Favorite B3 Organ Sound Settings

[Wolfgang T]

The B3 organ simulation in the NORD keyboards is quit good, but nowadays comparing with other VSTs, the sound could still be improved.

Therefore I would like to ask about your favorite B3 settings in the sound menu? (Organ click, trigger point, rotary speaker/speed….)

For example, my favorite B3 Organ VST, which I also own, is the B-3X from IK Multimedia, which sounds according my taste a little better than the NORD organ, especially the Leslie simulation.

[Hlaalu]

Therefore I would like to ask about your favorite B3 settings in the sound menu? (Organ click, trigger point, rotary speaker/speed….)

I assume you are not talking about drawbars, percussion, chorus/vibrato, etc. Those "settings" aren't of course Nord-specific and learn how to use them is just part of playing the Hammond. Also, they're very dynamic in nature and not quite a "set them this particular way and forget it" sort of thing. (Even though, frankly, especially in the jazz world, it seems this tends to be the case: there are a bunch of crystallized sounds that players go through. Gospel-ish players tend to keep playing more with the drawbars on the other hand.)

If you mean the "under the hood" settings, the thing is that in the Nord world, especially in the last iterations of hardware, there aren't so many options to customize your B3 sound with, so being too articulate about these makes sense only to a point. You mention key click: there are just three settings for this. Other than trying them out and choosing the one you like the most for your context, I'm not sure there is much else to finesse about. Plus, they aren't even program-specific but global.

Trigger point should be set on high for best playability, since organs play as soon as you press the key. Other than that, the Leslie settings are again very granular and therefore there are only a bunch of total combinations to try out. By the way the settings in there don't really change the "nature" of the emulated Leslie sound (apart, perhaps, from the 122 / 122 close setting), so tweaking them won't change much in terms of overall quality. Speed and acceleration are matter of taste and adjusting them won't bring the sound any closer to of more distant from the B-3X by IK.

By the way I don't think the simplicity of Nords when it comes to B3 customisation is necessarily a bad thing: it's true it's simple, but it's very good already.

[Wolfgang T]

Just have a look at this thread: nord-stage-forum-f3/evening-out-organ-v ... 22723.html?

There may be even more useful posts somewhere.

[Wolfgang T]

If you mean the "under the hood" settings........

Hi H l a a l o,

Your above statements and detailed description of the B3 sound settings in the NORD keyboards are excellent, there is hardly anything more to add !

Since there were hardly any replies to this posting, I assume that most NORD users do not use the functions described and fall back on the default setting, which is definitiv also good enough for most music applications.

Anyhow, THX for your excellent input !

[Wolfgang T]

Just have a look at this thread: nord-stage-forum-f3/evening-out-organ-v ... 22723.html?

THX FZiegler for your advice !

[Tracii]

Sorry - this NS3 thread is much more informative: post128707.html#p128707
I just remembered there was a discussion lately, but it wasn't this year. Interestingly, there are recommendations for 40/60 as for 60/40 concerning the bass/horn relation of the rotary effect. And does the NE6 have "Clean|Vintage" as a setting - for a more "used" sound?

Edit: No, the few answers here don't show lack of interest - it's just been discussed in length. And there was no new model to discuss it anew.

[Wolfgang T]

I just remembered there was a discussion lately, but it wasn't this year. Interestingly, there are recommendations for 40/60 as for 60/40 concerning the bass/horn relation of the rotary effect. And does the NE6 have "Clean|Vintage" as a setting - for a more "used" sound?

In the NE 6 there are 7 menus for the B3:

Tonehell Mode, Click Level, Trigger point, rotary speaker, rotary balance, rotary rotor and rotary horn

I couldn't find a clean/vintage setting in the NE6.

Referring to the Rotary Balance (bass/treble) horn setting, I also found that you can make very good fundamental changes to the B3 Organ.

[Wolfgang T]

I just remembered there was a discussion lately, but it wasn't this year. Interestingly, there are recommendations for 40/60 as for 60/40 concerning the bass/horn relation of the rotary effect. And does the NE6 have "Clean|Vintage" as a setting - for a more "used" sound?

In the NE 6 there are 7 menus for the B3:

Tonehell Mode, Click Level, Trigger point, rotary speaker, rotary balance, rotary rotor and rotary horn

I couldn't find a clean/vintage setting in the NE6.

Referring to the Rotary Balance (bass/treble) horn setting, I also found that you can make very good fundamental changes to the B3 Organ.

The "Tonewheel Mode" of Sound menu is where the clean/vintage setting is.

2 - B3 ORGAN TONEWHEEL MODE
sets the level of tonewheel crosstalk and cable leakage artifacts of the B3 organ model.
Range: Clean, Vintage 1 (default), Vintage 2

[Wolfgang T]

Take a look at:

https://www.dairiki.org/HammondWiki/Pop ... istrations

Also, from another user,

These settings will significantly improve the NS3 organ sound and you can adjust to your own preferences.

Type: vintage 2
Click: high
trigger: high
rotary: 122 close
Bass/Horn: 40/60 or 30/70 (more horn)
Rotary speed: Normal
Acc: Normal
Horn speed: normal
Acc: SLOW

Rotary Drive: 3.5 but will vary from song to song
Compressor: 8 w/ Fast Attack
Reverb: Stage 1 level:2.8

Amp Sim/EQ Section:
----------------------
Amp sim: off/clean
Treble: 6.5
Mid: Freq: 635 level: -3
Drive: 0
Bass: 10.5

[Lumserei]

Can anyone confirm that clean and vintage 1 are absolutely identical on the Nord Stage 3 and that vintage 2 offers a little too much crosstalk?
So actually vintage 1 would be the ideal setting if it wasn't a copy of clean ...