Viscount Legend Soul 261 vs. the rest

[Aynsley Green]

On 8/13/2024 at 4:32 AM, mrburls said:

I'm looking at the legend soul 261 or the Crumar Mojo Classic. The 9 key contacts on the Legend seem really enticing. I think the Crumar sounds better though at least from the videos I've seen on it. The Legend seems a little 'bright' and digital, but maybe that is tweakable. I did make a custom 12BH7 preamp that I use for more gain, and it looks like you can run an FX loop through the Legend?  I think I'm going with the Legend though. I have a Crumar 7 and I absolutely love it, but its my second one. I had one bad right out of the box. Viscount seems to a bit better quality maybe, and I'm looking for reliability since Organ is my main rig. Right now, I'm running a Nord C1 with an HX3 module and custom drawbar unit I made played through a Leslie 145, but I'm looking to have something that is easier to setup and has action that is most Hammond like. I suppose if I really don't like the sound of the Legend, I could still use my HX3 expander, but it kind of defeats the purpose of what I'm trying to do.

 

Out of the box the Viscount is a bit clean - the trick is to use the Overdrive effect set to Algorithm #6  (which models the AO-28 preamp), Drive 10 o'clock, Tone 2 o'clock, + a bit of the Rotary Gain knob - ties the whole sound together. You can also exclude the Bass/Pedal from the Overdrive, which helps a lot (a feature lacking on other clonewheels). 

 

The B3 1956 Tone wheel set also adds a bit more grit. 

 

If all else fails, there's the FX loop. 

[John Tweed]

11 minutes ago, Aynsley Green said:

 

Out of the box the Viscount is a bit clean - the trick is to use the Overdrive effect set to Algorithm #6  (which models the AO-28 preamp), Drive 10 o'clock, Tone 2 o'clock, + a bit of the Rotary Gain knob - ties the whole sound together. You can also exclude the Bass/Pedal from the Overdrive, which helps a lot (a feature lacking on other clonewheels). 

 

The B3 1956 Tone wheel set also adds a bit more grit. 

 

If all else fails, there's the FX loop. 

 

Are you using a Leslie by any chance? I'm guessing not. I play mine through a 251 at home and the output via the 11 pin does not go through the "rotary gain" knob, so I have to use the general fx overdrive "rotay pre" setting, which ties the effects up (not that I'm all that interested in them but it would be nice to have). Perhaps their thinking is that it's only there to substitue for the overdrive that the Leslie naturally provides, but (like all tube amps) you have to be driving it hard to get the sound we are mostly listening for. It's not practical or desirable for me to crank it that much at home.

[Aynsley Green]

11 hours ago, Adan said:

Putting aside price, the only criticism I have of the Soul 261 is that it's a bit cumbersome to transport compared to other double manual clones. The numbers may not seem all that different on paper, but in your hands the difference is very noticeable. If I was shopping for a double manual clone and knew I'd be moving it around a lot, I might lean towards the Crumar or Hammond just for that reason.

The VLS 261 is a bit chunky, it must be said - barely fits under my arm, but is a manageable-ish 20kg. It does look impressive, if that matters to you. 

But, significantly smaller and lighter than the Hammond XK5+LM, without sacrificing 5 sets of drawbars, 9 contact action, Half moon Switch, fancy features like FX loop, 11 pin, Bass Out, audio interface, or general layout (mostly). The Pedalboard 18 is suprisingly manageable, unlike the Hammond pedalboard. 

 

The layout of the Crumar I find rather baffling, why are there preset keys in the top-right corner? Why is the Leslie button wedged between the drawbars and the CV switch? Why the gaudy glowing purple lights? Why? 

[Aynsley Green]

15 minutes ago, John Tweed said:

 

Are you using a Leslie by any chance? I'm guessing not. I play mine through a 251 at home and the output via the 11 pin does not go through the "rotary gain" knob, so I have to use the general fx overdrive "rotay pre" setting, which ties the effects up (not that I'm all that interested in them but it would be nice to have). Perhaps their thinking is that it's only there to substitue for the overdrive that the Leslie naturally provides, but (like all tube amps) you have to be driving it hard to get the sound we are mostly listening for. It's not practical or desirable for me to crank it that much at home.

 

I don't own a Leslie, trying to figure that whether I can get a good enough sound without one - either via the internal effects, or throwing a Mini Vent 2 or a Lounsberry Organ Grinder into the mix. I did use it on a pop track the other week, internal effects + the UAD Tape Sim plugin - the client and I both were happy with how it turned out. 

 

The bottleneck for a Leslie is my sedan, maybe it's time for an SUV. 

 

There is a Leslie 330 at work (modern solid-state), have yet to try that out with it. 

[mrburls]

On 8/14/2024 at 9:28 PM, John Tweed said:

 

Are you using a Leslie by any chance? I'm guessing not. I play mine through a 251 at home and the output via the 11 pin does not go through the "rotary gain" knob, so I have to use the general fx overdrive "rotay pre" setting, which ties the effects up (not that I'm all that interested in them but it would be nice to have). Perhaps their thinking is that it's only there to substitue for the overdrive that the Leslie naturally provides, but (like all tube amps) you have to be driving it hard to get the sound we are mostly listening for. It's not practical or desirable for me to crank it that much at home.

I ended up pulling the trigger on it. Out of the box I'm pretty impressed. The Leslie Sim is pretty good also going through my SRM450.  I do have a 145 and an old Speakeasy  preamp pedal, haven't run it through that yet. The key contacts are really nice. Comes very close to my C3 which has had the felts replaced. The actions are pretty close.  I'll be putting it through its rounds on a jazz gig on Tuesday.

[Aynsley Green]

1 hour ago, mrburls said:

I ended up pulling the trigger on it. Out of the box I'm pretty impressed. The Leslie Sim is pretty good also going through my SRM450.  I do have a 145 and an old Speakeasy  preamp pedal, haven't run it through that yet. The key contacts are really nice. Comes very close to my C3 which has had the felts replaced. The actions are pretty close.  I'll be putting it through its rounds on a jazz gig on Tuesday.

 

Nice, let us know how the gig goes. I'm yet to road-test mine, not worried about the sound, but a bit worried about the schleppage factor. 

 

Also, be sure to check out the latest firmware's Rotary Model B, an improvement I think (it's not clear which Model you are using without using the Editor, annoyingly) 

[JoJoB3]

Wait a minute.  Hold the phone, chuck.

Did I catch it mentioned in a video (I believe by Brian Ho perhaps) that the Viscount Soul keybed contact system uses magnet switching ('contactless')?

[Delaware Dave]

3 hours ago, JoJoB3 said:

Wait a minute.  Hold the phone, chuck.

Did I catch it mentioned in a video (I believe by Brian Ho perhaps) that the Viscount Soul keybed contact system uses magnet switching ('contactless')?

 

Magnets, yes.  Contactless, not sure

[JoJoB3]

44 minutes ago, Delaware Dave said:

 

Magnets, yes.  Contactless, not sure

Well wait a sec, if this is what I'm thinking (reed switching of sorts, like or better) that sure as heck would point to contactless.

Now that's interesting-refreshing (game changing!).  Hmm.
Hopefully Brian Ho or Viscount others chime in in regard.

[b3plyr]

Magnetic sensing does not necessarily require reed switches - there are other ways to sense position and I would guess this is how the Soul works. That would really fit the multi position sensing.(in Hammonese, multiple contacts) used by Viscount. Obviously the final word needs to come from Viscount.

 

Regardless, having a Sould 273, I can say it works great.

[mrburls]

On 8/16/2024 at 4:11 PM, Aynsley Green said:

 

Nice, let us know how the gig goes. I'm yet to road-test mine, not worried about the sound, but a bit worried about the schleppage factor. 

 

Also, be sure to check out the latest firmware's Rotary Model B, an improvement I think (it's not clear which Model you are using without using the Editor, annoyingly) 

I've played the legend soul on a few gigs now. A few with the Leslie sim, and one with my 145. This is such a fun organ to play. My bandmates were blown away on the sound. The Leslie sim is pretty good out of the box running through my Mackie SRM450. The organ sounds even better through my Leslie 145. I was able to fit both my 145 and the Viscount in my Highlander. I think the only beef I have at this point is how durable the soft case will hold up. It is really nice to have the shoulder strap though.