From dougsloan@neo.rr.com Tue Mar 11 13:05:02 2003
Subject:EVB3 Opinion

Hi all

I checked out the Emagic EVB3 this past week, a very intriguing
product. Following are some of my observations.

This has some very authentic B3/Leslie sounds. The basic drawbar
sounds are meaty/thick, where the tones seem to push through nicely.
The top octave is not quite as thick as the B4, but up there with,
say, the Electro and bit better than most clones. The remaining
octaves are nicely balanced. Unlike the B4, this has pretty good low
end grunt. The key click is the best I've heard from a clone, and
very authentic. The notes give that Hammond "kerthunka thunk" when
you play. The chorus/vibrato is to me perfect. Its very robust
without going a bit overboard. The percussion definitely gives the
wooden mallet thunk, rather than a metallic ding. The rotating sim is
very good, and very distinctive, although I won't call it great. The
overdrive is absolutely fantastic. This is digital? There must be a
Speakeasy in there, with both Classic (growl) & Howler (bity) modes.
The leakage is also pretty good. Reverbs are OK.

The interface is very well thought out. Nine drawbars for the upper,
two for the pedals (which I have not tried) and nine again for the
lower manual. My CX3 maps to this very nicely. Drawbars 2 control
the upper drawbars, the V/C knob maps perfectly to the EVB3's V/C
knob, and likewise the upper/lower vibrato. I control the 2rd/2nd
harmonic with the Korg's 3rd harmonic switch, although its in reverse.
Likewise for the Leslie brake. The Leslie fast toggles the EVB3
between fast (tremolo) and slow (chorale). I cc'd the 16' drawbar 1
to "morph" through the EVB3's upper manual drawbar presets (obviously
adjustable) that are arranged like a Hammond's reverse color presets
(C through B). This is very slick. I also use the 8' drawbar 1 to
add/subtract reverb level.

Overall Impressions: This is very, very authentic for a lot of Hammond
sounds such as Jimmy Smith, Brian Auger, Soulive, Chester T, Greg
Rollie - Abraxas, and Allman Brothers "Dreams" etc. Goes well with
some other cd's I played along with such as Stanley Turpentine (don't
recall organ players name, sorry), although I need to get my Unity CD
back for a Larry Young test. To me, this gets the Electro's V/C
turned back ever so slightly, and adds a Speakeasy dual mode. The
notes clunk in a Hammond way that I've not heard in any clone. I
swear there are sounds coming from a wooden cabinet with glowing
tubes. It basically takes the B4, improves the Leslie sim, gives back
the low end, and ends up with something that sounds like the real
deal, even when compared to the B4. I also like its interface better.
However, I'm not totally confident in the fact that it is not a stand
alone, and has to run through Logic. I have had a few notes burp.
It's never locked up, and keeps going beginning with the next note,
but it has missed on a couple of notes. This never happened to me
running either the standalone B4 demo or the standalone Lounge Lizard.
Thus, this minor concern, and the fact that the tremolo sim is short
of CX3 perfection (IMHO) are the only drawbacks of note.

Note as a reference point that I last had a real Leslie (142) a year
ago, with an XK-2 & original Speakeasy. Before, that a BC with
percussion, and 14 years ago an L100 & 145. I've played real B3's and
A100s a few times, including an A100 & 147 about four weeks ago.
After about 3 notes that time, it was instant "man, there just simply
AIN'T NOTHIN like the real deal." While that still holds, the EVB3
is REAL close. It's in a league by itself that I haven't heard from
H-S, Roland, Korg (although the tremolo with full drawbars still rules
- too bad v2.0 neutered the C/V) Electro (great effort though), or
even B4 (closest until now).

Hey, each clone has its strengths and weaknesses. This is a great
compliment to my CX3, and cheaper than a Speakeasy Stereo rack. A
great enhancement for cheap. First Lounge Lizard, now this, I'm
placing a big vote for softsynths! Many thanks also to Steffan
Diedrichsen on this list for his assistance and answering some of my
questions about the EVB3.

Regards,

Doug