KVR Audio

johnboyquine · Post by **johnboyquine** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 7:10 pm

very tempted to buy this...sounds niiiice. very new to all this computer music. how can i get to use the upper keyboard with basic my evolution mk 149 midi keyboard? software is cubase demo (bit deep for me at the moment) and cmuzys. when I play my midi keyboard only the keys on the b4 lower move.thanks for any help in advance. johnboy

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:17 pm

I would suspect that either your MIDI keyboard or host routing is setting the input to MIDI channel 2, which is the lower manual of the B-4 (channel 1 is upper, 2 is lower, 3 is pedals).

If you want to drive both manuals with one MIDI input, then force the channel input to channel 1, and use the "Key Split" menu.

On that menu, choose "Select Upper/Lower Split" then click a key on the upper manual - say the second white F key. MIDI notes below that will go to the lower manual drawbar settings, notes above that will go to the upper manual.

By the way, I still feel that B-4 is about the best authentic Hammond sound you can get in a VSTI that has the 'drawbar feel'. I played B-4 standalone before I knew what a VSTI was - and I have two vintage Hammonds of my own.

Doug

johnboyquine · Post by **johnboyquine** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 3:46 pm

Thanks Doug. Got it up and running within seconds.If only I could have set up my double kit like that! gave it up as a bad job after 20 yrs.Have finally decided to try and do music the proper way! Oh the joy of vst.
John

ZioKiller · Post by **ZioKiller** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:24 pm

Also have a look at this:

http://www.soundfonts.it/vst/ORGANized

(self promotion!

is it unfair?)

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:08 am

ZioKiller wrote:Also have a look at this:

http://www.soundfonts.it/vst/ORGANized

(self promotion! is it unfair?)

IMHO not unfair at all... and there are some very good free Hammond emulations "out there", including yours.

I think I'm partial to B-4 because it came out "with an organist in mind" as well as for "someone that wants to add organ to a track in a sequencer".

People think B-4's pricey? Two weeks ago I got to play the new Hammond-Suzuki XK-3... after a couple of false starts (the XB-2 and XK-2) they got it right... but the price tag? $1899 at the store I tried it in... it was right next to a Korg CX-3 (which I owned and Ebay'd six months later because of getting an A-105) and a Nord Electro... it was the one that most "felt like a Hammond" to me, as well as sounded like one - and good enough that I (briefly) considered selling my A-105 for... But I digress.

Doug

xander · Post by **xander** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:46 am

The only thing I haven't seen any B# VSTi do is emulate the 'power-kill' trick, which would be cool IMHO.

On a real B3, you can momentarily kill the power to the tone-wheel generator and it gives it a kind of unique 'dying' sound while you are playing -- ala Jon Lord, Wakeman, etc...

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:18 am

...xander wrote:The only thing I haven't seen any B# VSTi do is emulate the 'power-kill' trick, which would be cool IMHO.

On a real B3, you can momentarily kill the power to the tone-wheel generator and it gives it a kind of unique 'dying' sound while you are playing -- ala Jon Lord, Wakeman, etc...

The power kill is one trick, another is tripping the start motor for a moment - most clones can't do that, either.

Doug

xander · Post by **xander** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:22 am

dougsyo wrote:
...xander wrote:The only thing I haven't seen any B# VSTi do is emulate the 'power-kill' trick, which would be cool IMHO.

On a real B3, you can momentarily kill the power to the tone-wheel generator and it gives it a kind of unique 'dying' sound while you are playing -- ala Jon Lord, Wakeman, etc...
The power kill is one trick, another is tripping the start motor for a moment - most clones can't do that, either.

Doug

Yeah - that's right!

I wonder -- it doesn't seem like it would be hard to add that function, or would it?

Then again, prolly only a weirdo purist like me would want it...

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:20 am

...xander wrote:
dougsyo wrote:
...xander wrote:The only thing I haven't seen any B# VSTi do is emulate the 'power-kill' trick, which would be cool IMHO.

On a real B3, you can momentarily kill the power to the tone-wheel generator and it gives it a kind of unique 'dying' sound while you are playing -- ala Jon Lord, Wakeman, etc...
The power kill is one trick, another is tripping the start motor for a moment - most clones can't do that, either.
Yeah - that's right!

I wonder -- it doesn't seem like it would be hard to add that function, or would it?

Then again, prolly only a weirdo purist like me would want it...

True... I mostly play gospel/contemporary Christian, and power switch tricks just aren't very common in that genre...

Doug

ik · Post by ik » Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:22 pm

The only thing I haven't seen any B# VSTi do is emulate the 'power-kill' trick, which would be cool IMHO.

LightBag II can do that. Get it here:

http://home.mindspring.com/~ikaldor/LightBag.htm

Go to the 'waveform' panel (small yellow arrow), turn 'wheelbreak' on, then use the 'LightBag logo' to activate/deactivate the effect.
ik.

kilroy · Post by **kilroy** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 1:46 pm

dougsyo wrote:
...xander wrote:
dougsyo wrote:
...xander wrote:The only thing I haven't seen any B# VSTi do is emulate the 'power-kill' trick, which would be cool IMHO.

On a real B3, you can momentarily kill the power to the tone-wheel generator and it gives it a kind of unique 'dying' sound while you are playing -- ala Jon Lord, Wakeman, etc...
The power kill is one trick, another is tripping the start motor for a moment - most clones can't do that, either.
Yeah - that's right!

I wonder -- it doesn't seem like it would be hard to add that function, or would it?

Then again, prolly only a weirdo purist like me would want it...
True... I mostly play gospel/contemporary Christian, and power switch tricks just aren't very common in that genre...

Doug

Guess that also rules out stabbing it with knives and riding it across the stage...

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 2:02 pm

I want hand control over the tonewheels, for a DJ-style scratching effect.

Kilroy: Shades of Lisztomania! :-D

robholdaman · Post by **robholdaman** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:27 pm

Back to the B4... Will it only work with channel 1 (upper manual), channel 2 (lower manual), channel 3 (bass pedals)? Is there a way to use say, the upper manual on channel 4 or any other channel besides 1?

Voidoid Surrealist · Post by **Voidoid Surrealist** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:15 am

kilroy wrote: Guess that also rules out stabbing it with knives and riding it across the stage...

I'm never going to get that image out of my head!

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:54 am

robholdaman wrote:Back to the B4... Will it only work with channel 1 (upper manual), channel 2 (lower manual), channel 3 (bass pedals)? Is there a way to use say, the upper manual on channel 4 or any other channel besides 1?

No, there isn't.
When used inside a sequencer that's no big deal at all though, but I could imagine it becoming problematic if one was using the standalone in a more or less complexed live rig.

However, for me Hammond-alike sounds usually are all about the Leslie.
This is where the B4 is really way behind.
A) the overdrive isn't very convincing.
B) the rotating effect is sounding more or less like some panning.

Further, for live useage IMO it'd be clever if you could route the pedal sound straight to some output instad of running it through the Leslie as well.
Some of the (admittedly very few) pedal bass players are often doing this (they're using an extra tone module for the pedal, there's some companies developing those).

b4 demo