NORD ELECTRO VS HAMMOND XK3 VS ROLAND VK8

[reggiejanisian]

interesting im going to check that xk3 out i love deep bass and if it have it thats what i want have anybody checked out the roland vk8???

[vaughnbrathwaite]

i have the xk system in my house and i'm tellinu.u cant go  wrong..if u plug into a real leslie its flawless...................i've been playin for a while.its flawless

[reggiejanisian]

ok it seems like most of you is feeling the xk3 over the nord i might go with the xk3 i guess no one cares about the roland organ so we can scratch that out i still dont know which one to get its hard

[B3Wannabe]

Yea.

I think all of them are pretty good, but the thing that makes the Hammond one stand out is that it has a built-in tube preamp using a 12AX7 tube, which is the same as the preamp in a real hammond leslie. This makes it sound dirtier and "older" than it would sound without it. Without the tube, it sounds clean and pure, which is too electronic.

I had to buy a separate preamp for mine, to get this sound.

[reggiejanisian]

b3wannab thats so true the hammond xk3 have real tubes in it compared to the other ones im leaning more to the xk3 but they still say the nord electro is the king i just want somebody to really break them all down for me so i can make my decisin soo

[reggiejanisian]

OK I MADE UP MY MIND I THINK IM GOING TO GO WITH THE HAMMOND XK3 I LISTENED TO DEMOS I LIKE THE SOUND A LIL BETTER THAN THE NORD ELECTRO AND IT DONT HAVE ROLLOVER BASS SO XK3 IT IS THANKS FOR YALL SUPPORT

[RMS2003]

Reggie, don't count out the Roland VK-8 just yet. I did the same thing when I was clonewheel shopping. The VK-8 is way underrated. I understand that everyone has their own taste in clonewheels so I'm not trying to say ones better than the other. However, I've listened to the nord, the sounds aren't that bad but when the leslie is on tremolo, the higher notes are kinda shrill. I've heard the CX-3 and XK-3, and I really don't care for the leslie sim on either of those organs. So then someone told me about the VK-8 and I was kinda leary about it, since Roland is known for making awesome digital pianos, but no one really ever talked about their organs. I'm glad I chose the Roland. It has the best simulator, IMHO. Alot of people who have written reviews will talk about this "double-trigger" on the VK-8. Yes, it's there, but it's hardly noticable at all. In fact, when I play, it never double triggers. Whatever you decide on, as long as you're happy with it, that's what matters.

You can connect any clonewheel to a leslie speaker. Speakeasy can make you an adapter to work for your setup. Last year I saw a program on my local PBS station. They were showing a live concert with the Ronnie Baker Brooks band. Daryl Coutts played a nord electro 61 connected to a leslie speaker. It sounded just like a B3. Speakeasy's website is http://www.speakeasyvintagemusic.com/. You should check out their website. If you have any questions about their products, contact Steve Hayes, he'll make sure you get all the right parts to make your clonewheel work with your leslie speaker.

I just bought a Motion Sound Pro-145 dual rotor speaker. Even though it has no 11-pin leslie socket, I  bought an adapter that will allow me to use my 11-pin output on the VK-8 so it can communicate with the Pro-145.

[PapaRooskie]

I had been lookind for a nice chop organ, then i decided to go ahead and purchase the Hammond XK3........until i heard the nord.  I had carried a hammond and a rhodes to all my gigs, but the nord has a great hammond sound, rhodes, wurlitzer, piano, and of course the clavinet.  Its you definitly get more for the money!

[reggiejanisian]

i checked out that site its hot i havent really heard much about the roland vk8 either just the nord and hammond series and some what korg cx3 i wanna play them all though like i said before i like alot of bass in my organs and the one that can deliver that and give me a real sound is my winner

[B3Wannabe]

Yea. Like I said before, all the clonewheels sound pretty good WHEN YOU CONNECT THEM TO A LESLIE, but standalone, the XK3 and Voce V5/Key5 are the top two that EVERYONE agrees upon. Below those are those are the Nord, CX3, then the Roland Modules.

I have a Pro3 that I use with a bass amp; it's not as good as having a Pro145, like RMS2003, but it's better than the onboard leslie sims in all the clones, because you have an actual speaker rotating. I even use this, when I'm running light, through my keyboard's organ. It even makes that sound ALOT better.

It all depends on what you want to do. If you want drawbars and a sound really close to the real thing, get a dedicated clone (Nord, CX3, XK3, VK8/88, V5/KEY5). If you want a good leslie sound, get a real leslie speaker, if you can, if not, then get a MotionSound speaker. Anyone of them are good, but you at least want one with a rotating speaker in it. The most critical being the upper rotor.

I'm not sure the V8 has rollover bass, but I'm almost certain it does. At the least, it doesn't have all 3 drawbars like the XK3, which to me, it one of the main reasons to get it. The VK8 only has 1 set of drawbars.

[RMS2003]

How bassy the tone is will depend on your speaker setup. My VK-8 is connected to a set of Logitech Z2300 computer speakers. There's 2 regular speakers and a subwoofer. I have to make sure the bass knob is turned down otherwise the house will shake, literally, when I hit a bass note. Like I saiid, I'm not here to bash all the other clonewheels and stand up and say the VK-8 is the best. However, I do own the VK-8 so I have a pretty good idea what it sounds like. And to my ears, it sounds the closest to a real B3 and leslie.

Also keep in mind, no matter how convincing the simulator is, it can only reproduce authentic rotating sound to an extent. The best way I know how to describe it is a simulator is lacking the edge that a leslie has. I was sitting in church one Sunday night, the organ player starting playing some soft music before service. She turned on the leslie and the lower rotor started whirling around and the sound was bouncing off the walls like mad. It sounded so beautiful. This is really why I've ordered a Pro-145, so I can recapture that "edge". And believe me, after waying all the options and reading SEVERAL reviews on the Pro-145, this thing is the most convenient and logical leslie alternative.

So, to sum up, which ever clonewheel sounds best to your ears, then that's the one you should go with. And remember, some time down the road, you can always get a leslie or even a Motion Sound Pro-145 and expand the sound. Good luck with your purchase.

[RMS2003]

I'm not sure the V8 has rollover bass, but I'm almost certain it does. At the least, it doesn't have all 3 drawbars like the XK3, which to me, it one of the main reasons to get it. The VK8 only has 1 set of drawbars.

Yes, it does have rollover bass.

If having a second set of drawbars and pedal drawbars is needed to change on the fly, then the VK-8 may not be the way to go. However don't let the 1 set of drawbars mislead you. You can change the settings for the upper and lower manuals, and the pedals.

[reggiejanisian]

dang i didnt know the xk8 had features like that i want to pley one one day