Product Reviews by KVR Members
All reviews by Suntower
Review Something or Find Reviews
This is an initial review of Nubi, the B3 emulation from PJ Geerlings. I have been using this since the initial betas.
There are currently two versions: a single manual with a very nice looking GUI and a non-GUI version with 3 manuals, which simply uses sliders for all functions. Internally though, they are the same engine.
The first question anyone should ask is: 'Does the world really need another B3 clone?' I would say 'yes' for three reasons:
1. N/I's B4 simply does -not- nail the B3 (though it does have a VERY nice GUI and a really good Leslie/Preamp simulation.
2. Charlie -does- sound better, but it simply is not 'playable' to a real organist.
3. Both of the above a somewhat pricey.
[b]YES, BUT HOW DOES IT SOUND[/b]
NuBI combines the control of B4 with the better sound quality of Charlie. No it doesn't use samples, but it does use an emulation which is much more like a 'real' B3. It sounds fatter and just plainly more realistic than B4. And yet it gives one all the control of B4. Fantastic. Plus it's currently in a 'donation' mode so you can get something that actually sounds BETTER than the industry standard product and get it for a song.
Now the bad news: The Leslie and preamp sections in NuBI are not quite ready for prime time. Oh they aren't -bad-, but this is frankly where N/I hit it out of the park with B4. People often think B4 sounds better than it does because the Leslie and preamps are so darn good. The raw tones are -not- that happening.
So my suggestions to overcome this are:
1. Donate to PJ so he can work out a better pre! ;)
2. Use a better tube pre and Leslie VST and bypass the NuBI effects (this is what I do).
If you do this, NuBI simply -smokes- B4 or Charlie in all the ways that matter.
[PRESETS]
One thing that needs some work are the presets. There are presets with NuBI but frankly they ain't exactly as fantastic as B4. But that said, figuring out presets on a B3 is easy and a great way to learn how things work so I can't get too dis-chuffed about this. Also I think there is enough info on the web re: drawbar settings used by various players that one could figure this stuff out in about 15 minutes.
[b]GUI OR NON-GUI?[/b]
As I said, the GUI version is quite nice. So at first blush one might asky why in the Sam Hill someone would want a non-GUI version of -any- VSTi?
Here's the deal: a -real- B3 has 3 manuals. The GUI version only has one manual---which is fine for the odd bit in a pop song. But any self-respecting organist will use every bit of -all- 3 manuals, moving back and forth for different sections of a tune. An organist is constantly moving draw bars, pedalling and so on. In short: there's a LOT more going on than with a typical 'keyboard'.
So the non-GUI version is simply more like a -real- B3 and if you want to play like a real organist, you'll want the extra manuals.
Plus, call me a Luddite, but I find the sliders to be a LOT easier to work with than the GUI. The GUI is pretty but it's also a bit large. To -me- the smaller size of the non-GUI version leaves more screen space for me to manage Cubase without constantly flipping between windows. I am told that I am the only human on the planet who feels this way, however so YMMV.
[CONCLUSIONS]
IMHO, everyone should have NuBI:
---Non organists should still probably have a decent emulation around just in case. NuBI does this without breaking the bank.
---Organists, however, will want something that sounds better than B4, but is more controllable than Charlie. NuBI fills the bill here as well, so long as one uses that outboard preamp/Leslie.
I cannot stress enough the overall value of NuBI, I would place it in the same bang for the buck arena as Alexey's Voxengo plug-ins (which is the highest praise I can think of at the moment).
It have found no significant bugs (shocking but true!) and it works completely as advertised. Additionally, PJ is a pleasure to work with and has already incorporated many ideas from sincere organ-devotees such as meself.
So what are you waiting for?
---JCRead Review
There are currently two versions: a single manual with a very nice looking GUI and a non-GUI version with 3 manuals, which simply uses sliders for all functions. Internally though, they are the same engine.
The first question anyone should ask is: 'Does the world really need another B3 clone?' I would say 'yes' for three reasons:
1. N/I's B4 simply does -not- nail the B3 (though it does have a VERY nice GUI and a really good Leslie/Preamp simulation.
2. Charlie -does- sound better, but it simply is not 'playable' to a real organist.
3. Both of the above a somewhat pricey.
[b]YES, BUT HOW DOES IT SOUND[/b]
NuBI combines the control of B4 with the better sound quality of Charlie. No it doesn't use samples, but it does use an emulation which is much more like a 'real' B3. It sounds fatter and just plainly more realistic than B4. And yet it gives one all the control of B4. Fantastic. Plus it's currently in a 'donation' mode so you can get something that actually sounds BETTER than the industry standard product and get it for a song.
Now the bad news: The Leslie and preamp sections in NuBI are not quite ready for prime time. Oh they aren't -bad-, but this is frankly where N/I hit it out of the park with B4. People often think B4 sounds better than it does because the Leslie and preamps are so darn good. The raw tones are -not- that happening.
So my suggestions to overcome this are:
1. Donate to PJ so he can work out a better pre! ;)
2. Use a better tube pre and Leslie VST and bypass the NuBI effects (this is what I do).
If you do this, NuBI simply -smokes- B4 or Charlie in all the ways that matter.
[PRESETS]
One thing that needs some work are the presets. There are presets with NuBI but frankly they ain't exactly as fantastic as B4. But that said, figuring out presets on a B3 is easy and a great way to learn how things work so I can't get too dis-chuffed about this. Also I think there is enough info on the web re: drawbar settings used by various players that one could figure this stuff out in about 15 minutes.
[b]GUI OR NON-GUI?[/b]
As I said, the GUI version is quite nice. So at first blush one might asky why in the Sam Hill someone would want a non-GUI version of -any- VSTi?
Here's the deal: a -real- B3 has 3 manuals. The GUI version only has one manual---which is fine for the odd bit in a pop song. But any self-respecting organist will use every bit of -all- 3 manuals, moving back and forth for different sections of a tune. An organist is constantly moving draw bars, pedalling and so on. In short: there's a LOT more going on than with a typical 'keyboard'.
So the non-GUI version is simply more like a -real- B3 and if you want to play like a real organist, you'll want the extra manuals.
Plus, call me a Luddite, but I find the sliders to be a LOT easier to work with than the GUI. The GUI is pretty but it's also a bit large. To -me- the smaller size of the non-GUI version leaves more screen space for me to manage Cubase without constantly flipping between windows. I am told that I am the only human on the planet who feels this way, however so YMMV.
[CONCLUSIONS]
IMHO, everyone should have NuBI:
---Non organists should still probably have a decent emulation around just in case. NuBI does this without breaking the bank.
---Organists, however, will want something that sounds better than B4, but is more controllable than Charlie. NuBI fills the bill here as well, so long as one uses that outboard preamp/Leslie.
I cannot stress enough the overall value of NuBI, I would place it in the same bang for the buck arena as Alexey's Voxengo plug-ins (which is the highest praise I can think of at the moment).
It have found no significant bugs (shocking but true!) and it works completely as advertised. Additionally, PJ is a pleasure to work with and has already incorporated many ideas from sincere organ-devotees such as meself.
So what are you waiting for?
---JCRead Review
