From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Mon May 28 12:50:57 2007
Subject:=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_=5BCWSG=5D_Re=3ADon't_blame_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?your__tools?=

Hi Joey,

>Always nice to have the ability to try some great gear
>in a controlled setting with friends. So at the end of
>the day, what rig is Dave going to put together?

I'll let Dave answer that himself. I suspect, though, that Dave is probably going to keep his Electro, and maybe reinforce it with a real spinning speaker. Bear in mind that ALL THREE clones sound great -- each are better than what we had available in 1996 at the Great Clone Shootout. The difference between the "worst" and "best" of the three wasn't enough to run out and buy a new organ on Monday, IMHO. The Electro has great EP and Clav sounds, so replacing it with an XK-1 or CX-3 wouldn't be a perfect deal. It's not always as simple as which one sounds best -- size and
features come into play.

I know there is a popular mindset on this forum to keep searching for the "perfect" clone, but let me give you my personal take. I think that many list members spend WAY too much time and money hopping between gear, never getting the sound that they want. It takes some time and effort to get the most out of any B-3 clone. In most cases, it takes a critical ear and some willingness to experiment with what one already has, to fill in the gaps. Now granted, a player who has a tonewheel Hammond -- or at least, used to play them -- probably has a little edge on the others. I'll let you in on a secret, though: I've never OWNED a real tonewheel Hammond! I've played them in bands over the years, but they always belonged to one of the other band members. In fact, it's been about 20 years since I've had easy access to a B-3, C-3, A-100, or even a spinet. I have a lot of musical gear, and while I've always wanted to own a B-3, I really don't have the room, and can't/won't justify to
day's costs. Churches in New England tend to have pipe organs, and so Hammonds are a little hard to find. Everything I do is from memory. (Sorry to burst anyone's bubble!)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. So how did I get my BX-3 to sound so good? I listened to a lot of recordings of Hammonds that I liked, then played along with them. If things didn't sound the same, I tweaked the onboard EQ and other adjustments to get things closer. It isn't even about chops: I have OK, but far from stellar, organ technique; no one is going to mistake me for Joey DeFrancesco, Brian Auger, or Chester Thompson anytime soon. Dialing in your sound is about using your EARS, not your HANDS.

Specifically, I tried the Clean vs. Vintage tonewheels, didn't like the Clean settings at all. (Clean + lots of overtones does NOT = Vintage. The sound of the overtones are different.) I used David Jacques' CX-3 settings for his mid-'60s Hammond as a starting point, because that's the kind of B-3 sound I like: bright and punchy. Think: Felix Cavelliere. I adjusted the EQ to match my Leslie; my settings are heavy on the midrange and light on the bass. If you have a real tube Leslie, the settings might be different. Then I played around with the levels of my BX-3, Speakeasy Preamp, and MOSFET amp to get the proper amount of warmth and growl. I added a compressor, because a MOSFET amp is warm like a tube amp, but it doesn't sag when hit hard, like a Leslie's tube amp. I listened, and adjusted, and listened again. I live with a few warts like the BX-3's mediocre C3 vibrato, but the end result is pretty close, IMHO. I schlep around a real Leslie, even though my 51-year-ol
d back sometimes objects.

Anyone of you could do something similar with your Hammond-Suzuki, Native Instruments, Nord, Roland, or Voce clone ... or you could sell it and buy yet another clone. Your choice. ;-)

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions_ http://consult.ashbysolutions.com
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com

At 02:57 PM 5/28/2007, you wrote:
>Hi Bruce:
>
>Thanks.
>Joey G in NY.
>
>
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