Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

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David Polich
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Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by David Polich »

I just learned of a new Hammond B3 VI which I think is the best sounding B3 VI I have tried to date.
GG Audio's "Blue 3". Free downloadable demo (emits a crackle noise every 20 seconds but otherwise fully functional):

http://www.gg-audio.com

$100. It is 64-bit AU and VST, not sample-based so it doesn't take up bags of disc space, very easy on CPU. Works great in DP. All the usual customizable options - Leslie rotor speeds and ramp ups/downs, keyclick amount and type, overdrive amount and type, Leslie mic angles, percussion
adjustments, separate pedal section, adjustable leakage, crosstalk, hum and noise. The Leslie sounds awesome, best I've heard. Sorry I bought AcousticSamples B5 because now I don't need that one anymore.

I have no idea why the dev (GG Audio) has not promoted this product at all. I learned about it from a post on an unrelated thread at Gearslutz.
2019 Mac Pro 8-core, 32GB RAM, Mac OS Ventura, MIDI Express 128, Apogee Duet 3, DP 11.2x, Waves, Slate , Izotope, UAD, Amplitube 5, Tonex, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Pianoteq, Soniccouture, Arturia, Amplesound, Acustica, Reason Objekt, Plasmonic, Vital, Cherry Audio, Toontrack, BFD, Yamaha Motif XF6, Yamaha Montage M6, Korg Kronos X61, Alesis Ion,Sequential Prophet 6, Sequential OB-6, Hammond XK5, Yamaha Disklavier MK 3 piano.
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midilance
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by midilance »

I totally concur with Dave. Blue3 is a winner.
Mac Studio m2 Max // OS 14.2.1 // DP 11.3 // MotU Ultralite mk4 // Komplete Ultimate 14 // Arturia V Collection 9 // Korg Legacy // Stylus RMX 1.8 // Omnisphere 2.6.2c // Scarbee Keys and Basses // T-Racks 5 // Amplitube 5 // BFD3 // Blue3 // PolyM //
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mhschmieder
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by mhschmieder »

Hmm, might need to check that one out, but as I own a Hammond XK-1c (my fourth clonewheel, the first of which was a Roland VK-7 without waterfall keys and the other three were successive generations of Hammond's tech), I don't have as much incentive for virtual organs as for e-pianos.

The thing is, the keybed is an integral part of playing B3 organ, as it senses the fingers' electric pulse before they hit the keys. Waterfall keys are critical for swipes, and semi-weighted action makes a big difference as well.

Doepfler (and maybe Fatar) makes an organ-specific MIDI controller, and the XK-1c uses a tailored Fatar keybed (my previous XK-3c had a slightly superior Hammond-made keybed).

If not for the cost (over $5K), I'd be lusting after the new Hammond XK-5. But as the XK-1c is just slightly over $1000, and it's a super-light keyboard (compared to the XK-3c) that makes it ideal for quick jam sessions, it was a worthwhile investment.

Even so, I'm going to want to try out this new VI to see how it sounds compared to Hammond's own clone. I do sometimes like to use organ VI's during initial song arrangement, to save time, and I like that to be pretty close to what I'm going to program for personal patches on the XK-1c.
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mhschmieder
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by mhschmieder »

Oh, now that I've looked at their website, I realize I had seen this one a bit ago. But maybe when it was still preliminary. It's an odd choice of colours for an organ, for sure! But it sure is pretty.
iMac 27" 2017 Quad-Core Intel i5 (3.8 GHz, 64 GB), OSX 13.6.1, MOTU DP 11.31, iZotope RX 10
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Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
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David Polich
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by David Polich »

mhschmieder wrote:Oh, now that I've looked at their website, I realize I had seen this one a bit ago. But maybe when it was still preliminary. It's an odd choice of colours for an organ, for sure! But it sure is pretty.
There is an option to change the skin to one of
three "wooden" themes that are more "
Hammond-ish".
2019 Mac Pro 8-core, 32GB RAM, Mac OS Ventura, MIDI Express 128, Apogee Duet 3, DP 11.2x, Waves, Slate , Izotope, UAD, Amplitube 5, Tonex, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Pianoteq, Soniccouture, Arturia, Amplesound, Acustica, Reason Objekt, Plasmonic, Vital, Cherry Audio, Toontrack, BFD, Yamaha Motif XF6, Yamaha Montage M6, Korg Kronos X61, Alesis Ion,Sequential Prophet 6, Sequential OB-6, Hammond XK5, Yamaha Disklavier MK 3 piano.
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Babz
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by Babz »

Demo tracks sound great, esp the Leslie. Unfortunately, none feature that heavy percussion sound (Child In Time, Green Eyed Lady), which is my favorite Hammond sound, and the first thing I reach for on any B3 (well, after the Leslie).

Also think the graphic look is not going to make it very appealing in the market. The alternate skins help, but are not enough. And the fact that they are alternate shows a lack of understanding of the importance of graphic design. Hopefully, a better look could come later. And I would also suggest hiding some of those more advanced knobs behind a panel or something.

But, WOW, impressive sound! And that's the most important thing, right?

Babz
David Polich
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by David Polich »

Babz wrote:Demo tracks sound great, esp the Leslie. Unfortunately, none feature that heavy percussion sound (Child In Time, Green Eyed Lady), which is my favorite Hammond sound, and the first thing I reach for on any B3 (well, after the Leslie).

Also think the graphic look is not going to make it very appealing in the market. The alternate skins help, but are not enough. And the fact that they are alternate shows a lack of understanding of the importance of graphic design. Hopefully, a better look could come later. And I would also suggest hiding some of those more advanced knobs behind a panel or something.

But, WOW, impressive sound! And that's the most important thing, right?

Babz
Not difficult to get the Green Eyed Lady Hammond
sound if you just dig into editing.
2019 Mac Pro 8-core, 32GB RAM, Mac OS Ventura, MIDI Express 128, Apogee Duet 3, DP 11.2x, Waves, Slate , Izotope, UAD, Amplitube 5, Tonex, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Pianoteq, Soniccouture, Arturia, Amplesound, Acustica, Reason Objekt, Plasmonic, Vital, Cherry Audio, Toontrack, BFD, Yamaha Motif XF6, Yamaha Montage M6, Korg Kronos X61, Alesis Ion,Sequential Prophet 6, Sequential OB-6, Hammond XK5, Yamaha Disklavier MK 3 piano.
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midilance
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by midilance »

They just put up an update of Blue3 to version 1.1.0 with some great new features. I totally love this organ. By the way, if anyone happens to own one of the original B4D hardware controllers, they work with Blue3. I've had one since day one and the MIDI learn feature of Blue3 will give you tons of control with the B4D.
Mac Studio m2 Max // OS 14.2.1 // DP 11.3 // MotU Ultralite mk4 // Komplete Ultimate 14 // Arturia V Collection 9 // Korg Legacy // Stylus RMX 1.8 // Omnisphere 2.6.2c // Scarbee Keys and Basses // T-Racks 5 // Amplitube 5 // BFD3 // Blue3 // PolyM //
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dbender
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by dbender »

I'm wondering how this compares to Acoustic Samples' B-5 Organ V2 for UVI (which I already have)?
iMac 3.0 GHz, 8 GHz ram, OS 10.6.4, MOTU 828 Mk II, MOTU MIDI Express-XT (x2), KRK Rokit 6's, Novation Remote Zero SL, Radikal SAC-2k, Triton rack maxed out, Matrix 1000, Handsonic HPD-15 drum pads, tons 'o VI's.....
David Polich
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by David Polich »

dbender wrote:I'm wondering how this compares to Acoustic Samples' B-5 Organ V2 for UVI (which I already have)?
You can download the free demo and find out.
2019 Mac Pro 8-core, 32GB RAM, Mac OS Ventura, MIDI Express 128, Apogee Duet 3, DP 11.2x, Waves, Slate , Izotope, UAD, Amplitube 5, Tonex, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Pianoteq, Soniccouture, Arturia, Amplesound, Acustica, Reason Objekt, Plasmonic, Vital, Cherry Audio, Toontrack, BFD, Yamaha Motif XF6, Yamaha Montage M6, Korg Kronos X61, Alesis Ion,Sequential Prophet 6, Sequential OB-6, Hammond XK5, Yamaha Disklavier MK 3 piano.
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dbender
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by dbender »

David Polich wrote:
dbender wrote:I'm wondering how this compares to Acoustic Samples' B-5 Organ V2 for UVI (which I already have)?
You can download the free demo and find out.
Thanks, will do. Still wondering and am interested in what others think about that comparison. I really like B-5 Organ V2 and got it after of lots of comparing (before Blue came out). The latest update was a great one.
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David Polich
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by David Polich »

dbender wrote:
David Polich wrote:
dbender wrote:I'm wondering how this compares to Acoustic Samples' B-5 Organ V2 for UVI (which I already have)?
You can download the free demo and find out.
Thanks, will do. Still wondering and am interested in what others think about that comparison. I really like B-5 Organ V2 and got it after of lots of comparing (before Blue came out). The latest update was a great one.
I had to stop trying to use B-5 V2. Sounds good, no doubt, but 1 instance of it drains 50% of my CPU. One! That makes it "virtually" useless for me.

So it's back to GSI's VB3 or GG Audio's Blue 3 for me. They both have their strong points, I think of them as different organs.
2019 Mac Pro 8-core, 32GB RAM, Mac OS Ventura, MIDI Express 128, Apogee Duet 3, DP 11.2x, Waves, Slate , Izotope, UAD, Amplitube 5, Tonex, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Pianoteq, Soniccouture, Arturia, Amplesound, Acustica, Reason Objekt, Plasmonic, Vital, Cherry Audio, Toontrack, BFD, Yamaha Motif XF6, Yamaha Montage M6, Korg Kronos X61, Alesis Ion,Sequential Prophet 6, Sequential OB-6, Hammond XK5, Yamaha Disklavier MK 3 piano.
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mhschmieder
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Re: Yet ANOTHER B3 organ VI in town..

Post by mhschmieder »

Yeah, I didn't like any of the Blue demos, but my organ needs aren't the same as most people's, and I agree that it's good to have two basic organ sources for B3 family sounds.

My XK-1c seems pretty good at clean jazz tones as well as raunchy rock, but I may not be as picky as some on the second category and find the first category is done poorly by most clonewheels.

I'll still give Blue a try at some point. Maybe it can get me that Korg CX-3 sound, which is its own thing and something I like in addition to cleaner B3.
iMac 27" 2017 Quad-Core Intel i5 (3.8 GHz, 64 GB), OSX 13.6.1, MOTU DP 11.31, iZotope RX 10
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
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