From PHILLH@TOWERS.COM Mon May 13 13:01:32 2002
Subject:Re: Shoot outs

> It does take a bit of work, however, to set a good test up.
Several items are needed:
>
> - A quiet room with decent acoustics -- NOT a Guitar Center on a
Saturday afternoon.

I don't necessarily agree with this. I think that most people buy
clones for live work, not for recording. At least, I do. And the
rooms I play in are noisy and there are a lot of drunk people there
shouting. Not *quite* as bad as Guitar Center, but close.

So, playability and how good the sound is when it cuts through the
noise is the key for me.

>
> - A reference B-3, C-3, or A-100; preferably, one in excellent
condition and adjustment, like the rental unit that Al Goff
provided. It also helps if the unit has a 1/4" output, so that it
can be mixed with the tested clones before sending the output to a
Leslie;

I think that I'd compare with an "average" B-3, if such a thing
exists.

>
> - A reference Leslie, also in excellent condition, with a quality
preamp pedal to allow all of the tested units, including the Hammond,
to play through it. (Al Goff also provided this.)
>
> - A mixing board to allow the volume level of the different clones
and the Hammond to be matched -- and in the case of the first
shootout, to be muted when not tested. (I think I have a better way
to do this, next time.)
>
> - A good quality stereo PA system for direct-out testing.
>
> - A set of testers who are willing to work "blind" during the
testing. The testing stops being objective if it becomes, "Alright,
now let me show you how good my Roland sounds on 88 8000 080," and
such. The units must be labeled "Clone A," Clone B," etc. and all
controlled from one keyboard via MIDI.
>

While I'm a great believer in blind tests in general, all this will
show is which one *sounds* better if you use it as a sound module.
This is very far from the whole picture. The thing about a real B-3
for me is that it is the best designed keyboard ever built -
everything is in the right place. It feels like driving a Benz
instead of a Kia.

In the same way, all the clones have different ergonomics. I've got
an Electro, and I would really like drawbars on it. I sacrificed
drawbars because I liked the sound and keyboard of the Electro, and
(probably most importantly) because of the weight.

So, I don't think that there's any option but trying them yourself.
Paericularly as they all have different B-3 sounds. Do you want to
sound like Jimmy Smith, Jon Lord, Vincent Crane, the Charlatans or
Felix Cavaliere? Different clones are going to be better for these
different styles, and shootouts don't generally tell you this.

> Regards,
>
> -BW
>
> --
> Bruce Wahler
> Design Consultant
> Ashby Solutions™ http://consult.ashbysolutions.com
> CloneWheel Support Group and HiNote moderator
> 978.386.7389 voice/fax
> bruce@a...