From tonysounds@yahoo.com Fri Oct 22 10:32:36 2004
Subject:Re: Keyboard mag Clone shootout?

No, as I've stated before, they did not ignore the VK series....they discussed the VK8/VK8m and VK88 as a group, while pointing out their differences. I only gave a CLIFF NOTES version, which is to say (like the Cliff Notes summaries themselves) only a brief overview hitting the main points....you want to know all the details get or wait for the mag.

Reviews are never what I use to base my purchase on...sometimes I wonder how much they're being paid to write some of the glowing reviews that are printed, especially when I go play the same instrument and walk away with a totally different opinion of that piece of gear. But these shootouts are good...they're usually done by a couple staff members of the magazine as well as by a couple pro players who have nothing (in theory anyway) to gain or lose by giving an honest opinion. I'll read them, take some of the basic info or opinions at face value, but I ALWAYS check out gear on my own. As the saying goes: Opinion's are like a$$h!les....everyone's got one. Hopefully though there's enough info to give you a place to start.

Myself, I've owned all the clones talked about, and had my own opinions, and in this rarest of rarities, I actually tended to agree wholeheartedly: The Electro, without using a leslie or a MS leslie product, is the best standalone of the bunch and sounds great through a leslie; the CX3/BX3 is still a very strong contender; the VK stuff is still very good on its own, but tends to be less impressive through a real leslie; the Vcombo (which they did a seperate comparison on) is a real competitor for the Electro (I think it does better grindier organ sounds than the Electro, but the Electro has superior clavs and EPs, an inferior acoustic piano, and no synth section compared to the dubious Vcombo's synth section); the V5 is still probably the ballsiest of the bunch, but no leslie sim, and the cheapest way to get a "hammond" into your rig. (These were all comments made by the magazine -except the part about the Electro's EPs/clavs and the Vcombo's grind- which I just happen to agree
with on all points.)

As for the consoles, they raved about the new portable B, they really liked the Diversi/Voce console and they loved the Motion Sound 1771 leslie. They also liked the new 122 leslie (I'm not so crazy about it). They love the Speakeasy preamp (I'm back in agreement).

There...that's a bit more than the Cliff Notes version, but for more detail, go to the mag itself!

T
billw_va wrote:

I'm not a big fan of the Keyboard reviews either. They have
a "corporate money" smell to them that I don't like. On the other
hand, it is really hard to get your hands on the clones to test them
out. I live in the Washington DC area. There are three Guitar
Centers and a local music store (all within 30 minutes of me), and
NONE of them carry these products on a regular basis. I've never
seen a VK-8, CX-3, or Nord Electro anywhere. One of the GCs has an
XK-3 hooked up to an entry level Roland keyboard amp (mono), so you
can't really get a feel for the "sound" from that arrangement
(especially when there are a handful of non-musicians beating on the
Motifs and Tritons at full volume).

I'm a Keyboard subscriber but I haven't received my November issue
yet. I'm guessing the VK-8 was either ignored or panned because
nobody who has read the shootout is mentioning it. I've owned the VK-
7, VK-8, and VK-8M and have gotten very good results from all of them
(in fact, I have a 2nd VK-8 on order). The Nord does sound great,
but I guess I'm surprised that it was held in such high esteem. I
use the VK to play live. I want everything in one box. I want real
drawbars. I don't want to haul a Leslie (or any of the myriad of
clones of that device) around, and I don't want to HAVE to carry an
outboard reverb (as would be the case with the Electro).

As Thomas has pointed out on more than on occasion, it takes some
tweaking to get the most out of the VK. If Keyboard did indeed shun
Roland, then it's a shame.