Hello All I been Going Crazy trying to find the Classic Hammond B3 sound that great old Grank Funk ,Deep Purple screaming Leslie organ sound I took a chance and bought the Hammond XK1 but its not even close. I watched a guy on youtube playing a Yamaha motif XS6 useing Native instruments B4 software and it sounded very close to the original classic hard Rock Leslie sounds. He also had a much less expensive M-Audio Axiom 61 controller with the native B4 software it sounded just like the real thing to me. Being a total newb to this midi controller stuff I was hoping someone could give me a little help with the software controller end of it. I'm not clear on the PC end of it sorry if this is a silly question .. does the Controller have to be conected to a PC at all times to access the Native B4 software I assume you could just load the software sounds on to the Motif XS6 or the Axiom and take it to a gig. or is that not right ? Any advice on finding the cheapest route to the Classic Leslie sounds would be greatly appreciated Thank you So far I've tried Korg CX-3 Hammond XB-2 Hammond XK-1
It's a tricky one - while hammond emulators are pretty good nowadays, getting that Leslie sound can be difficult. Don't worry - we were all there once! MIDI seems horrendously complicated, but once you start to get the hang of it, it's brilliant. In answer to your question, the controller DOES have to be connected to the computer all the time to use the software. The software is huge and synths don't really have the processing power to run it. I've not used the B4 software, so I can't say anything about it, normally organ-wise I tend to concentrate on the action rather than the sound as I've had too many injuries from attempting wipes on unsuitable keyboards, and my Roland sound is fine for my needs.
There are some other options here. One is to get a laptop and bring it with you to gigs: I was doing that with an Axiom 61 for a while. Another is to get a keyboard that samples audio (Korg M3, Roland Fantom, that kind of thing) and sample the preset you want, but that's a lot of work and doesn't let you adjust settings on the fly, plus any keyboard with sampling is expensive. A third option is to bite the bullet and get another keyboard with a better B3 engine than the one you already have. I play a Nord Stage, and either that or the cheaper Nord Electro sound really great. The difference is that the stage has a simple analog synth, more effects, and can play up to 6 parts at once: 2 piano/electric piano, 2 synth, and 2 organ parts, while the electro can do two organs at once but can't do organ and piano at the same time.
