Viscount Legend Live Love Letter

[Mitch Towne]

Jim,

 

The XK5 sounds good. Of course, I tested it through a wood 3300, so that helped the sound. Didn't try the internal sim.

 

The keybed of the XK5 is much better than the old XK3c action...but it still triggers really high and fast. I don't like that feel.

[jimkost2002]

thx M!

[LX88]

The action on my Legend Solo seems to have broken in a bit after a couple weeks. It seems very similar to the Mojo I had last spring.

[Markyboard]

The action on my Legend Solo seems to have broken in a bit after a couple weeks. It seems very similar to the Mojo I had last spring.

 

Not bad.

[Doerfler]

here's a video not featuring Joey

 

[video:youtube]

[bill bosco]

have you played on the legend ? how would you compare the trigger point to the mojo's ? i wish it wasn't quite so high on the viscount .i have an UHL x3-2 also , the trigger point is a little lower , to me it feels a little more natural , a little more relaxed ,for lack of a better word

[Adan]

Thinking about getting a clone, possibly a Legend Solo. I see lots of comments about the relatively stiff action. I gather it's the same TP80 as in the Electro, so do the keys basically feel like an Electro? Or is there a perceptible difference in feel between the Legend and the Electro. I find the Electro keys to be stiff but even though they don't feel like a well-worn B3, they work enough well for organ, less so for other sounds.

 

For me the ergonomics of the Legend would be enough to outweigh the advantages of the Mojo. If I can gauge what the action feels like relative to something I know (Electro), I might be in.

[jimkost2002]

Adan, IMO the Legend action is a bit tighter than the Electro, but Ive found that my Legend Live broke in after about 3 weeks. I am taking delivery of a Legend Solo this Wed.

BTW, I got my Solo from Juke Fox at Rocky Mountain/Colorado Viscount who is a great guy and excellent salesman! He updated the firmware to 1.4 for me and instaled the anti-bump card as well!

If youre gonna drop the hammer, go to him, youll be pleased with the depth of service he provides......

[Adan]

Interesting, Jim, because I've owned the Electro and it never noticeably "broke in." But as I understand the TP80 action may be paired with different springs so they're not all alike.

 

I'm not worried about stiff action, but when pro players are commenting on it as a negative, it makes me wonder whether it's bordering on dysfunctional.

 

Thanks for the reference, I'll use Juke if I get one. It's a little closer to California than either Milwakee or Nashville ;> I'll tell 'em Jim Kost sent me.

[Adan]

What is the anti-bump card? From the name it sounds like something I'd want, but I don't want to sound stupid asking for not knowing what it does.

[Jazz+]

OT: I am still amazed at how good the action is in the recent Mojo 61.

[Kurt W]

What is the anti-bump card? From the name it sounds like something I'd want, but I don't want to sound stupid asking for not knowing what it does.

When connecting a Legend to a 11 pin Leslie (in my case a Leslie 3300) the first Legend made a high, audible sound thru the Leslie when switching the organ off. To my knowledge this is fixed in new production runs. The anti-bump card is a small card connected internally to the Legend female 11 pin connector. Installation is easy and done within 15 minutes.

[Kurt W]

OT: I am still amazed at how good the action is in the recent Mojo 61.

I think this a question about personal preferance. Im having both the Mojo 61and a Legend Live. The Mojo 61 is lighter than my B3 while the Legend slightly more heavy sprung. A never ending discussion, missing facts on the different versions of Fatar TP-8O. Would be great if someone from Fatar could elaborate on this.

[mate stubb]

I have Legend and Mojo both, but have not had an Electro for years so I can't directly answer your question.

 

If you play more Gregg Allman style, the Legend won't hinder you. If you are a blazer, it might.

 

I am becoming a bit hindered from arthritis from playing as fast as I used to, and I find the Mojo easier to do it on than the Legend.

[jimkost2002]

Adan, those Nords are funny.....

Ive heard of many folks in your exact situation, whereas my own experience has been that the semi-weighted (tp80?) boards has always been a gradual loosening..... but oddly enough, this never happened on a FULLY weighted Nord.....

and I have owned, all iterations of Electros from the original to the 5d73...

go figure

 

As to the stiffnessof the Legend action:

 

I think it might be more about the VERY HIGH trigger point? To me, it is noticeably HIGHER than ANY currently available clone and SLIGHTLY(millimeters)higher than real Hammonds.

Most organists skate the keys.... maybe depressing a quarter or no more than halfway to the bed. Joey D is a GREAT example of this....

 

Ive seen Pat Bianchi many times here in the city, and he seems to be ok with the higher trigger point....LOLOLOLOLOL

Oh and btw, Akiko Tsuruga (Poppa Lou Donaldson) has switched to the Legend Live from the SK2.

 

But, if you have arthritis like mate or any hand condition, I would go with a Mojo or even an UHL X3 smooth

[AnotherScott]

For me the ergonomics of the Legend would be enough to outweigh the advantages of the Mojo. If I can gauge what the action feels like relative to something I know (Electro), I might be in.

The better ergonomics of the Legend being the additional drawbars, and/or the lower travel weight? (With the Mojo61 advantages presumably being the wider range of different organ models available to choose from, and the non-organ sounds.)

 

my own experience has been that the semi-weighted (tp80?) boards has always been a gradual loosening..... but oddly enough, this never happened on a FULLY weighted Nord.....

and I have owned, all iterations of Electros from the original to the 5d73...

go figure

Maybe not so odd. The semi-weighted keys' resistance is tied to the tension of a coiled spring, which is something that can lessen over time. The feel of a fully weighted action is largely tied to the metal hammer mechanism, whose qualities will basically never change. Also, maybe a leaf spring, but even that probably has more long-term integrity than a coil.

[Mitch Towne]

The action of the Mojo61 is, for me, far better than the action of the Legend, which is one of the reasons Im selling my Legend Live.

[bill bosco]

i'm hoping for a future update that would have a slightly

lower trigger point as an option , i could be wrong , but i

believe this is doable . doesn't really feel right , especially

with the percussion

[AnotherScott]

Mechanically, trigger points are only selectable from whatever physical sensors are part of the design. But it could be interesting to experiment with adding a delay to the signal generated by the high trigger point, to create the effect of triggering the note at some point between the high and low sensors. You could try adding an external digital delay set for "wet only" and dial in a really small delay, say a millisecond to start, to see if might get you close to what you're looking for

[Kurt W]

Mechanically, trigger points are only selectable from whatever physical sensors are part of the design.

This is not necessarily true. On the TP-8O the sensors are mounted on pcbs placed under the keys. These pcbs are mounted via screws which may be adjusted to slightly change the distance between the physical keys and the sensors. At one point the trigger point and «stiffness» of the original Mojo was upgraded. I suppose this simply meant changing the springs and decreasing the distance between the keys and the sensor pcbs.

 

The trigger point of my Legend is not higher than the Mojo 61, they seem to be almost identical between the two. Compared to a Nord Stage 3 compact I will say the Nord is triggering 1-2 millimeters lower than the Legend/Mojo. I will try to measure the three tomorrow.

[AnotherScott]

Mechanically, trigger points are only selectable from whatever physical sensors are part of the design.

This is not necessarily true. On the TP-8O the sensors are mounted on pcbs placed under the keys. These pcbs are mounted via screws which may be adjusted to slightly change the distance between the physical keys and the sensors.

Okay, but that's not something that Viscount can offer to current owners in a software update. You'd have to open up the machine and physically move the sensors. (And if in fact that's possible on this model, it would not require an update from Viscount to accomplish.) Interesting idea, though.

 

[Kurt W]

The only problem I see with a too high trigger point is «accidental triggering» a key. In that case a software or hardware delay would be of no help.

[AnotherScott]

True.

[Mitch Towne]

Also a major factor, I think, is key travel. The further a key has to go to bottom out, the more spring resistance youll feel.

[jimkost2002]

excellent point, Mitch!

[mate stubb]

Also a major factor, I think, is key travel. The further a key has to go to bottom out, the more spring resistance youll feel.

 

This +1000. Restricting key travel is the one easy thing a reasonably handy person can do to lighten the feel. A Hammond console has a shallower key dip than a TP80 by a good 1/8". That doesn't sound like much, but I have considerably lightened the feel of a TP-80's white keys just by putting a wood shim and Hammond key felt under the front of the white keys.

 

Black keys are harder, but I will probably attempt it on my Legend.

[CJN]

On 10/9/2017 at 8:56 AM, LX88 said:

As far as I am concerned the Viscount /Key B is the one to get.

 

"Another" organ I tried recently had major issue with the percussion harmonics when set on slow decay. The balance wasn't quite what I was used to, and I had a heck of a time with most speakers and headphones trying to get the upper register dialed in.

 

The Key B does not have this problem. Plus there is a percussion volume dial. I don't have to worry about going through some damned wi fi connection.

 

Another great feature of the Key B is the bass response. On that "other" clone I couldn't seem to get enough bass.

 

At the moment I am getting reasonable results with the HX3 and various controllers. If I had the money , I would have a Key B though.

I have a XK-3 and was thinking of going for the Legend Live. How do you think it compare to the XK-3?

[CJN]

I have a XK-3, some people say the XK-5 is that much better, but the price is crazy! Is it better to spend $1,000 on a Legend Live? 

 

Thanks for your comments!

CJN

https://www.carykeyzmusic.com/

[Dockeys]

Got a stand made for my Legend Live. Was close to the original pale end cheek Colour but not close enough so sanded the whole lot down, stained and varnished it. I know some don’t like the Legend motif on the side but I don’t mind it so I left it as is. 

[Dockeys]

I’ve a midi query for any existing legend owners. I’m trying to get my Legend Live to talk to B-3X on my Mac mini via usb midi. Just trying to use the legend as a controller for the B-3X. Has anyone successfully got it to control most if not all the B-3X controls? I know on the B-3X you can do a right click and learn the midi control which does work for some stuff like percussion buttons/tabs but I cant control the lower drawbars yet. The Legend drawbars are only listed as CC12-CC20 for all drawbars.

 

I’m having a hard time figuring out how to get all a set working on both manuals and the chorus switch ain’t assigning either. On the B-3X upper drawbars are on midi channel 1 and lower on midi channel 2 but I can’t figure out how to make sure the legend is playing midi channels 1 & 2? There’s a bit about it in the attached page of the manual where you hold the transpose button and select a specific key to go into the appropriate midi mode but I’m still flummoxed.  I’m including a shot of the legend midi spec and would be very greatly if anyone had ideas.