Viscount Legend Live Love Letter

[teashea]

Legend update 1.4 is out --- at NAMM it is being demonstrated.

[Delaware Dave]

I care very little (not at all) about whether a digital organ sounds precisely like any particular B3 version. The B3's are all over the place in terms of how they sound. I want my digital organs to sounds good.

What is good? Define that. If you ask 1000 people what good is then you get 1000 different answers. In Mitch's case good includes the percussion recharge modelling to be correct. Loudness robbing is another basic fundamental to most B3's, but it is missing. For many these are also key fundamentals in order to have a good sound. For others it might be the features like the contact system, for others it's the layout and for many it's the price point.

 

And B3's sounds are generally "all over the place" if they haven't been properly maintained.

[bill bosco]

is percussion recharge that big of a deal ?

[Al Coda]

 

There is a video showing the differences between the two. Surprisingly there area lot of differences:

 

 

That´s the vid I watched for several times last year already.

It held me back from ordering a Viscount Legend Solo even at it´s very good price.

 

The single manual UHL is too expensive and I dislike the control panel´s position moving all the controls to the left.

The latter also rules for the dual manual version.

 

MOJO61 is an option too but w/ only 4 presets it´s not for me.

I´d also wish it did organ local while playing an extra sound over MIDI.

 

Hammond Suzuki isn´t in my focus at all.

 

Now I hope for Viscount´s updates ...

 

A.C.

[wd8dky]

Legend update 1.4 is out --- at NAMM it is being demonstrated.

 

Does anyone who has demo'd 1.4 have any comments? Thank you.

[LX88]

The percussion recharge issue is not too big of a deal to me.... I don't notice it too much on long decay ( Legend Solo), which is what I generally use. The volume from note to note seems fine on that.

 

As I recall , my Roland VK8m module had an adjustment for it though. VK8m to me is still an under rated clone and every bit equal to some of the newer Roland offerings.

 

Still trying to get some info on getting into the keybed on the Solo to put in my " broken in" springs.

[LX88]

Listening to the Joey D. clips playing the Legend at NAMM , must have just made Youtube.

 

Sounds pretty convincing to me. I am not seeing what he is playing it through. There is some kind of cabinet you can see when they cut to the drummer. If someone saw this at NAMM let us know.

 

Second clip, Someday my Prince Will Come.... he puts it through the paces. He uses that second harmonic thing where it sounds kind of like chimes. There is your percussion right there.

 

I have been a Key B fan from day one.

[AnotherScott]

is percussion recharge that big of a deal ?

I guess enough for some people that they noticed the difference in the first place. I imagine it's technically a "flaw" -- Laurens Hammond probably didn't want the percussion level to change, it was just an unavoidable characteristic, a "side effect." Like key click, which supposedly he didn't want. But these "imperfections" are part of the sound and are now generally desirable. Whether percussion recharge is even a factor for you may be a matter of, not just personal preference, but also your playing style. Someone who plays "machine gun" single note repetitions with percussion would almost certainly notice a difference, for example. I suppose some still might not care, or might even prefer the full volume repeats, but players who want o replicate their authentic Hammond experience will presumably want the recharge to be emulated.

 

There is a video showing the differences between the two. Surprisingly there area lot of differences:

That´s the vid I watched for several times last year already.

It held me back from ordering a Viscount Legend Solo even at it´s very good price.

The organs in that video certainly sound different. But apart from the technical things discussed (i.e. percussion recharge), I'm not sure it tells you that the Viscount does not sound like a Hammond so much as that the Viscount does not sound like that Hammond. I mean, it's probably no different from the Hammond than the various "models" in a Mojo (or Numa 2) sound different from each other, as they are designed to sound like different specific Hammonds. So I don't know that the Viscount is any less faithful, without hearing the model they were trying to emulate. But still, sufficienly authentic or not. it obviously would have to be a Hammond sound that appeals to you.

 

Hammond Suzuki isn´t in my focus at all.

Have you looked at the XK-5?

[Doerfler]

Listening to the Joey D. clips playing the Legend at NAMM , must have just made Youtube.

 

posted them HERE

[Mitch Towne]

The Mojo models the percussion recharge.

 

The Legend updates don't address the recharge, AFAIK.

[Mitch Towne]

The main reason I noticed this is that there have been times when I thought maybe the software misfired or glitched because the percussion seemed to behave different than I expected. But I'm pretty sure it was because there is no recharge time.

 

It's not a deal breaker or that big of a deal (like a lousy CV would be). It's more or less just another thing that separates clones from the real thing.

[Spider76]

Just saw this on an Italian online store

 

https://www.panharmonikon.net/viscount-legend-classic.html?utm_source=mercatinomusicale&utm_campaign=vetrina&utm_medium=link

 

Ever heard of it? Looks like a Legend in a full, non-portable B3-like enclosure. No sign of it on Viscount's website.

Is it at NAMM? Is it a leak?

 

(if that price is real, it's absurdly high, btw)

 

 

[Mitch Towne]

It's at NAMM.

[Delaware Dave]

I just attended the Delaware R&R HOF ceremony today. Fred Dawson from the band Club Fred hosted the show. For years Fred hauled a B3/147 but 3-4 years ago purchased a KeyB Mk III. When I got there I noticed he was using a Legend. He said he just received the keyboard about 1 week ago. He was running it through a 3300. Mark Farner (from Grand Funk) was the special guest and also played the Legend.

 

I spoke to Fred after the show and asked him what he didn't like about the keyboard and be said "the C/V needs adjusting and the percussion is not quite right". Other than that he had no complaints. I thought the rig didn't sound any better than the Gemini (Mojo in a rack) and I don't even use a real leslie. It has a different sound than the Mojo. I will upload pictures and video later tonight.

[Paul Harrison]

Looks like a Legend in a full, non-portable B3-like enclosure. No sign of it on Viscount's website.

 

Viscount Legend Classic

[Spider76]

Ooops! I checked yesterday and it wasn't there, it went online right now.

Well, looks like Viscount has aggressive plans for the Legend: with that price and form factor, it's aiming right at H/S and the B3 MkII, even more than the XK-5.

[Six-string-man]

Just saw this on an Italian online store

 

https://www.panharmonikon.net/viscount-legend-classic.html?utm_source=mercatinomusicale&utm_campaign=vetrina&utm_medium=link

 

Ever heard of it? Looks like a Legend in a full, non-portable B3-like enclosure. No sign of it on Viscount's website.

Is it at NAMM? Is it a leak?

 

(if that price is real, it's absurdly high, btw)

 

 

 

Maybe so, but it's still over 1000 euros cheaper than the equivalent Hammond XK5 package.

[mynameisdanno]

At that price, I hope there's an option for a back panel *without* a giant brand name emblazoned upon it.

[area51recording]

Listening to the Joey D. clips playing the Legend at NAMM , must have just made Youtube.

 

posted them HERE

 

Sounds pretty dang GOOD! Also looks like maybe Joey's lost some weight?...

[Jazz+]

Joey makes every clone sound great.

[John Tweed]

The Mojo models the percussion recharge.

And the loudness robbing, which is affected by the resistor wires setting. It makes a difference to the sound, particularly if you are playing lhb.

[Spider76]

...it's still over 1000 euros cheaper than the equivalent Hammond XK5 package.

 

My perception (which may perfectly be wrong) is that the regular Legend is the competitor of the XK-5: a full console (2 manuals, 5 sets of drawbars, preset keys etc) with the added benefit of modularity and portability.

 

At current Thomann prices, the full package (organ, pedalboard, stand, bench) is around 10,000 for the H/S, and 5,500 for Viscount.

 

But if we look at full size, non-portable, self contained consoles that faithfully mimic the real B3, the only options are the Legend Classic (9500 according to that ad) and Hammond's B3 Mark2, which I believe is over 20K.

 

Either way, Viscount's offering is around half the cost of H/S's...and in any case it's more than what you can pay for a restored Hammond+Leslie.

 

[LX88]

I like the percussion volume down a bit from what the average person likes. Also ( to me ) slow decay knocks down the intensity of the percussion attack, so I probably like the fact that the percussion volume remains constant - for what I do.

 

Once again, I will also say that I like the way Key B makes percussion sound in conjunction with the leslie sim. The percussion does have an " affected" quality, as on some sims I have heard.

 

Percussion also sounds good to me on slow decay, leslie sim on. Most sims made me want to use only fast decay. On the Legend I like both.

 

I almost never use fast decay with CV on. That's just me. I like the percussion to blend more with a note or chord when CV is on.

 

I would imagine that this issue with recharge has a lot to do with initial attack on fast decay.

 

 

[Mitch Towne]

Something else not mentioned here (and I'll preface this by saying that there is a LOT that I like about the Legend) is the Legend action. No other way to say it: it's really stiff. Maybe one of the hardest clone actions out there. Very disappointing.

[Josh Paxton]

Something else not mentioned here (and I'll preface this by saying that there is a LOT that I like about the Legend) is the Legend action. No other way to say it: it's really stiff. Maybe one of the hardest clone actions out there. Very disappointing.

 

I felt the same. In fact when I voiced my disappointment with the Legend, the two most common responses from its users were "The action will loosen up over time," and "That issue with the sound should be addressed in a future software update." While both of those things may be true, to me that's kind of like saying "This coat will be nice and warm by NEXT winter."

[Delaware Dave]

As I mentioned in a prior post over the weekend a guy I know just received his last week. He played it at a benefit I attended. After the gig I took for a quick spin and yes the action is quite stiff, stiffer than my PC3 which has the TP8 action. I've never tried the new Mojo's keybed, only the older keybed on the dual manual.

[bill bosco]

i played on one of the sk organs at a local guitar center ,

it was way stiffer than the legend , i had a nord c1 a while

back and i think that was also a tougher action . that said ,

i was surprised at the legend's keybed . very smooth , but

a little too stiff . maybe they did that to compensate for

the higher trigger point ? don't know .

[jimkost2002]

I think they compensated for the high trigger point with the stiffer action.

That being said, my Legend Live loosened up after about 2 months...

Still my favorite clone.

I AM interested in trying the SKx

[Mitch Towne]

When Crumar first announced the improved Mojo action, they mentioned raising the trigger point. I was concerned because I had come from an XK3 that I HATED, partially because the trigger point was so high. But, Crumar somehow came up with the perfect combination of light triggering, high trigger point and just enough pushback.

 

Something I have learned is that a light touch is great, but it can't be TOO light. There has to be some push back in order to really play organ. I tried the UHL Smooth and it was so light it was almost unplayable, IMHO. I haven't played a clone action that I like better. The Numa 2 is the closest to the Mojo (they might be the same). The XK5 action is improved from the XK3 but it still sufferers from the really quick triggering.

[jimkost2002]

Mitch, what did you think of the XK-5 overall?

....are the multi-key contacts all they are cracked up to be?