There's a new "B3" in town

[mhschmieder]

The new UVI Retro Organs upgrade is well worth the nominal fee for loyalty customers ($59 max, a I recall).

I haven't had a chance to re-track stuff for direct comparisons yet, but I can say it is worth it for some oddball organs that no one else has sampled or modeled yet, and for all the options of amping and miking -- at the very least, it will be a great learning tool for how to better produce real Hammond B3 tracks.

[mikehalloran]

The new UVI Retro Organs upgrade is well worth the nominal fee for loyalty customers ($59 max, a I recall).

I haven't had a chance to re-track stuff for direct comparisons yet, but I can say it is worth it for some oddball organs that no one else has sampled or modeled yet, and for all the options of amping and miking -- at the very least, it will be a great learning tool for how to better produce real Hammond B3 tracks.

Yea, I qualify for the $59 update and I have a $78 voucher. I was wondering if there were any updates to the Hammond samples or if the update was just to add the other instruments.

[musicman691]

The UVI Retro Organs - are you talking about the vi that has just drawbar organs or the Suite that has drawbar, Vox and other organs in it? I have no UVI stuff so it'd be a new purchase.

What I'm really looking for is a Lowrey organ sample set so I can get my inner Garth Hudson out to let him play. That and I wouldn't sneeze at a Wurlitzer theatre organ library either.

[mikehalloran]

The UVI site is a bit murky on this but I think that Retro Organs may have been discontinued in favor of the new Suite.

Anyway, as I linked earlier, the upgrade is $59 while it can be had new for $83.50 from AudioDeluxe.

[uncle dunc]

Old thread but... any opinions on UVI Retro Organ Suite versus VB3? I noticed UVI was talking about crossfading between fast and slow leslie samples on some patches, and also they mentioned a new leslie simulator. The YouTube videos don't address this. I need to be able to switch between fast and slow leslie. I also need to be able to pull up the 008000000 drawbar setting from "One Headlight", which I could do with VB3, but apparently, in the UVI suite, I'd have to search for that preset, if it even exists.

Part two: I was thinking about a Mac Mini for hosting a VI organ, since I'm still on dp 7.24 and OSX 10.6.8, and VB3 doesn't run well in that configuration. Plus, I need as close to no-latency as possible. The VI latency within DP is totally unacceptable, since I leave the buffers set high to avoid problems with lots of audio tracks.

A little off topic, but I just tried the Ferrofish B4000+ hardware organ sound module. Sad to say, it was a dud, (way too cheesy-sounding for me) although the drawbars were nice. I noticed GSI (VB3) has a hardware sound module in their website - with no release date - but I don't think I want to wait indefinitely for a good organ. I've been using the original NI B4 on an ancient Win98 laptop, but it's becoming unreliable, plus the sound card audio gets a little hairy on the loud parts, and the latency is noticeable on anything faster than "Whiter Shade of Pale".

[musicman691]

Old thread but... any opinions on UVI Retro Organ Suite versus VB3? I noticed UVI was talking about crossfading between fast and slow leslie samples on some patches, and also they mentioned a new leslie simulator. The YouTube videos don't address this. I need to be able to switch between fast and slow leslie. I also need to be able to pull up the 008000000 drawbar setting from "One Headlight", which I could do with VB3, but apparently, in the UVI suite, I'd have to search for that preset, if it even exists.

Part two: I was thinking about a Mac Mini for hosting a VI organ, since I'm still on dp 7.24 and OSX 10.6.8, and VB3 doesn't run well in that configuration. Plus, I need as close to no-latency as possible. The VI latency within DP is totally unacceptable, since I leave the buffers set high to avoid problems with lots of audio tracks.

A little off topic, but I just tried the Ferrofish B4000+ hardware organ sound module. Sad to say, it was a dud, (way too cheesy-sounding for me) although the drawbars were nice. I noticed GSI (VB3) has a hardware sound module in their website - with no release date - but I don't think I want to wait indefinitely for a good organ. I've been using the original NI B4 on an ancient Win98 laptop, but it's becoming unreliable, plus the sound card audio gets a little hairy on the loud parts, and the latency is noticeable on anything faster than "Whiter Shade of Pale".

What's the hardware module you're talking about? I know they have a general dsp box and the DMC dual manual controller but nothing that I can see re VB3. It's a shame the Voce hardware box is no longer made.

[uncle dunc]

What's the hardware module you're talking about? I know they have a general dsp box and the DMC dual manual controller but nothing that I can see re VB3. It's a shame the Voce hardware box is no longer made.

Guido is calling it the Gemini. The version that fits into the DMC is available now. The table top box is supposed to be ready by the end of Q1. Apparently, it can be controlled with an app on a cheap tablet.

A little more research has me thinking about running VB3 on a cheap netbook. I'm no Windows fan, but it seems like it might be a viable solution.

[jlaudon]

The VB3 has been updated... and it works with DP! Yeah!

http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=44

[mhschmieder]

I downloaded VB3 II a few days ago and am just about to try it out and compare to my XK-1 hardware.

The interface is quite nice this time around. Never liked the old one (or its compatibility issues).

Those who have both editions say this one sounds nothing like the old one. Sort of like when NI redid their B4 emulation and many preferred the earlier rev?

[mhschmieder]

I put it through the paces just now. I won't be buying it, but I think it's a good choice for someone who doesn't have a hardware clonewheel, as it's probably the closest yet in timbre overall.

Where it falls down, in my mind, is in the signal processing, as well as the interaction of the tonewheels, which doesn't seem authentic to me (i.e. complex enough to match a real Hammond). In a dense mix, it wouldn't be noticed though.

The drive gets really dark and grungy fairly quickly. I don't find the reverb usable either as it muddies up the image. Vibrato sounds too static to me, but the chorus is pretty well done.

The percussion is the biggest weakness to these ears though -- no matter how much I tweaked it, I couldn't dial it in to anything that sounded Hammond-like to me, even accounting for differences between models and individual units.

As I said though, the timbre itself is quite nice, and I like that aspect of it better than Blue or B-5 (or even NI's canceled B4). It's a bit more warm and open even than the XK-1, but of course not the new XK-5 (which is king).

The rotary is decent enough, but I didn't thoroughly go through its settings as I'm happy enough with downstream rotary effects in my possession.

Good interface overall, and light on the CPU as well. This is a big step up from the previous edition and is priced well at roughly $100. If I had a need, I'd buy it, but I would only do so if it was BETTER than hardware organs currently on the market. I'm too much into the tactile feel of an actual organ keybed to give that up.

[Guitar Gaz]

AIR instruments just released a new Hammond B3 VI - DB 33. If you have an iLok, you can download a 14-day trial for free.

But before you do...honestly, I just feel I have to warn my fellow Motunationers. DB 33 is without question the worst B3 VI I've ever heard. It sounds like a Magnus home organ run through a cheap fuzz box. No low end. Keyclick is totally wrong. Leslie fast speed is weak and wobbly sounding. This makes NI's "Vintage Organs" sound aweome by comparison.

Having looked for an affordable (i.e. cheap) Hammond sound (only to be used occasionally) I got this DB33 really cheaply. I don't think its that bad actually - if you work on it you can get a reasonable sound. With a Leslie sim (rather than the one it comes with) you can get a reasonable approximation - I have sorted out some reasonable patches which work for me. So unless you are a Hammond aficianado (and I know what a real one sounds like having worked in a London Studio with a B3 and a Leslie) this one sits okay in a mix. Not for everyone but worth trying for the price you can get it for.

[David Polich]

Wow. Did not know VB3II was out! Good to know.
I’ll check it out.

Meanwhile...I heard through the grapevine that
a new version of GG Audio’s Blue3 is in the
works. The current version is worth demo-ing:
www.gg-audio.com.

I have to recommend Acoustic Samples B-5 2
(now at version 2.5.2) over UVI organs. It still
sits at the top of the virtual B-3 pile, in my opinion.

[mhschmieder]

I compared them extensively the other day. I feel the B-5 does the best job of the signal path, but that the raw tone is closer in VB3 II. I could never stand the basic tone of Blue but maybe the next update will improve matters.

None of these is anywhere near as good as my Hammond XK-1 keyboard, so I'm not going to spend money on VB3 just jet. Maybe the next rev. Right now, I feel the distortion in particular (and the reverb) is complete unusable, the vibrato not realistic, and only the chorus acceptable.

B-5 got the other stuff right and has a pretty good raw tone as well. With more time spent, I'd probably feel it cooks VB3 II, but I didn't play with many tonewheel settings or different organ voicings.

[Babz]

Yonac just released a new improved V2 of their excellent Galileo Organ for iPad — and I’ve heard a MacOS version is in the works.

http://www.yonac.com/galileo2/index.php

[dewdman42]

I compared them extensively the other day. I feel the B-5 does the best job of the signal path, but that the raw tone is closer in VB3 II. I could never stand the basic tone of Blue but maybe the next update will improve matters.

None of these is anywhere near as good as my Hammond XK-1 keyboard, so I'm not going to spend money on VB3 just jet. Maybe the next rev. Right now, I feel the distortion in particular (and the reverb) is complete unusable, the vibrato not realistic, and only the chorus acceptable.

B-5 got the other stuff right and has a pretty good raw tone as well. With more time spent, I'd probably feel it cooks VB3 II, but I didn't play with many tonewheel settings or different organ voicings.

Thanks for these comments. Have you tried any of them together with IK's Leslie sim?