_4838.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 (Hey...in a pinch, a D-50 organ might be better than nothing, ya know?) There are people who frequent this forum that would strongly disagree, and some who disagree a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C. Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Oh, I knew that THAT was coming! (And truthfully...I can't really say that I disagree with you.) But it's still a cool "trick" to have in your arsenal, nonetheless. (If you're a true D-50 aficionado, that is!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 http://i.stack.imgur.com/jiFfM.jpg Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMEGZ Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 http://i.stack.imgur.com/jiFfM.jpg At least you don't see a KC amp in his signature line SpaceStation V3, MoxF6,PX5S,Hammond-SK2,Artis7,Stage2-73, KronosX-73,MS Pro145,Ventilator,OB DB1,Lester K Toys: RIP died in the flood of 8/16 1930 Hammond AV, 1970s Leslie 145, 1974 Rhodes Stage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C. Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Hey! Don't blame me guys! Blame the good people at Keyboard Magazine! (Damn them and their informative articles & multi-paged D-50 ads!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I'm pretty sure this video was recorded using a D-50 organ. [video:youtube] Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd8dky Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Ahh yes, the arrogance factor is in FULL SWING today. It's always fun to cr-p on someone who has the audacity to look at things just a little bit differently... http://www.weisersound.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyS Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 It'll sound great through a Vent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C. Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 It's all in good fun. As someone who's owned 2 different Hammond B-3s' (one of them with a MIDI-out kit installed into the lower manual), a Hammond C-3 (pictured to the left of me in my avatar-photo from 2007), a Hammond XB-2 (remember those?!), 2 Korg CX3s' (both the older and the newer versions), a VOCE DMI-64 Mark II rack-mount module and a Roland VK-8 at one time or another over the past 25+ years, no one appreciates or loves "that" sound more than I do. (Which is why the "Hammond sound" is the first thing that I try to get all of my synths to emulate as well as they're possibly capable of.) "Long live the mighty Hammond B-3!" P.S. Even though I'm currently "between Hammonds' or Hammond wannabes" at the moment, my heart is currently set on a Hammond SK 2 as soon as the funds allow. (As it turns out, raising a family is a very costly "other" hobby.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMEGZ Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 The OP recognizes some of us are having light hearted fun. I used to own a D-50 as my main gigging board in the day, and thought it was the cats meow .Heck, I used the AP patch and it was fine to me. SpaceStation V3, MoxF6,PX5S,Hammond-SK2,Artis7,Stage2-73, KronosX-73,MS Pro145,Ventilator,OB DB1,Lester K Toys: RIP died in the flood of 8/16 1930 Hammond AV, 1970s Leslie 145, 1974 Rhodes Stage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 The D-50 was my cat's yowl, for many a full moon. It was a perfect, 2nd tier companion for my DX7 in the late 80's. For some gigs a Korg SG-1 piano replaced the DX7, but the D50 went out on every gig. For wedding band gigs, and the like, my Tonewheel sounds were covered by a few D50 organ patches that used something close to the rotary trick mentioned above; those sounds came from a fellow player who'd dialed them in. Sometime around 1990 I heard an original band in which the keyboard player's D50 organs sounded a lot greasier than any I'd heard previously. Turns out he was using an Alesis Quadraverb for rotary sim.. 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod76 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 You got a great smoky sounding tone out of the Roland, Mister Adam. Very impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorayM Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Very cool trick! There's a huge difference between that an the stock sounds. I'm going to steal it to try on some other boards... Cephid - Progressive Electro Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C. Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 Thanks for the nice comments guys. I appreciate it. Obviously, the D-50 is not meant to be a substitute for any decent clone-wheel organ (or even better yet, a real vintage Hammond, if you're so fortunate), but I thought that anybody out there who happened to already own a D-50 might get a kick out of fooling around with some new experimental programming techniques. (Sometimes I'll just spend hours digging into one of my old "obsolete" synths and be amazed at how many new and unexpected things I stumble upon, purely by chance.) Now! I'm off to program a killer "Minimoog" patch into my Casio CZ-3000! (Yeah...I know. I know.) It'll sound great through a Vent. That doesn't count. Anything can sound great through a Ventilator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMEGZ Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Adam I know I poked you about the KC amp, all in fun. I did watch the You-Tube video you made and was impressed. I could not believe the sounds you coaxed out of that ancient machine, plus your presentation was very good and clear. I think using the chorus fx eliminated the dread AM warble that so many rotary emulations suffer from, at least to me I didn't detect any. Like we say in the classic car hobby, keep that old iron going !!! SpaceStation V3, MoxF6,PX5S,Hammond-SK2,Artis7,Stage2-73, KronosX-73,MS Pro145,Ventilator,OB DB1,Lester K Toys: RIP died in the flood of 8/16 1930 Hammond AV, 1970s Leslie 145, 1974 Rhodes Stage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 It actually sounds pretty good. I used to do the same thing on the SY77 to get decent B3 type sounds before I had a real organ and Leslie. Gotta do what you gotta do. Keep it greazy! B3tles - Soul Jazz THEO - Prog Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane hugo Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Laugh all y'all want...but Prince used a D-50 as his primary organ sound source for several albums, beginning with Sign O' The Times, on which he used one of the prototypes. He dumped every preset it came with and replaced them with different B3-style patches of his own design. ...added Adam's video to my YT faves. will study it later. http://blip.fm/invite/WorkRelease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Laugh all y'all want...but Prince used a D-50 as his primary organ sound source for several albums, So did Sting, but organ players don't like it. No one else cares, so it's all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillNeverPost Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Here's a higher-fidelity example of the D-50's stock Hammond sound with simulated slow rotor: http://www.synthmania.com/Roland%20D-50/Audio/Factory%20preset%20demos/18%20Slow%20Rotor.mp3 If you were using that on stage as background in a song (not soloing it) I'd bet it would fool 90% of the audience, as long as they didn't actually look at what you were playing it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Laugh all y'all want...but Prince used a D-50 as his primary organ sound source for several albums, So did Sting, but organ players don't like it. No one else cares, so it's all good. This. You have given articulation to my inner rage. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 This. You have given articulation to my inner rage. I feel honored, Moe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C. Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 You have given articulation to my inner rage. I appreciate your passion, my friend. I really do. When it comes to organ sounds, "ain't nothin' like the real thing", is there? On this point, Sir, we are in total agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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