Moderators isaac42 Posted November 25, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 25, 2011 Background: I am a singer/bass player who got sucked into playing keyboards for a couple of bands. Being an enthusiastic member, I bought a Hammond A100 and Leslie 147 to get "that sound". It worked. I still suck at keys, but the Hammond/Leslie sounds so good that nobody cares! However, they are so large and weigh so much that no one wants to haul them to gigs. So, what can I get that is portable and still sounds enough like the classic Hammond/Leslie combination to get by? My Yamaha PSR-270 isn't up to the job. Also, cost is a factor. I have recently rejoined the ranks of the unemployed, though I'm not yet completely broke. I've seen prices on Hammond XB-5 around six or seven hundred, and I might be able to swing that. Maybe even a bit more, if the consensus is that it is necessary, but I'd prefer closer to $500, if possible. So, any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Casio Man Posted November 25, 2011 Members Share Posted November 25, 2011 I'm in a bit of hurry, so heres a quick suggestion, that might not other vice come up:Casio CTK-7000. It has organ model and draw bars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted November 25, 2011 Members Share Posted November 25, 2011 The Casio does sound decent. But there are a few good choices in the below $1000.00 mark, mostly romplers. There may also be some more portable Leslie choices as well if you are up for trading. Hammond clones are obviously the best choice for sound, hands on experience, and visual aesthetics when considering live use. If you want to play organ only I would hold out for one of those for sure. Last choice is Hammond software/ VSTi and a good 61 key controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Casio Man Posted November 25, 2011 Members Share Posted November 25, 2011 Oh yeah, and one more unconventional quick suggestion:iPad OR iPhone and midi keyboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 25, 2011 Author Moderators Share Posted November 25, 2011 I expect I'll be playing more than just organ, but the sound bank on the Yamaha covers most other voices adequately for my purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted November 25, 2011 Members Share Posted November 25, 2011 The Casio does sound decent. But there are a few good choices in the below $1000.00 mark, mostly romplers. Korg CX-3. Uses modeling and has one of the best leslie simulations on an organ today. You can get them in mint condition, used for less than $1000 all day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 25, 2011 Author Moderators Share Posted November 25, 2011 A good Leslie simulator is a big selling point. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hogger Posted November 26, 2011 Members Share Posted November 26, 2011 A used roland vk8 should be easy enough to find under $1k. It also has a fair acoustic piano, an awful rhodes, and a fair wurly patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted November 26, 2011 Members Share Posted November 26, 2011 Yes, I did not think about buying used. I cannot remember which but the iPad has a fantastic sounding Hammond app. A used Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha Motif XS, or KORG M3 would be great first and only boards for everything but have sliders for organ. Also a used Nord Electro 2 sounds good for organs and pianos. Just beef up the The 2 channel EQ to max on the acoustic piano and add a touch of reverb and you will be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hogger Posted November 26, 2011 Members Share Posted November 26, 2011 After just having bought an Alesis IO Dock for Ipad and playing around with organs all day, I'd recommend at least trying Garageband's organ. It's got drawbars, percussion (2/3/off), and a decent sounding leslie sim. If your Yamaha PSR-270 has MIDI (best I can tell it does), you could get an ipad2 ($500), a camera connection kit ($30), and garageband ($5 I think), and have MUCH more than just a good B3 simulator. There's also the C3B3 app, but I can't recommend it after having played it for an hour or so. It just doesn't feel right, though I think it could be easily fixed with a little patch adjustment by its creator. If you already have an iphone >= 3GS or Ipod touch >= 3G, all you'd need would be the app and an iRig midi ($69 - http://www.ikmultimedia.com/irigmidi/features/ ). Dirt cheap way to a good B3 sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Moderators Share Posted November 28, 2011 Interesting thoughts. Thanks for all of the input, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigger Posted November 28, 2011 Members Share Posted November 28, 2011 I use an EMU Vintage Keys synth with the B3 rom. 17 lbs, and each drawbar is sampled individually so I can get any registration that I want. Reasonable leslie sim, and also has samples w/ no leslie for use w/ outboard FX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stillearning Posted November 29, 2011 Members Share Posted November 29, 2011 I expect I'll be playing more than just organ, but the sound bank on the Yamaha covers most other voices adequately for my purposes. If you don't want to haul a second board, there's the Roland VK8m desktop-style module you can control from your Yamaha. Respectable Hammond/Leslie sounds within your price range, used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted November 29, 2011 Members Share Posted November 29, 2011 Don't rule out the Voce V5+. It is pretty awesome. Real drawbars, very compact and can be found fairly cheap if you look... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Musicale Posted November 29, 2011 Members Share Posted November 29, 2011 +1 on the CX-3. A very nice board (2nd generation) I'd play that straight up with a Leslie, or a vent. I got rid of mine for a XK-1 and still I'm not sure if I made the right choice. Used are typically 600 - 1300 and everywhere in-between. Check out CL. Musicale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted November 29, 2011 Author Moderators Share Posted November 29, 2011 A vent? Are we talking about this: http://music.ashbysolutions.com/vent.htm ? That by itself might make the Yamaha tolerable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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