Out now: Hammond B-3X for Mac/PC - Next-level virtual organ

[Peter_IK]

IK Multimedia is proud to introduce Hammond B-3X, a next-level tonewheel organ virtual instrument. Created in close collaboration with Hammond Organ Company and Suzuki Music Corp, along with top Hammond artists, Hammond B-3X recreates the exact experience of playing a classic hardware B-3 organ.

https://youtu.be/01qO4NHLmPA



Hammond B-3X captures the authentic sound and vibe of this legendary instrument, with incredible sound and a full signal chain including Leslie® speaker, parallel guitar amp, stompbox effects, and more, offering a level of realism that will satisfy even the most discriminating B-3 fans.

Hammond B-3X is available from the IK Multimedia online store and from authorized IK dealers worldwide for a special introductory price of €/$199.99 (regular pricing will be €/$299.99). IK customers with qualifying registered products with a retail value of €/$99.99 or more will be eligible for special introductory crossgrade pricing of €/$149.99 (regular crossgrade pricing will be $/€199.99).

** All prices excluding taxes

[encore1]

hello,

this is a super great news !

I have some questions as it is not fully clear to me by reading the description on your website.

Is this instrument "physically modeled" like your MODO drum/bass (Then why it is not called a "MODO Organ" or "MODO B3") ?

or... is it using samples please ?

Thanks in advance for your answer.
Cheers, eric

[leee1102]

I wish there was a demo version. I'd like to see how it compares to GG Audio's Blue3, which is probably one of the best sounding virtual Hammond B3 organs out there right now.
It's hard to tell from the demo songs (although it does sound pretty good).
Is there any chance a demo version would be made available?

[encore1]

Is this instrument "physically modeled" like your MODO drum/bass (Then why it is not called a "MODO Organ" or "MODO B3") ?
or... is it using samples please ?

hmmmm... I was not patient enough to wait for any official answer so I just bought it. (the demo videos are very well done and sounds great)

I have not yet installed it but the installer weights ~470 Mb so I guess it is not using samples.

An 'official statement' from IK Multimedia concerning this story of samples / modeling ratio would be nevertheless still very much appreciated

he, he, he... I know someone who will spend a great weekend

[Peter_IK]

Thanks to it's hybrid modeled nature, at way less than 1GB you can tell that Hammond B-3X relies heavily on modeling in that hybrid setup but we're not going to get under the hood further as I'm quite sure our competitors would really be interested in how we created a Hammond sound that is fully backed by Hammond themselves.

For those wondering how it stacks up, the best demo is this live stream from last night from a true master, I think it will clearly show why Hammond B-3X is the new dominant Hammond B3 virtual instrument:

https://youtu.be/dQ2KNLXt_3c

[encore1]

It's me again...
I posted in the excellent (French) Audiofanzine forum the same question today and someone from IK Multimedia kindly just answered it.
If someone needs more details about this story of sample vs modeling his original answer is available here and the Google translate version in English there.

As a very short summary, if I have well understood: 91 tone wheels from different organs were sampled and therefore these 91 (pseudo) sine waves were used as sound sources but apart of that everything else in the plugin was physically modeled. (sorry for my bad English)

I would like to say only three last words to the IK multimedia developer's team who created this plugin and have done (another time) a really good job: BRAVO & THANK YOU !

Cheers, Eric

[encore1]

Hello Peter,

I was writing my last post while you were answering to me, so I haven't seen that you already answered to me, sorry.
Thanks a lot for your reply to my questions too & have a nice weekend.

Cheers, Eric

[Peter_IK]

Hello Peter,

I was writing my last post while you were answering to me, so I haven't seen that you already answered to me, sorry.
Thanks a lot for your reply to my questions too & have a nice weekend.

Cheers, Eric

No problem thanks for the simulpost!

[leee1102]

Well I went ahead and purchased it anyway. I took a chance.
The problem with the audio and video demo songs is that you have a really great keyboardist playing the tunes, that would make a cheap Casio sound good. You can't really tell how it sounds until you actually play it yourself. (You also don't know what kind of efx settings they are using in those videos)

I hope to hear from other folks who purchased it, and how they think it stacks up against GG Audio's Blue3 (which is considered by some to be the best virtual Hammond out there.....until now?)
I tried doing some A/B comparisons last night, but I really couldn't decide which one sounds more authentic. They each produce a great sound, but it's an "apples and oranges" thing where one doesn't sound worse, just different. One thing I like about the B-3X is that it's got a beefy bottom end, great for doing those gliss (sliding your hand up over the keys), you get a really great rumbling growl.

Anyway I'm anxious to hear from other buyers and hear their opinions.
Hopefully IK will give this product it's own topic in this forum.

[Peter_IK]

Demo is available at https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/h ... php?p=demo

You can also navigate to the Demo link/navigation at http://www.hammondb3x.com

[Peter_IK]

Also note that I hear things like "that person could make a cardboard box sound good" quite a lot (and not just for our demos) but even the most expert player can't change the core characteristics of a plugin/instrument. Yes, their playing will be better than the average person, but they can only achieve a sound or timbre or richness that the plugin/instrument is capable of creating and no magical playing prowess will change that.

[leee1102]

Demo is available at https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/h ... php?p=demo

You can also navigate to the Demo link/navigation at http://www.hammondb3x.com

Oh man, less than a half a day too late (for me). I wish the demo would have been available at the same time of it's release. I feel like I just rolled the dice when I purchased it, knowing there are no refunds if I didn't like it.

But anyway, what's done is done. I plan to spend the day getting familiar with it and putting it into a mix with other instruments.

One last question from me: I noticed in the manual, it shows some presets that aren't in the actual product. Am I missing some hidden group of presets?
I'm a "preset kind of guy", while others love to twist knobs and fine tune all day, I like to just play with a good set of presets.
And that's really my only complaint. There are quite a few presets but many of them are either not my style, or just don't sound good without doing some tweaking. Maybe on the next update, add a few more presets, like "Santana at Woodstock" or "Boston: More than a Feeling" etc.

[Peter_IK]

The presets that are installed with Hammond B-3X are the official available presets. It is not uncommon for custom presets to be created by players we have in videos who typically use and enjoy the product before making a video.