Kurzweil's KB3 engine is quite good....

[Tom Williams]

The KB3 is on its own separate processor called a MARA processor[...]. Someone correct me, but, it's an old design that only accepts one MIDI channel at a time and will never be able to work with two manuals. Kurzweil would have to add a third chip for a second manual.

The PC3 handles 16 channels at one time. Part of its resources -- approximately 40 notes of polyphony processing -- are consumed by the virtual tonewheel engine, which is then tapped and mixed for the KB3 organ. It is sharing the same chip that drives the ROMpler / VAST synthesis engine.

 

Just as the other 15 channels can all be playing different ROMpler voices on different MIDI channels, it seems to me that it should be possible to let more than one channel tap from the already sounding tonewheel engine and mix it together into another (or another 10) clonewheel manual.

 

Again, if you're modeling a "real" Hammond, note that both manuals are simultaneously tapping the same 79 or 91 tonewheels, and mixing them independently.

 

Do I expect that in a future PC3 software update? No; but it seems like a reasonable capability -- with no further loss of polyphony -- to include in a future flagship synth.

 

Seems to work best for me if I instantiate a crestolled framistan in the last layer before output.

I once saw a crestolled framistan, but it flew away before I could get out my camera, so no one believes me.

[rockinredeye]

I believe you, Tom. I believe you.

[Dave Weiser]

The KB3 is on its own separate processor called a MARA processor[...]. Someone correct me, but, it's an old design that only accepts one MIDI channel at a time and will never be able to work with two manuals. Kurzweil would have to add a third chip for a second manual.

The PC3 handles 16 channels at one time. Part of its resources -- approximately 40 notes of polyphony processing -- are consumed by the virtual tonewheel engine, which is then tapped and mixed for the KB3 organ. It is sharing the same chip that drives the ROMpler / VAST synthesis engine.

 

Just as the other 15 channels can all be playing different ROMpler voices on different MIDI channels, it seems to me that it should be possible to let more than one channel tap from the already sounding tonewheel engine and mix it together into another (or another 10) clonewheel manual.

 

Again, if you're modeling a "real" Hammond, note that both manuals are simultaneously tapping the same 79 or 91 tonewheels, and mixing them independently.

 

Do I expect that in a future PC3 software update? No; but it seems like a reasonable capability -- with no further loss of polyphony -- to include in a future flagship synth.

 

Seems to work best for me if I instantiate a crestolled framistan in the last layer before output.

I once saw a crestolled framistan, but it flew away before I could get out my camera, so no one believes me.

 

Much of the relevant info on this topic (hardware) isn't public. There are a bunch of reasons for why MARA only does only one channel of KB3 - MIDI is not one of them.

 

What I can say:

MARA is not just for KB3; it does sample-fetching, VAST, VA oscillators and FX. It's a versatile little chip.

 

 

[rockinredeye]

Thank You Mr. Weiser. What I thought I knew isn't public. I mistakenly thought one MARA chip was for the KB3 and the other was for everything else. Don't know where I got that idea. Anyway, I am a Kurzweil convert because the sounds are so good (thanks again) and the programming way more versatile that I can possibly use. Andrew Lloyd Webber made a good choice.