LinPlug Organ 3

[G&L_player]

Anyone been bangin on this, yet? Unfortunately, I'm getting through some (hand) injuries and won't have the luxury to in the near future, however, I do plan on running some older tracks through this thingie and doing some tweakin, just to hear how it sounds.

I grabbed daOrgan when it first came out, however, I'm in the "B4 is the B3 of the desktop" camp. daOrgan has a place, though. It's a good organ. The Organ 3 looks like a different beast, though. (Pedals- cool!) However, the upgrade ($79) for Organ 3 is roughly the price that I paid for my B4. If I had a choice of one or the other, I'd probably go with B4, simply put. However, if you're an organ player, you're thinking about getting both...and probably the next few that rate, as well. After all, it's no longer a matter of trunkspace; it's a matter of diskspace.

I'm interested in hearing from other organ players who have given this thing a whirl. Thanks, man.

[aMUSEd]

I love playing Hammond emus but nothing so far comes close to my Creamware B-2003 or even Logic's EVB3 (still prefer that to NI B4 2)

suppose I'll have to try it then....

[G&L_player]

I love playing Hammond emus but nothing so far comes close to my Creamware B-2003 or even Logic's EVB3 (still prefer that to NI B4 2)

suppose I'll have to try it then....

OK, there's a new one for me...not a Mac user and don't do the Logic thing. In addition, I'll prolly be waiting a long time for UAD to make an organ.

However, those are two very interesting choices that I don't normally investigate. But, yeah, the LinPlug gear is solid. Nothing has been done with daOrgan, until, now. This new offering is impressive. However, it's also running at about the same price point as B4. Hence, the post. Although, it's just as fair to entertain other offerings, as well. After all, changing organs can be like changing presets, only it's more dramatic.

[aMUSEd]

Things is to get a fully rounded Hammond tone takes a lot of modelling - it has a certain growl when you hit a key just the right way and a sort of low undertone that gets you in the belly as well as some higher, almost whistly or breathy tones mixed in - it's an incredibly rich sound.

[Sascha Franck]

Personally, for a nasty screaming sound, I prefer the B4II over Logics EVB3 any day.
Let alone the latter (pretty much uncommon for a Logic instrument) is a CPU hog of special sorts, even under OSX. The B4II is performing extraordinarily well, compared to it (using like 50% less).

So, for me it's the B4.

[aMUSEd]

I think the B4 2 can scream well enough but then it has got some extra cabs and tubes but I think the modelling is less good - less going on in the sound. The EVB3 is the most responsive to me in terms of playability and expression, even if it eats more cpu I can get a greater range of sounds just from one patch just by how I play. The Creamware one is the ballsiest though (and I suspect the most authentic) - its not driven like the NI one, it has real grit. daOrgan sounded really thin to me - I'll dl the demo when it's out and see if this has more substance to it.

[funkychickendance]

I have B4Express -- it came with an CID package -- but I never made the upgrade. Bought daOrgan (used) instead, because (a) demos sounded convincing and (b) original dev was Luigi Felici of DASHSignature and NUSofting fame.

I'll give Organ 3 some thought. I'm in the boat of thinking "I want an organ to sound like an organ and a synth to sound like a synth." But the pedals and Leslie emulation are tempting. Nice looking interface, too.

/funxi

[G&L_player]

Check this out, if you will- the whole "Hammond thing" made it OK for players to say, "I play a HAMMOND, man." When I was just 12, I wouldn't play anything else! Those nasty thingies with all of the fancy shit used to scare me. I'd go right for their Tibias and do a 180. The wave of portables with draw bars was intriguing. I had an Elka that I quite liked. It was one of the lightest decent sounding organs that came about at that time. Let's face, anything was an improvement over those big Farfisa's! (Elvis Costello is one of the few that I've heard make those thing s work, but he could use Synthedit and top the charts.) In the digital world, that mentality probably doesn't hold up. The simplicity of the Hammond makes the player use it up; the offerings of technology seems to have us doing more waving and making less waves.

Peter makes great stuff, so I'm always checking in to see what he's got cooking. I would have preferred that this particular upgrade be a little cheaper, as $100 (reg upgrade) is taking on b4II rather agressively. Ergo, B4II owners will be expecting that this product either beat it up and/or become a viable alternative. IMHO, B4II hasn't gone beyond the pure organ model, but Linplug is attempting to redefine the instrument. Although, if it gets too synth-like, perhaps, it might confuse organ purists, who have plenty of synths?

Anyway, I've decided to get a copy. I'm an organist; will always be an organist (even when I'm at the home in old age!). If I'm going to own one, it might be B4II, however, preferences change like the wind, man. Personally, I prolly won't be using the B4II's other tonewheels much, as I'm not diggin the Harmonium vibe. As good as B4II is, it reminds me of Mexican food- most of it tastes the same; all the same ingredients. So, here's where I might look for an alternative that will pine for some more playing time...who knows where it will go from there? I guess what I am saying is: There are organs and there are B3's.

Once again, the "Hammond mentality" states very cleary: "Got my Hammond; don't need anything else. THIS is an organ. Everything else is an electronic instrument." This might have held up in the home organ market, but IMHO, it no longer works in the digital arena.

(I'll make a posts or so, after running some tracks through O3, as I have a bum wing...otherwise I'd play it. However, I'm just as interested in hearing from other players on this instrument and other organs.)

...a Joey D fan.

[funkychickendance]

... Let's face, anything was an improvement over those big Farfisa's! (Elvis Costello is one of the few that I've heard make those thing s work, but he could use Synthedit and top the charts.)

Looking forward to hearing how you find this gizmo. I'm not rushing, for the reason you mention -- organs probably ought to be organs, because we ain't in a synth drought.

Re Costello, for those youngsters who just listen to oldies on the radio...EC is the singer/guitarist. Steve Nieve is his talented keyboards guy (from This Year's Model onwards, before that the backup band was Clover aka Huey Lewis & The News). SN certainly went through a string of Farfisa-led songs, but it wasn't long before he was off using Hammonds, pianos, DX7s, and damned near everything from the hardware store.

/funxi

[G&L_player]

Looking forward to hearing how you find this gizmo. I'm not rushing, for the reason you mention -- organs probably ought to be organs, because we ain't in a synth drought.

Yo, Funky-

Thanks, for the Elvis update! I didn't see that one coming, but you are prolly right- have to fill in some (time) space on that one.

I am now a registered user. In addition, I revved up my Albino license, as I was running v1 without the arpeggiator. (I'll be using more control surfaces and arpeggiators in the future.)

Once I install the O3, I'm sure I can find an older tune with some B4 chunks on it, and I'll do some comparisons: B4II, daOrgan, O3.

FYI: my family used to be a Hammond dealer (not to mention other brands), so I know organs pretty well. (However, the "roadsters" (200+ gigs) on the B3 are the real warriors on the big box.) So, I might be a Hammond prude, but I love to be surprised!

[G&L_player]

OK...I don't have to play for hours to get what I'm looking for. Once again, Hammond users go right for the Tib's...the O3 sounds very different from the B4II. The method I use is this: open up the 16's (and just the 16's); compare. One can do this through the bars, of course. However, I like to go right at the 1's, and then use the 16/1 combo. The Hammonds will ring at both ends of the spectrum. You'll hear the belly bass and the screamin high- classic! Now, when I move from the O3 to the B4II, I hear very different tones. The B4II has Hammond all over it- BIGTIME! The O3 reminds me of a LOT of different portable draw bar organs (i.e. like my old Elka, which I loved ). It's suitable, but not B3.

BUT wait- the O3 is very, very different. I love the design. (Branislav did an OUTSTANDING job! Can you please tidy up Albino?) This Organ sounds good enough to be called an "organ" with just its bars, even though they don't ring like the B4II. However, it has pertinent effects that make the bars take on a different character! The glide and pitch blend stuff on the front panel is REALLY nice! Personally, I don't use vibrato on the organ (today), but he really paid attention to the vibrato parameters- dial me in! The Percussion can go from usable to very strange (like drums), so there's a lot of artistic headroom here.

Effects (Fx1/2; pick two): rotary, reverb, delay, chorus, gator, crush. I don't play with effect very often, but did notice that these held some pretty fantastic organ sounds. A few got too synthy for me, but many others got the what if's going, particulary using the glide! FYI: I pretty much let the presets show me what the effects section could do; the control parameters are extensive.

Presets (about 82): were not exaustive (a few of these, a few of those); they certainly demonstrated where this organ can go, of course. The "classic" presets did not blow me away. At that junction, I was switching from the B4II to the O3, and just letting a few practical settings hit me in the ears...perc on; perc off; etc... I anticipated getting more presets, for what I paid. (I have no interest in paying $79 per set.)

What's friggin' cool about this thing- the microtuning and how easy it is. Man, talk about a guit-player using different tunings! There's almost too much here...check it out.

The whole "envelope in my organ"; and "throw this extra batch of effects in your bag," as well, thing, is undiscovered territory. Personally, I believe there's a LOT here- very usable stuff. So, the developer challenged the artist. Good job.

As an organist, I'm getting the B4II, firstly. However, I cannot leave O3 on the table. The trade-off with one, of course, is that with the B4II, you'll pretty much sound like everyone else who has one.

I have some automation issues with my Photon X25, but I'm sure its prolly a user error, as I have not latched on to this ECS thing, yet. Once I get them ironed out, this is going in MY bag and not Santa's!

[uncle808us]

I have a couple of questions about the Organ 3 that I did not find answers to in a search.
1. In logic you cannot use the velocity to control the volume of the EVB3. You must use automation on the expression. On the Organ 3 can you use the velocity in the piano roll or staff editor to make it louder softer?
2. How is the rotary cabinet controlled? Can you use key switching? The EVB3 in Logic is controlled by the sustain petal which can be written in the staff editor.
Thanks I look forward to the answers.

[Numanoid]

Is this like a graverobbery, raising the dead?

[uncle808us]

What I don't understand the question.

[djshire]

Is this like a graverobbery, raising the dead?

That's only part one, the rest is necromancy.