From k2mojo@groovedaddies.com Sun Feb 29 22:30:04 2004
Subject:Re: Need Help Fast!!! How to get the best sound from my pro3???

I'm with David here. I get asked that same question at least every other week, and usually by other keyboard players. I would be willing to bet real money that 90% of most folks would have trouble identifying between a CX-3 with the Leslie sim enabled through a decent P.A., and a CX-3 with it's internal sim turned off and played through a mic'd 122 and run through the same P.A. If I wasn't close enough to hear any of the sound coming directly from the Leslie, I'm not sure I could tell the difference. Besides, half the clubs I play in are so small that if I brought my 147 it would have to sit right next to me, and then that would be all I could hear all night. And then who's going to carry me out after I throw my back out lugging in a real Leslie? I hauled around a real Leslie for over 20 years, because up until just recently the available Leslie sims just didn't cut it, for me at least. Now I feel that they're finally good enough that I can lighten my load without seriously compromising my sound. Just seems smarter, not lazy.
When I absolutely have to have air moving for my own enjoyment, I reserve that time for when I play my homebound C3/147 where it's subtleties aren't wasted on the din of a noisy club. I've also noticed that more and more pros (pros with real roadies!) are using Clones and their internal Leslie sims; Herbie Hancock, Bill Payne, Chuck Leavell, Rick Wakeman are just a few who come to mind. You know these guys all have a real Hammond at home.
Jeez, Billie Joel and Elton John aren't even playing real pianos anymore, they're playing a Kurzweil placed into a grand piano case and no one in the audience can hear the difference. A lot easier to send a nice hot clean signal to the mixer, just like the way I hook up my CX-3. For playing in a live environment, I'll take the convenience advanced technology offers me over the purist stance any day. At home, I still prefer to play an acoustic piano and a real Hammond.

Ed Fliege
k2mojo@groovedaddies.com