From groovecake@yahoo.com Sun Sep 13 20:47:39 2015
Subject:The New Crumar Mojo Action

I have been using a Crumar Mojo from almost the day it was released. I have played just about every clone out there and the Mojo is the one that gets me "there." My only complaint about the instrument has been how it feels. I have posted many times on this board about how the last frontier for clones is the feel of the keybed.


Clone manufactures used to make their own keybeds with varying degrees of success (Hammond XK3 - insanely high triggering and way too stiff of springs, Korg CX3 - too light and suffered from double triggering). Since Fatar makes the only waterfall keybed on the market, all the clones ended up using it (SK, Nord, Crumar, KeyB, Numa). From what I understand, some manufacturers make slight adjustments to the base Fatar action, but for the most part, they have all felt the same to me - quite a bit stiffer than the real thing.


A note about why I find this to be important: We all make compromises when we chose to play clones. Some fantastic music has happened on clones. This isn't a case of a "bad craftsman blaming his tools." The action of an instrument is a vitally important part of the ability one has to express themselves. That doesn't mean we can't play great music on a clone. Joey D, for example, burns on a Nord C2D. However, if you are as familiar with his playing as I am, you can tell he doesn't quite play the same way on a clone. Why? I suggest it is because of the action. Even though all Hammond organs play just a little different, with the exception of a few later 70's models that haven't been played and are very stiff, most Hammond actions are in the same magical ballpark - quick, but not too quick. Light, but not too light. For me, when I sit down at an instrument, after a few test runs, my brain seems to imprint what is possible and not possible on that keyboard, both physically and sonically. For instance, if I sat down at a brand new Vintage Vibe electric piano, I would feel how wonderfully balanced the action is and how accurately each pickup is balanced. The sound combined with the feel would be inspiring to me. Conversely, if I sat down at a beat up pawn shop Rhodes that had seen better days and was heavy as hell, I would know that there were certain lines that I couldn't play. That doesn't mean someone with better chops couldn't play those kind of fast lines, it just means that I would subconsciously adjust to what I thought the instrument would allow me to do. To put it another way, the physical state of the instrument influences what I end up hearing. I would guess that it is the same way for guitarists and string gauge or saxophonists and mouthpieces. When I am playing a Hammond organ, the response of the keys and the sound of the instrument greatly effect what happens during the creative process in my head, both melodically and rhythmically. That doesn't mean I can't play well on a clone. That just means that my creative process is definitely effected by the physical limitations of the instrument. The Mojo has always satisfied me sonically but not physically.


(Ok. Still with me?)


In January at NAMM, I played a Numa 2. The keybed felt different than any of the other clones I had played. It seemed lighter and more shallow. In other words, more like the real thing. However, the sound engine was blah and its use as a controller for another sound engine, the HX3 for example, was hamstrung by the fact that, in controller mode, the Numa 2 only uses the low trigger point. Unfortunate over site on the part of Studiologic.


A couple months ago, Crumar announced they were using a new, customized action in the Mojo. It was still made by Fatar but used lighter springs and had a higher trigger point. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I ended up getting one to try out. It is definitely a GREAT improvement over the normal Fatar waterfall action! I could tell it was different by how if felt even before I plugged it in. Like the Numa 2, it felt easier to play and the key throw was more shallow, as if it bottomed out quicker. The sound and the action are far more responsive and, as a result, are much more inspiring to play. When I first read that the trigger point was higher, I was concerned, based on how an extremely high trigger point on the XK3 was counter-productive. However, the trigger point combined with the lighter springs is extremely pleasing and creates a more Hammond-like feel. At my gigs this weekend, the lines I played were more like the lines I play on my real Hammonds and, as a result, those lines built upon themselves organically (no pun intended). Another place that the new action is noticeable is on how much easier it is to play baselines that are grooving and in the pocket. I don't have to work as hard to play. On a real Hammond, you don't have to press that hard. On this new Mojo keybed, it is much closer to the real thing than the original Fatar action was. Is it exactly like the real thing? No. Where the normal Fatar action is at 70%, I would say this new action is closer to 90%.



The bottom line is that I always wanted a Mojo that felt more like the real thing. Now, I have one.