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Out now: Hammond B-3X for Mac/PC


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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.

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

Edited by Peter - IK Multimedia
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If you own GG Audio's Blue3 and are planning to buy the Hammond B3X, I would strongly advise you to download the demo first.
Unfortunately, I purchased the B3-X plugin based on the audio demos from their website.  But when doing a simple A/B comparison with Blue3, I discovered a big difference in quality, especially when it concerned the distortion (aging/overdrive) options.  Compared to the Blue3, the B3-X sounds awful when adding the distortion.
And I spent hours trying to get the B3-X sounding as good as the Blue3.

I'm really upset that I purchased the B3X just a FEW HOURS before the demo version was made available.   Had I known there was going to be a demo version I definitely would have downloaded that first.  And I would have discovered that I liked the Blue3 better.
In all fairness, you may like the B3X, especially if you don't have any other Hammond emulators to compare it to.  But I just wanted to put this out there, that some people might find it inferior to other Hammond B3 plugins.   
Sorry to say, I'm a victim of my own impatience and I should have waited to get the demo.  But there was no announcement made that a demo was forthcoming. Which I think is pretty unfair.

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That's interesting because if there is one area where Blue3 would benefit the most from an improvement that would be the overdrive in my opinion. And I feel very related to this plugin as I was beta tester watching it's birth, first steps and how the developer brought it to it's full glory to my pleasure.

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1 hour ago, chris.r said:

That's interesting because if there is one area where Blue3 would benefit the most from an improvement that would be the overdrive in my opinion. And I feel very related to this plugin as I was beta tester watching it's birth, first steps and how the developer brought it to it's full glory to my pleasure.

Well, all I know is that I spent a couple of hours A/B comparing the two Hammond plugins, trying to get a decent overdrive sound out of the B-3X to try and come close to the sweet growl of the Blue3.     
I did discover one thing.  The distortion stomp box for the B3X is horrible.  But I was able to get some decent overdrive by mixing two amps in the Amp Mixer section.
I used a 122 Leslie Amp/Cabinet and mixed it with their British Lead Amp, with the gain turned up to about 5.  I found the right mix levels of the two, and it sounds much better than the distortion stomp box.    BUT still not as good sounding as what I can get from the Blue3.

I respect your opinion (as I hope you do mine).   I can even post an audio file with some of my results, and maybe you can do the same.
I also respect IK Multimedia and what they have done with their Hammond emulator.   The basic sounds are very authentic sounding.   But the growl and the amps just sound better to me with Blue3.

EDIT:
My 'go to' settings (for the overdrive) in Blue3 is Selecting "C" Type Drive turned up about half way up, and using the Custom cabinet selection.
And that, for me, is all it takes to get the overdrive sound that sounds good without being too distorted or unnatural sounding.
As with the B-3X, it took a whole lot more tweaking and mixing to even come close.

Edited by Lee Shapiro
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Yes absolutely, music/sound that's always a matter of taste and by giving our subjective opinions we're not necessarily disrespect each other, so yes I'm with you on this :)

What I like more in IK leslie it's the subtle grit sound of vintage tubes when the overdrive is just breaking in, I think IK has got this better than Blue3. But then, by saying that Blue3 overdrive have some room for improvement doesn't mean that it sounds bad, no not at all, and the growl... that's Blue3 at it's best! Overall Blue3 plugin as a whole does not pose much room for improvement imho.

I didn't test the IK organ yet but based on some users demo videos I think it's good at similar level as Blue3.

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14 minutes ago, chris.r said:

I didn't test the IK organ yet but based on some users demo videos I think it's good at similar level as Blue3.

Yes, I agree.  If you already own Blue3, I advise sticking with it.  It uses much less ram and system resources than the B-3X, and it's Leslie emulator sounds better.
They are both very close in their basic sounds, and the B-3X might have several specific details that sound better than Blue3.   But just trying to get that perfect growl sound (overdrive) is much simpler within Blue3, and to me, sounds more natural.   Blue3 also has much better presets. 
Plus Blue3 is about $100 cheaper than B-3X.

When I first got the B-3X, I was thoroughly disappointed after doing some A/B comparisons with Blue3.   But after a few days of working with it, I'm figuring out ways to make it sound almost as good as what I am getting from Blue3.   But in the long run, I probably will continue using Blue3 in my music.

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23 hours ago, chris.r said:

What I like more in IK leslie it's the subtle grit sound of vintage tubes when the overdrive is just breaking in, I think IK has got this better than Blue3.

This.  If one doesn't prefer the AmpliTube-based overdrive or other effects in the presets, they should try using the Leslie modeling (or other gear available).  The presets are just a starting point.  The magic happens when you manipulate Hammond B-3X and make it your own B3.  

I think in time people will have an opportunity to explore Hammond B-3X and have that "eureka moment" understanding just how much it is like a B3.  Note that Erik Norlander is the man deeply involved in this project and he most certainly knows what a properly-maintained B3 is supposed to sound and react like, as he's had B3 as part of his arsenal for years.  He's also noted many times how particular he is about the upkeep of his instruments - it's incredible how much attention (and probably money) he spends making sure his keyboard instruments are maintained to perfection.

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hi  i am  not  musician , anly  amateur ,
i have   blue3  and  hammond b-3x , if i  play famous songs :green onions,evil ways,perfect strangers, lalena, and others 
then sound on hammond b-3x  really similar , if i play on blue3  then sound not similar ,    my  opinion hammond b-3x much better

Edited by Roman Gillner
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On 11/24/2019 at 6:08 AM, Roman Gillner said:

hi  i am  not  musician , anly  amateur ,
i have   blue3  and  hammond b-3x , if i  play famous songs :green onions,evil ways,perfect strangers, lalena, and others 
then sound on hammond b-3x  really similar , if i play on blue3  then sound not similar ,    my  opinion hammond b-3x much better

That is certainly a justifiable way of finding out what you prefer to use.  Thank you for that, I'm glad that Hammond B-3X gets you to where you want to be for your B3 organ sound.

I also didn't post part 2 of Erik Norlander's great video series:

 

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