From ccmacdon@rogers.com Mon Sep 17 07:26:59 2012
Subject:comparison of leslie sims


I am one of the list members that Jukefox refers to.. I have both a MOJO with the VB3 sim and the Ventilator.. I have also owned a C2 with the C2D installed (including the new 122 sim), a NUMA, and an SK1 for a lttle while, so I am pretty familiar with most of the available sims.. (I've owned or used pretty much everything except the Key B stuff).. I'll also mention that I just picked up a Hamichord last week too.

Let me start by saying the RT-20 sucks.. if you are a really discerning hammond/leslie enthusiast, you're not going to like it, and you'll wish you saved a bit more money and got the vent. Seriously it sucks (I'm not a fan of the Roland leslie sim at all in any of their products).

So based on my experience here's how I would rate the leslie sims:

Ventilator - still top dog, it is my favourite of all because of it's warm overdrive and the animation of the low rotor

Mojo/Hamichord - is definately comparable to the Ventilator, however I prefer the low rotor animation on the Vent just a tiny bit more than the VB3 sim in the Mojo.. (I like a bit more wub wub wub) on the other hand others might prefer the Mojo BECAUSE the low rotor is less animated.. this is a matter of taste.

The new NORD C2D sim is also very good and it's almost as good as the ventilator as well.. it too has a little less warmth and low rotor than the vent, and it's a tad antisceptic sounding (but I am being VERY critical when I say this).

At this point I have to say that if I was performing with either the Mojo or the Nord, I would NOT use the vent.. the difference isn't worth carrying an extra device.

Next best leslie sim is the NUMA, it has very nice warmth but a bit less animation. If I had a NUMA I might use the ventilator, I might not.

Just a little further down the list is the SK series and while it's a pretty good sim, I would definately use a Ventilator with it because I believe the difference in quality is quite noticable. I would include the XK3 series in this category too.. good sim but the ventilator is noticably better (even in a band setting).

Korg CX3/Roland VK series and other pedals like the RT-20 are a bit further down the list, these sims are unusable in my opinion... they were pretty good for 10 years ago, but not given the quality of the Ventilator and other sims today.

So there is my assessment of the various sims available today.. Also I should point out that these are my opinions based on my impressions of all the various sims, rather than side by side tests.. and what I mean by that is having sold my NORD C2 (with C2D OS) to afford my new Mojo, I couldn't do a side by side comparison, so my opinions are based on my recollection of the quality of the various sims I have owned or used over the years.

One last point about the VB3 sim vs the Ventilator... I'm not certain how good the VB3 sim is when used in standalone mode with another external clone.. It sounds pretty good when I put digital EP's through it in my DAW (sonar) but I have never really put it to the test using a different clonewheel source... That said, I do recall someone on this list, at one time or another, saying that they used the VB3 sim with B4II and preferred the combination to VB3 (I have both but never bothered to try that myself). So based on that, I would probably assume that its a great standalone sim, and it's only about $75 right.. (although you need a laptop and audio interface to perform live with it).

BTW, after I have my new Hamichord sitting in my front hall hooked up to a speakeasy preamp and my road 147 and it's sounding pretty good.. I'm going to do some side by side comparisons of the Hamichord and my FrankenB this week.. if I have anything interesting I will post it..
(frankenb = 60's A100 in a BC cabinet)..

Again just my opinions, not trying to stir up a huge debate.

Craig

--- In CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com, "jukefox" wrote:
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