From jackoverfull@gmail.com Fri Nov 22 14:40:20 2013
Subject:Re: Regarding Polls

Here we go…

DISCLAIMER
I've owned a Mojo since the beginning (reportedly I was the first person to buy one ever, actually), I've played KeyBs (Duo mark II & III, and the first and second issues of the master but clearly not the very new Live) several times and tried briefly a (recent) Numa, also played from time to time Nord C2 and C2D (I don't think I ever tried a C1) . My experience with HamSuz clones is limited to the XK series (had to play in concert an XK3c and tried a few XKs overtime), also not much experience with older clones or non dedicated keyboards that also does hammond sound.

I play mostly rock/prog and blues, not usually jazz and hard rock, I also play basslines, pedals and left hand, from time to time.

To the opinions…

Crumar Mojo
Pros: very light, the best sound on the market, very flexible (PC based) architecture, very cheap, support directly via email from the maker, pretty standard components that will have someone able to service/replace them for decades. Love the long course pedal, the gig bag is also cleverly designed (altough I had to reinforce mine after a year), a few extra sounds, long time support and upgradability (the first Hamichords still get free updates after all these years!).

Cons: sometimes cheap accessories (second time the Leslie switch breaks down for me…And don't get me started with the stand, it's no longer on sale for a reason!), no in store support, potentially unreliable architecture (I have to point out, tough, that I never had a crash on the mojo I use now, now over a year old), no 11 pin Leslie connector, no "classical" interface (altough familiar enough to get quickly accustomed to it), only two sets of drawbars (but 9 presets…), no space to put a second keyboard on the top (altough you can reach a second keyboard placed behind it if you stand…been there, done that), interface a bit clumsy for advanced editing.

Also watch out for Crumar's site since something new is coming out soon.

I have to advise to be careful while buying used mojos or hamichord: do it only if you trust the source, there has been quality issues.

KeyB Duo
Pro: B3-like interface, great sound (just below the mojo's IMHO), extremely reliable, support directly from the guy who makes them. Great accessories, 11 pin connector, can put another keyboard on the top, hardware upgradability (you can send back your old instrument to Elvio and he will retrofit it to the latest specifications!), clever design of the leslie half-moon switch.

Cons: weighty and bulky by today's standards, costs more than a Mojo, no in store support and no support at all from anyone in the unlucky event of something happening to Elvio.

Moreover, the Live seems a great competitor for the mojo: as cheap and weights more or less the same but had two sets of drawbars for the upper manual. The Numa, that shares the same engine of the KeyB, is also to take in consideration if you're searching a single manual.

Also, Elvio makes what's probably the best two octaves pedalboard on the market. Whatever your clone, catch it!

Nord C2/C2d

Pros: light, four sets of drawbars, effects, good sound (but way inferior to the Mojo's or KeyB's IMHO), support from the store.

Cons: expensive, no real drawbars (either buttons or sliders…but sliders are fine for me actually), messy panel, company known to drop products early.

Hammond-Suzuki XK3c
Pro: B3-like interface, lower and upper manuals can be split in two for transportability or also if you only need a manual, 11 pin connector.

Cons: Expensive, only two sets of drawbars, presets that behave differently than on the original (you can have percussion and chorus stored in the preset, which can be kinda nice if you're used to it, but the drawbars always affect the current preset, something that hinders playability a lot, at least for me), so-so sound (kinda passable general tone with a real leslie or something like a Burn or a Ventilator but percussion and chorus are laughable), very expensive, no way to disable the internal rotary simulation to connect to a real leslie from the line out (none I could find anyway and I searched for it a lot and also asked here).

HamSuz also does other clones but I'm not very experienced with those. They are all quite expensive and have the same generation of the XK3c, tough.

Il giorno 22/nov/2013, alle ore 15.06, Craig ha scritto:

> As the moderator, one of the things I have to do is to make sure that the discussion here is constructive and of value to the members. With respect to "polls" I don't want numerous polls being created that are of little value, poorly constructed or simply a rehash of the age old question... "who makes the best clone". I have to step in on this one because I'm not sure that we will get any truly valuable information, and there are a number of reasons for this:
>
> 1. Very few have tried or owned all of the current clones (in my opinion simply trying a clone in a store does not qualify you as an expert)
> 2. Different people value different things (eg: interface vs authentic sound vs extra voices)
> 3. People are looking for a different "ideal" Hammond sound
> 4. People have different biases for/against different manufacturers
>
> Rather than a poll, I would prefer to see some of our resident "experts" share their thoughts.. By "experts" I mean the folks that are often answering questions, on the forum, those who have owned numerous clones, and those who are often providing reviews etc to the group.. I tend to think that this is much more valuable than a poll where some forum members with little experience have equal weighting with those who have extensive experience with almost all of the clones.
>
> So for now I'm going to vito the idea of a poll to determine the best clone, and instead I would like to suggest that perhaps our experts could simply share their thoughts and opinions on the newest crop of clones! I see that in response to this question, both Ken Hall and Jukefox have shared their thoughts (both Ken and Fox have considerable experience), and I would like to encourage others with their kind of expertise to do the same!! I will share my thoughts shortly as well.. Thanks.
>