Options for bitimbral dual manual clonewheel?

[MathOfInsects]

Is it only the Hammond SKs? What am I not remembering?

[AnotherScott]

I believe you could use the GSI DMC122 with installed gemini module that way. (I assume your goal is it for to be entirely internal.)

[Baldwin Funster]

 B3x and 2 Roland A800pro's.

[Radagast]

Viscount Legend.

[ImproKeys]

A Crumar Mojo Classic with an iPad attached 😉

[niacin]

One of the 2-manual Mojos allowed you to have a different sound on each manual, but the pairing was fixed, I think the options were Hammond + Rhodes or Farfisa + Wurly. Someone will fill in my failing memory with the details 

[UnderGroundGr]

Two Reface YC....😉

[MathOfInsects]

12 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

I believe you could use the GSI DMC122 with installed gemini module that way. (I assume your goal is it for to be entirely internal.)

Entirely internal, yes.

10 hours ago, Radagast said:

Viscount Legend.

Viscount is monotimbral.

[MathOfInsects]

Thank you for the input. So my takeaway is that with the exception of the GSI, which gets by on a sort of technicality, there is not a bitimbral dual manual clone on the market that isn't a Hammond SK _ .  Digging into this topic I see there was some discussion of Mojo releasing a bitimbral option in the late 20-teens, but it obviously didn't happen, or at least not to the extent of the Gemini module. 

Interesting. This would seem to be an opportunity for someone.
 

[Radagast]

1 hour ago, MathOfInsects said:

Entirely internal, yes.

Viscount is monotimbral.

What is your definition of monotimbral?

[nadroj]

1 hour ago, MathOfInsects said:

Interesting. This would seem to be an opportunity for someone.
 

I’ve been saying this for a while. The consensus seems to be the market is too small/potential consumers too niche.

 

I ultimately went with the SKX and it’s been great for me. 3 part organ and ROMpler. 

[AnotherScott]

11 minutes ago, Radagast said:

What is your definition of monotimbral?

One sound. In the case of Viscount, organ. As opposed to the SK series the OP is talking about, where it can work as a monotimbral 2-manual organ, or you can do bitimbral things like put organ on the top manual, piano on the bottom, that kind of thing.

[MathOfInsects]

43 minutes ago, nadroj said:

I’ve been saying this for a while. The consensus seems to be the market is too small/potential consumers too niche.

 

I ultimately went with the SKX and it’s been great for me. 3 part organ and ROMpler. 

It seems to me the market for a dedicated clonewheel would be smaller than one for a clonewheel plus {anything else}. All you'd be doing by adding the additional sounds is expanding the use-model (in my mind). 

I really, really wanted to bond with that board. I'm sure I'll give it another chance. But those pianos...

[stoken6]

1 hour ago, MathOfInsects said:

It seems to me the market for a dedicated clonewheel would be smaller than one for a clonewheel plus {anything else}. All you'd be doing by adding the additional sounds is expanding the use-model (in my mind). 

I wonder if multitimbral types would prefer to have a weighted action board to accompany a waterfall-clonewheel.

 

Only Viscount, Crumar, Hammond, MAG and UHL make two-manual clonewheels (Korg, Roland and Nord have at some point in history - and that's not counting Electones). That must say something about target market.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[RABid]

Hammond XK-5 has a lower manual add on. I'm still using the XK-3c with added lower manual.

[Delaware Dave]

this is why the Gemini module always made sense to me; you can connect it to a dual manual organ or two keyboards of your choice (one weighted and one nonweighted) or one keyboard splitting the board upper and lower. Being bi-timbral you can play both DSP's at the same time; it's footprint is small.  Its strengths are the quality of its sounds, including the newest acoustic pianos.  It's the centerpiece of my gig rig.

[MathOfInsects]

14 minutes ago, RABid said:

Hammond XK-5 has a lower manual add on. I'm still using the XK-3c with added lower manual.

Monotimbral, though.

[CEB]

My thing does it.  I wish it didn’t.  I use it just as a stage organ. Some day I will accidentally bring up a non organ sound and won’t be able to change it back. 

[RABid]

51 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

Monotimbral, though.

The XK-3c can do splits. Not sure about the 5.

[McBones]

4 hours ago, nadroj said:

I ultimately went with the SKX and it’s been great for me. 3 part organ and ROMpler. 

 

Recently purchased the SKX Pro.  Not tweakable like a workstation per se, but the ROMpler voices are very good IMO.  Working very well for my stage needs.

[CEB]

12 minutes ago, RABid said:

The XK-3c can do splits. Not sure about the 5.

Yes it does.    Up until 2013 the XK3c was the controller for my rack synths.  It worked well. I needed to setup only a handful of presets and loved the action. 

[MathOfInsects]

31 minutes ago, RABid said:

The XK-3c can do splits. Not sure about the 5.

One sound source: the organ. I'm interested in a board that allows for two or more sound sources (e.g., organ and piano). 

 

[CEB]

The XK-3c actually does have extra voices never tried to implement them multi timbrally. 

[MathOfInsects]

Oh, I never knew that. So that leaves the question of whether a "split" can mean one on one manual and one on the other. 

[CEB]

The extra voices on XK3c are hidden for a reason.   Some of them were okayish but you don’t really want to use them.  

[MathOfInsects]

Got it. So back to drawing board on that one. But interesting to learn they even have additional voices. Thanks for the scoop.

[Baldwin Funster]

1 hour ago, CEB said:

The extra voices on XK3c are hidden for a reason.   Some of them were okayish but you don’t really want to use them.  

From memory, the 80s EP wasn't terrible.

The Clav seemed like midi from the midi sending generator wasn't getting full velocity to the Clavinator so it was kind of weak.

The synth was interesting but had sounds kind of moving around so you couldnt use it to cover existing synth sounds but you might write one good original with it.

I don't remember what the other sounds were.

[RABid]

The piano is just okay. But then, the overdrive\Leslie emulation made me rush right out and get a Vent 2.

[nadroj]

16 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

It seems to me the market for a dedicated clonewheel would be smaller than one for a clonewheel plus {anything else}. All you'd be doing by adding the additional sounds is expanding the use-model (in my mind). 

I really, really wanted to bond with that board. I'm sure I'll give it another chance. But those pianos...

The pianos are little different to the small “bright grand” I had in my Nord Electro. The only time it’s noticeable is when I’m playing solo exposed piano, but chances are if you’re buying a dual manual clonewheel you aren’t doing much of that. 

 

For a band context, the SKX (not pro) piano does the job imo. But again I’m not exactly playing subtle piano parts. 
 

I’ve actually recorded a couple of ballads with it and it was…ok. The intended listeners didn’t notice it was a clonewheel piano! 

[Franz Schiller]

There's the Nord C1, Nord C2, and Nord C2d.

 

Those are all capable of 3 zones, the upper, lower, and lower bass (low 2 octaves). I have EXTENSIVE experience with this; I used to control a weird synth rig with a Nord C1 and then a C2.

 

The midi implementation isn't amazing, but it works.