Searching for a High Quality Virtual B3

[David Polich]

I bought Melda Productions Vintage Rotary some months ago. I really do like it. However,
I've returned to using GSI's VB3 because setting up the Vintage Rotary with another VI
is an extra step I'd rather not deal with (put DP in MultiRecord, record-enable both the
organ VI and Vintage Rotary, etc.). The more I use VB3, the more I really like it. It sounds
like a recorded B3, whereas NI's B4II never really did. B4II has some options which can
be programmed into each patch, whereas, VB3's options (Leslie type, etc.) are found on the Global page and can't be saved with each preset. That's my only complaint about it.

Here's a tip - VB3 tends to sound "dark" and bottom heavy. The solution is to move the rotor/horn
balance towards the horn, so you have about 40% rotor and 60% horn.

[dewdman42]

Yea I know what you mean. I've been demoing VB3 lately. Might get it. It sounds fantastic for sure, but I'm annoyed by the fact that the leslie cab types are global options. I would be using it for live use in Mainstage and that is more then just an inconvenience. Still, it sounds really great man, it has that rawness aspect. B4II sounds too pure. Mainly B4II has a crappy distortion in it. I can't stand it. VB3's distortion is a million times better.

At first I didn't particularly like the leslie sim in VB3 that much and I demo'd MVintageRotary and was blown away by some setting I stumbled on. So I bought MVintageRotary the other day half price. Eh $27, kind of a no brainer. But since then I played around with VB3's leslie some more and got it to sound more to my liking. More chorusy in some way, that I was getting initially from MVintageRotary. MVintageRotary is definitely a great sounding leslie sim...no doubt..I am impressed by it, but now I think if I end up buying VB3, I will just use the built in leslie. Besides the fact its easier in one plugin, also I notice that using external leslie adds to cpu crunching by maybe 10%. MVintageRotary may still come in handy for other uses, its a nice sounding plugin and I'm glad I got it.

I'm still not sure if I will buy VB3 though. I have B4II and EVB3 already, not to mention Vintage Organs in Komplete, which basically suck, but whatever. I do like the tone of VB3 better, the rawness. With a little distortion and leslie rotary it starts to sound really raw and energetic and rock and roll...which is what I like. Downside.... Guido is working on hardware now a lot, releasing hardware based instruments through Crumar, he came out with VB3II already, but its not released as plugin form and I see no evidence that it will ever be since he is trying to push hardware now. VB3v1 on the mac is still 32bit, which is a pain, and the global options thing is something that really needs to be fixed and probably never will be. So I dunno if I'm gonna buy it or not. Still deciding. I sent an email to Guido asking some questions about the global options and about his new DMC-122 MIDI controller. He got right back to me, but he ignored my question about whether VB3II will be released as a plugin, which to me means, no plan for it and he doesn't want to say yay or nay at that time. Meanwhile his facebook page is very active with lots of hardware related developments and DSP cards he is going to put out that have his instruments on them, etc. So that is the new direction he's going. I like the sounds he's coming out with and hopefully its just a matter of time before someone bigger then Crumar buys him out or picks him up in some way to bring his technology into more of a mainstream way. But we're not there yet.

New question for everyone, I want to get a new MIDI controller for handling organ stuff and other non-weighted stuff. I'm tired of catching my hand on the keys when I try to do organ smears. So need some waterfall keys I guess. But I will end up using it for playing other stuff too, string pads, lite epianos, etc what not. Plan to have more of a weighted controller below it. Any suggestions for a good controller? I'm thinking about getting the Numa Organ 2 for this task...but still using mainstage sounds, not the Numa sounds.

[David Polich]

For less than the price you pay for a Numa organ, you could score a used Korg CX-3 (the "second" one, which first came out in the early 2000's) and use that as a controller. It has waterfall keys. Actually the CX-3 sounds great when you run it through a Neo Instruments Ventilator pedal and bypass its own Leslie. And it sends MIDI cc's from its drawbars (not sys-ex, though). I've seen a couple of used Korg BX-3 (dual manual) organs on eBay recently. Very rare but worth buying.

I don't think Guido wants to bother too much with making a 64-bit version of VB3 for OS X. It still
works fine in DP if you have 32 Lives. No question in miming now that it is THE best virtual B3
available. Totally agree, the distortion is spot on. He really knocked it out of the park when he developed it.

[dewdman42]

Then there is this:

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2014/ ... ontroller/

I am seriously thinking about getting it. its only $200 more than a Numa Organ 2. Doesn't have sounds, but he's coming out with a DSP card that will give it sounds and anyway I don't need the sounds. Very sturdy, he's done a lot of right things with it, the price is pretty decent for what it is. Kinda heavy though at 40 pounds.

Or I could get one of the good ol' studiologic VMK 161 Organ controllers, they are half that price...but I never read good things about them and impossible to find to try.