From tonysounds@yahoo.com Tue May 11 13:19:05 2004
Subject:Re: Thanks for all the XK-3 info - how about Internal Leslie simulation?
David makes a lot of sense....I know we've all given in to gear lust at one point or another to find that in the end it didn't make all that much of a difference in our sound or playing. When I upgraded from my XK2, the Electro really was the best ball game in town in terms of sound along...it sounded fuller and didn't have that shrill quality that the Cx3 had (to my ears). While not nearly as tweakable as the CX3, and not nearly as remarkably duplicating the ergonomics of the Hammond, it still spoke to me more than the CX3.
But more and more the one Hammond that comes in the Electro box is not the one organ I want to be playing for the next few years. The Xk3 right out of the box had many of the qualities I was missing in my Electro yet was feeling at home when playing one of my choppers, if nothing else, that certain grind which always eluded me with the Electro.
Believe it or not, I have learned to tame my lust tendencies in terms of getting the latest toys; but when you're looking for something you're not getting from the gear you own and you find it elsewhere, then it's not so much a case of lust as upgrade. I've resisted upgrading my Motif to an Es because the nominal difference isn't justifiable to me. Anyone that read my posts regarding my Electro knows I have been really happy with it, but that grind factor has been something I've complained about since day one. More and more, I wanted it, especially after using real Hammonds on gigs. And it just isn't practical right now with the types of gigs and the amount of travelling I'm doing. If I was playing 90% of the shows at home, one of my chops would just be going in my van with me. But there's 5 of us and our gear and now that we're doing some opening slots on much bigger shows, instead of getting to bring more gear to the bigger stages, we're being forced to bring smaller gear.
The XK3 wasn't a nominal improvement: it was something I was looking for. But just cuz it's right for me, doesn't mean it'll be right for someone else.
T
David Jacques wrote:
You know, Al Goff once told me something that has proven extremely wise.
When I was thinking about recapping one of my B3's, he asked if I liked the
sound of the organ. I told him I did but hoped that it could sound "better",
(whatever that means). Instead of selling me on a complete re-capping kit,
he suggested that I keep the organ the way she was instead of taking the
chance that it could sound "better".
Three B3's later I learned that the sound and playability of each organ is
vastly different. They all have their unique personalities. Do I love
playing one more than the others? Not necessarily.. I play them all pretty
much on how my mood strikes me at the time.
I just went through the momentary "gear-lust" that many of you are now going
through. Yes, I will try the XK3 and see if it does deserve the investment.
But is a nominal difference worth $2000?
Also, what about gig playability? For those who perform with clones once you
feel comfortable with your board does it make sense to upgrade? For many I
am sure it does. I don't know yet.
If I was playing a Nord and wanted two sets of real drawbars, I would
probably purchase an XK3 above the CX3 (if indeed the Leslie sim is at least
as good as the CX3's.) From playing the Prototype at NAMM I did not hear
such a markable difference between the "sound" of the CX3 and XK3.. Maybe
they have improved it that much since then. We will soon find out.
Of course you all will be the first to know if I join the list of converts..
As for the analogy of the "old girlfriend", someone better check Steve's
attic..
DJ
-----Original Message-----
* Tony and Mitch,
I too appreciate all of the work you guys have done
feeding us information on the XK-3. My previous post
pleading for some negative comments was strictly
selfish, as I think I've only owned my Electro for
8 months or so. T, I know you've been a big supporter
of the Electro so I was thinkin', "Oh no, say it ain't so!"
As in the past you've been honest and objective in
your reviews. A lot of what you recommended helped
me make decisions and turned out to be right on, at least
for my tastes, so I'm having difficulty taking what you
have to say with a grain of salt.
So... let's say I've psychologically taken the plunge
towards the XK-3 by resolving my cognitive dissonance
(heh-heh): I'm with Eric, I don't want to part with
the Electro. But I also don't want the Electro to end up
like an ex-girlfriend. You know, "Honey, we've been through
a lot and had some great times, I hope we can still be friends
and keep in touch..." and then put her in the attic for safe
keeping so nobody else can have her (...uh, by her I mean
the Electro). I'd prefer to keep the Electro as part
of my rig, so I'm interested to here how or if it could
perch on top of the XK-3.
That brings me to my first question:
1. How does the XK-3 implement the upper/lower manuals? If
I want to use 2 manuals for some songs, I'd want to have
percussion on the "upper" manual, but if the XK-3 is
physically underneath, it then becomes the lower manual.
Does the XK-3 allow configuration of the upper/lower manual
in this way? Ideally, I'd like to save this per preset since
sometimes I'd be using the XK-3 as a single (upper) manual
and would want the percussion back on the XK-3 manual.
I remember this was an issue with the Electro when I tried
to use another keyboard physically above the Electro as the
upper manual. I would have had to switch MIDI channels that
were assigned for the upper/lower manuals since they were
global settings that couldn't be saved to a preset. I guess
this isn't an issue if the XK-3 allows you to assign percussion
to both upper and lower manuals (hopefully this question makes
sense, it was hard to word).
2. Also, do you know how HS will deal with software/firmware
upgrades for the XK-3 (i.e., bug fixes and updates)? In the
past this has been a chip that you had to buy.
I think that's another reason I want to hold on to the Electro.
From all accounts, it sounds like the bar has been raised for
Clavia. This could burn a fire under them to make improvements
for the next OS. I'd hate to let go of it and find out that
Clavia came out with a free update that vastly improved the sound
or functionality of the organ. I love the Electro and can't imagine
it sounding too much better, but allowing more tweakability would
be a welcome improvement. I'm not holding my breath, but it is a
possibility.
Sorry for the tedious questions...
TIA,
Steve
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