From jerryk@korgusa.com Wed Mar 27 07:51:05 2002
Subject:Re: Picture of ne BX-3

Hi Dan/Group:

Dan makes a reasoned and actually eloquent explanation. And the truth
is certainly contained within!

As we came to the decision to make the dual manual we were faced with
the limits of the current DSP technology. Our engineers maximized the
code and added everything that could fit, and improved what we could.
But there are always limits to the system and we simply could not
generate the proper bass pedal tones within the available code.

We DID choose to prioritize globally important issues like
rebalancing the drawbars, improving the V/C emulation, improving the
Leslie simulation, adding another reverb algorithm, and opening up
access to the speaker simulation on/off in the preamp section - all
things that affect the sound ina very positive way. And all things
that affect every user.

We even were able to add a three-drawbard lower manual source to the
EX Mode!

We certainly know the users and their needs and did discuss that at
length, but in the end we feel that these trade-offs were acceptable,
given that we had no code/power left to work with. Redesigning the
instrument from scratch was not an option.

You can use a MIDI pedal board to get the pedals, and the discussion
of direct leslie connectors has been discussed at length on this list
in the past. There is no one good solution (9 pin, 11 pin etc.) that
covers all the needs, and there are a number of excellent options for
connecting a real Leslie if desired.

These types of design decisions are always tough, but we feel that
BX3 sounds and play wonderful and does fit a niche in the
marketplace. We had a small delay in getting started so units will
start shipping in April, not this month as we originally intended.
I'm looking forward to some "reviews" when the first owner shows up
here on the list!

Regards,

Jerry Kovarsky

P.S. We're working towards an OS update for you current CX3 owners to
add the new features - stay tuned - I'll announce it here when we're
ready.

--- In CloneWheel@y..., SimpsonDan@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 3/23/02 8:09:48 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> CGDigital@a... writes:
>
>    What's up with the pedals? They have the space. Is this a non-
organist
> organ?
>        Chris
>
> -----
>
> There are two obvious missing elements to the BX-3 - pedal drawbars
and a
> Leslie connector. The VK-77 has both, and they seem like no-
brainers, as has
> been pointed out. I have no first-hand knowledge, but I'll
speculate as to
> what is going on.
>
> There are three potential explanations, I thnk. The first is that
the folks
> at Korg are just stupid. I'm not buying it. They produced an
excellent
> organ in the CX-3 (currently best in class in my view and in the
view of
> others on this list), and the BX-3 improves on that in a number of
says.
> Included improvements are variable depth trigger, improved voicing
and the
> addition of pitch and mod wheels to allow it to become a controller
for other
> MIDI modules. I think there are some other improvements, but I
can't recall
> them at the moment. So it isn't like "wow, we never thought of
pedal
> drawbars or a Leslie jack." So something else has to be driving
those
> decisions.
>
> The second explanation is the most obvious - the trade-off between
cost and
> functionality. Everytime you add features you raise the price.
Thre is a
> segment of the market that will pay the price. Those who want to
use a real
> Leslie or use pedals will be willing to pay for them. But for
those who do
> not use the features, you are simply adding cost with no benefit to
them.
> They gain some buyers by adding those features, but they lose
others because
> the price is now higher.
>
> The underlying issue is how many people really use pedals on their
clone, and
> how many people really use a Leslie. Korg's judgment, which is
probably
> right, is that the size of those markets is very small and they
believe that
> the lost sales from the higher price to everyone will exceed the
added
> revenue from reaching those people.
>
> The Leslie connector has some easy work-arounds. A number of third-
party
> vendors supply excellent quality preamps that let a user connect a
Leslie to
> an organ with a 1/4" TS out - Speakeasy produces great products, as
does Trek
> II. So the people who really want to use the BX-3 with a Leslie
can easily
> do so. They pay more money to do that, but Korg does not have to
pass on a
> higher cost to the majority of the market who does not use a
Leslie. Folks
> who use a Speakasy pre-amp also get some additional tone-shaping
benefits and
> a tube, which may well improve the sound anyway. Since users who
cart around
> a Leslie to a gig are fanatics to begin with (I'm one), they are
probably
> more likely to pay for the extra pre-amp.
>
> The missing pedal drawbars and pedal tones are not as easy to work
around.
> You can connect MIDI pedals to the MIDI in, but you still don't
have the
> tones from the bottom 12 tonewheels. The workaround for that one
has to be
> another tone generator, or willingness to play bass without the
pedal tones
> (which is done all the time by left-hand bass players who don't
kick pedals).
>
> The economics issue is the same - the number of people who play
pedals is
> really small, and the main market is churches. Even though the BX-
3 is a
> dual manual organ, I don't think Korg is trying to crack the church
market.
> Very competitive market, different distribution channel, and very
different
> service requirements.
>
> The otehr possble explanation, and the third of my three points, is
that
> there is something in the current architecture that prevents Korg
from adding
> the extra tones and the the drawbars. I am again speculating, but
I would
> not be shocked to learn that the issue is the capacity of the sound
engine.
> I doubt it is economic for Korg to redesign the sound engine for
the BX-3, so
> they are probably using the CX-3 engine. If that sound engine is
pinned to
> its max with the current features, then Korg has to make the
decision to
> leave off the pedal sounds and drawbars or invest in a more
powerful engine.
> Given the limited market for dual manual organs to begin with, they
would
> have a hard time investing in the latter. They would be unlikely
to get
> their money back.
>
> Net. I have to believe that the pedal and Leslie connector
decisions are
> very conscious and are not oversights. Second, it all comes down
to
> economics - what they have to spend, what they have to charge the
consumer,
> and whether how they maximize their financial return. Third, my
guess is
> that there are technical constraints under the hood which make the
cost of
> pedals higher than simply adding drawbars. Korg has elected to go
for the
> best possible sound from the manuals and may have sacrificed the
capacity to
> add pedals tones. If that hapens to be true, it is probably a wise
move on
> their part. I have to believe that the leaders are Korg are smart.
>
> The above is based on speculation and not knowledge. Well, at
least not
> knowledge about Korg. I hesitate to admit that I am one of those
MBA types,
> so these are the kind of issues I work through daily in my day gig
that pays
> the bills (which is not music).
>
> Hope that makes at least some sense and that I didn't bore
everyone. Sorry
> this was so long.
>
> Dan
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]