From alenhoff@yahoo.com Sun May 23 08:39:30 2004
Subject:Re:B# clone comparrisons MP3

I just parked my laptop on top of my Hammond, and made my own
comparison to the real thing.

First, here's my setup: 1954 B2, with Trek II percussion, 21H and
31H Leslie (altered for three-speed operation). My rig sounds
mellow, perfect for jazz and blues. Moderate key click, and a fair
amount of leakage.

My verdict: Definitely the B4, which captured the mellow feel of my
rig, and was the only one to even come close to capturing the
leakage of my Hammond.

While the Electro did sound a little muddy among the others, it was
my second choice. (Remember, the Hammond is really a mid-range
instrument.) The XK3, while offering a beautiful tone, seemed really
hyped -- maybe a better rendering of the brighter, cleaner tone of a
B3 the day it left the factory, or maybe an idealized conception of
what the Hammond would have been if it had been built with higher
fidelity technology a generation later.

The Korg, which I once owned, wasn't really comparable, since it had
percussion on, and we weren't hearing the top drawbar. Still, it
had that crystal clear digital tone that always made it a bit too
perfect to be an emulation of a vintage instrument.

No doubt, different settings on the clones, or comparing it to a
different Hammond/Leslie rig would yield different results.

Anyway, it was great fun. Thanks to Josiah for posting the files.

Alan