I'm in love! (incl. question for B3_guy to keep the love alive)

[Superbobus]

...with the Roland VK8! I tried one today and I was blown away! Nothing against the CX3 - it's a beast - but the VK8 sounds warmer to my ears, is lighter and less expensive. And I like the action over the CX3. One thing bothers me though. Is it possible to tweak the Leslie? B3_guy, you said you didn't need your Leslie speaker anymore but out of the box it sounds absolutely not natural to me. There's something in the high tones that sounds a little dull. Key click, leakage, bass and chorus C3 sound excellent though but please tell me how to tweak the Leslie because editing is absolutely hocus pocus to me.

[b_3guy]

Congrats on the new board!! When I test drove the VK-8 I liked the default Leslie setting. I think it was Type I. The B-3's had a treble control on the preamp & most guys turned this up full. Maybe what's required is to turn up the treble on the control right on top of the VK-8. I know I liked that feature so you could tweak on the fly. Maybe that'll give it the sparkle you're looking for. On another note I thought I had my XK-2/Leslie 302 sold yesterday & I was going into get a VK-8. But the guy had some work fall thru & he backed out. Again congrats on your new board.

[keyoctave]

b_3guy, I am planning on upgrading my organ from an Oberheim OB3/2 to either a VK-8 or XK-2. Since you are selling the XK-2, are there things that you don't like about it? How would you compare the two? I play through a Motion Sound KBR-3D. I really don't want to spend the extra money for a CX-3. Thamk you!

[Superbobus]

B3, it was a test drive yesterday but I decided to buy it immediately. I compared it to the CX3 and IMO it has a lot more balls. She will arrive next tuesday and I can't wait!

[b_3guy]

Originally posted by keyoctave:

b_3guy, I am planning on upgrading my organ from an Oberheim OB3/2 to either a VK-8 or XK-2. Since you are selling the XK-2, are there things that you don't like about it? How would you compare the two? I play through a Motion Sound KBR-3D. I really don't want to spend the extra money for a CX-3. Thamk you!

The XK-2 has a harmonic beating. When you play certain notes mainly 5ths up in the 4th octave & have some of your higher harmonic drawbars pulled out, Leslie on fast you can hear squirrely harmonics happening. I really don't know the technical explanation, something about like digital harmonics clashing. The Leslie simulation is not very good, I think they were trying sell Leslies so why give a really convincing Leslie. The overall sound quality is good, good vibrato/chorus, good midi, great action. But because of the great action it weighs 40+ lbs. It has the same method of obtaining the action as the B-3. If you can swing spend the extra money & get the VK-8 or CX-3. The VK-8 has all the pluses of the XK-2 with none of the minuses. Sound wise I think the VK-8 & CX-3 are fairly equal but I never been able to A/B them. The features of the VK-8 tip the scale in favour of it though. More on the fly adjustments with Leslie & Tone, D-Beam controller with effects, & some extra on board sounds that aren't very good but will do in a pinch. It does sell for less than the CX-3, although cheaper pricing on the CX-3 is starting to show up. The CX-3 does have a feature that the VK-8 doesn't have & that's being able to put 2 sets of drawbars together. It simulates what happens when a player on a B-3 plays exactly the same notes with both hands on separate manuals or keyboards. Whoo Hoo. And the lip on the keys bug me. They really don't effect (spell?) the playability, just why? Someone on this forum said Korg had an old mold so they used it for CX-3 keys. The VK-8 doesn't have a down side & it's cheaper.

[Superbobus]

It's possible to split drawbars on the VK8 but impossible to change both of 'em at the same time. Not a big problem, I won't touch the bass bars so much, I think. I like the bars at the left instead of the traditional B3 layout. It's so much easier to reach them while playing. The CX3 has the traditional layout. The VK8 has one downside. Editing seems impossible without a manual. OTOH, lots of experimenting = FUN!

Thanx Steve, I'm gonna try the treble thing when I have the unit.

[keyoctave]

Steve, thank you for taking the time to reply to me. I live in a rural area an am not able to try out some of the keyboards that are discussed on this form. My local music dealer sells Roland and Korg but it is mostly a special order situation for more expensive keyboards. The VK-8 sounds like a winner.