Recomednation for authenic Hammond B3 Virtual Instrument

[TimWalter]

Hello all
A recent taxi submission got a comment from the screener that the virtual instrument I used for my B3 sound was subpar. I have to agree it isnt the most realistic sounding. I used the plugin that came with Logic Pro X. (I also have Komplete 10, and I thought Logic's was the better of the two choices between Logics and UA's B3 simulation). I asked my instructor at Cre8, he agreed that in his opinion the Logic Pro X B3 is subpar, but he didnt have any recommendations for a replacement (he's not a big user of B3 sounds, as he mainly does urban stuff).

Looking for a good recommendation for what to purchase. I do have Komplete 10, so if it needs Kontroller 5 to run, I do have that. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[cosmicdolphin]

Hello all
A recent taxi submission got a comment from the screener that the virtual instrument I used for my B3 sound was subpar. I have to agree it isnt the most realistic sounding.

Thanks.

Can we hear it? Often times it can be his you play, tweak or mix it that can make all the difference.

I was laughing at an Episode of Taxi TV from a couple of months back. Michael played our Surf Rock cue and there was more discussion about the organ sound than the rest of the cue put together, whether it was a Farfisa mini compact or some other classic organ.

The truth was my buddy sent me 2 different lacklustre organ tracks so I could use whichever sounded best, and both were "free" organ sound that came with his DAW. I didn't think either of them were brilliant so I made each one mono, hard panned then opposite to reach other and then bussed them to plugin chain of EQ, Distortion and Reverb. It sounded way better and we found it quite funny when we watched the Taxi TV episode.

Mark

[andygabrys]

Good post Mark.

Tim. I think logics is fine. I also think NI is good. But the main thing is how you program them and more importantly how you actually play them.

If it's not played like a real player would do, it's going to kind of be horrible. Kinda. Lol.

So maybe the question might be: how do you get one or two keyboards (manuals) and a set of sliders which actually control the drawbar as so you can play?

[Paulie]

I think the stock Logic B3 kicks ass, I often find myself distracted and playing the blues on it for far too long.

I must agree with my jedi master Andy. It's about how you set it up and how you play it. Care to share the audio with us?

[TimWalter]

Sure, thanks for being willing to listen.

https://soundcloud.com/bluzmannn/are-ya-gonna

here's the link. the organ sound comes in the b section maybe around the :51 min mark.

I have no training or prior experience on organ playng, any keyboard skills I have are self taught. so be curious what I need to do to improve in this area. thanks guys.
Tim

[andygabrys]

aha.

well - there are few things about this track that i would likely do differently, but mainly considering the organ now:

check this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzyfcys1aLM

especially listen to the intro before the vocal, then the spot at about 1:00 and then the breakdown from 2:54 on to the end.

so

1) playing technique. The intro of the song before the vocal has a lot of glissandos on the organ starting and sometimes ending the phrases. That's a textbook sound / technique.

2) a B3 has drawbars which when manipulated give the various character sounds. Like most of this tune in the verses sort of sounds like the "flutes" kind of sound. I haven't checked to see whether I can replicate it exactly but this might be of interest: http://keyboardservice.com/Drawbars.asp - as you will see these sort of mirror what you see in Logic on the drawbars. Manipulating the drawbars while playing is a hallmark of many B3 players, especially in genres where their parts are more sparse and form layers in the song, and maybe less so in jazz organ trios (although Jimmy Smith did plenty of manipulation to my ears). (Its also a textbook way to figure out if somebody isn't an organ player lol).

3) A B3 type rig has a "console" vibrato / chorus effect and also the Leslie cabinet rotating speaker effect. They both have individual sounds (and the console vibrato has about 6 settings on it too). The Leslie effect is simulated in Logic when you stomp on the sustain pedal on your keyboard (CC64). The Leslie can usually be manipulated in a VI organ to change how fast it goes from one setting to another, and how fast it spins. You can hear Rami Jaffee coming out of the chorus at 2:54 with a fuller sound and with the Leslie rocking. Then a few seconds later, he's back to a more chill sound, without the Leslie. I am pretty sure he keeps fiddling with the Console effect throughout the quiet parts, maybe using the leslie too now and again.

4) effects - the Wallflowers tune has a good amount of reverb on it too. And depending on how clean the organ is "set" you get a different amount of growl from the sound. This tune sounds pretty clean. But if you crank the Leslie up to full it will be distorting like a guitar amp and give a much different sound. Think Deep Purple vs. this Wallflowers tune.

hope that helps - its a drop in the bucket.

[Len911]

This may or may not help, it's a leslie cabinet with distortion

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MVintageRotary

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MRotary

[Cwadroon]

There's a free vst that's pretty decent. Organ trio I think it was called... +1 on NI

[Paulie]

Fun groove, I like it.

The organ part you provided is a single note line, like a horn would play. I'd add some grace notes before some of the longer notes to give it a more human feel. I'd also harmonize the line as well, making them chords instead of a mono line.

[Paulie]

Give this a listen:
https://soundcloud.com/paulcroteau/organ-tracks/s-DRr99

There are six versions of the organ lead line. Each one is from a stock Logic patch in the "Vintage B3" instrument. I played each one first as a single line, then again with some chord voicing below the line. I recorded this riff once, then copy/pasted so you are hearing the same exact notes just played on six different instruments. You can also hear some extra notes, some grace notes before some of the downbeats.

If you listen carefully after the start of each long note you should hear the Leslie speaker kick in, then I let off when the line is moving. You trigger the Leslie with the sustain pedal. This gives the longer notes some more personality.

The chord voicing below the melody line is root-3-7-9.

||: D-F#-C-E | E-G#-D-F# |

Vintage B3 Logic Patches
1. Classic Rock
2. Hard Rock
3. Indie Rock
4. Progressive
5. Power Chord
6. Rhythm

I've enabled downloads on this if you want to insert the different versions into your track to hear what it sounds like in context.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.

PC