question for synth geeks (knifeghost?)

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question for synth geeks (knifeghost?)

Message Board > Music Chitchat - General ( Indie, Jazz, World, Electronic etc.) > question for synth geeks (knifeghost?)

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lepain
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I'm trying to find a specific sound. it's a hammond organ, but it sounds nothing like a b3. it is a cheap 1970s model, and I like the bass sounds (16' stops). it's really fat, and kind of distorted, almost approaching a square wave (or is it a saw wave?) but with an organ vibrato, and tremolo. Any suggestions? I tried a b3 clone (korg cx3) and it's overkill. it sounds too classy, and costs too much.
modules are good, cheap is good. software is bad (no portable computer)
synth gurus please help - Mon, 25 Dec 2006 11:39pm

Gman
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You might want to try one of the Yamaha FM (frequency modulation) Synths. You should be able to locate a cheap FM7 or TX. They're difficult to program but the bass sounds can be quite good. - Tue, 26 Dec 2006 4:32pm

SEALION
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Hmm. Well my fave cheapo Hammond is the transistor Hammond Sounder which has a great spring reverb, tacky drum machine and weird note sliding extras. If you pay over $60 your being had. Its is soo very 70s.

But in synth land I recommend the old Yamaha TX81Z a popular classic fm 1U rack with some great great presets that show up allover on hip hop old school classics. $80 is a good price. Might need the battery changed. But some of the sounds are very fine and it does all sorts of Organ and harmonic structures. Nice bass in it as well and the elctric piano is not shabby.

But it seems to me the sound your describing is not so much a Hammond, but a cheezy combo organ sound: acetone/Gem/briscoe/farfisa/vox jaguar-ish. In preset land look for the combo organ presets. pic above is a briscoe, a copy of a gem-p transitor organ with separate bass octave outs.

Roland never really covered this sort of thing very well at all (Acetoen begat Roland though). Nor did Korg. Yamaha however did a good one, the YC-45. - Wed, 27 Dec 2006 12:22am Edited: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 5:57pm

lepain
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thanks for the suggestions. I'm keeping my eyes open for the yamaha dx or tx series. - Fri, 29 Dec 2006 1:20pm

Anaki_Muon
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Too lazy to actually login. Some Farfisa organs have some interesting 'distoriation' on them that sounds like it's approaching a "saw wave" so to speak. - Tue, 30 Jan 2007 1:49pm

sealion
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there was an m3 Hammond for $250 on usedvictoria I can tell you how to maintain it. Tip, don't never move on side, upright always. - Mon, 5 Feb 2007 10:51pm

sealion
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now another one for $175, hey its raining cool. - Fri, 9 Feb 2007 11:39pm

Anaki_Muon
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PS: Organ tones? I totally spaced on the theme of this thread. Get any module/synth that can generate sine waves and just stack a bunch of them up on one another. Try detuning a few very slightly, pitching them at different octaves, changing the timbre, etc. - Sat, 10 Feb 2007 11:22am Edited: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 11:23am

KnifeGhost
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Hey Mike, sorry I'm so slow on the draw.

I have a TX81Z, but I wouldn't recommend it for B3 sounds, really. The organs sounds like good FM synth organ sounds, but I dunno. I also have a Roland D-50, and the guy at Tempo Trend can't say enough god about the Screamin' B3 card for the D-50. I haven't heard it, though.

It depends entirely on your budget, and your taste. IT also depends on how authentically and particularly B3 you want to sound. And within that, what kinds of B3 sounds you want. And that's really beyond my knowledge.

e-mail me of you want to hear the synths some time. - Thu, 15 Feb 2007 1:06am

Anaki_Muon
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Well, I have no problem with my D-110 making Organ tones, though it did take me a little longer than usual to get used to the D-110. Does the D-50 cards contain any new waveforms to incorporate in to patches? I don't think so, and even if it did, you should be able to make a good organ patch pretty easily if you just stick with sine waveforms, pitching them differently from one another and altering their timbre. - Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:39am

mactac
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soundonsound mag published an awesome discussion on this that helped me immensely 5 or 6 years ago. it's worth it for the read. it starts off with leslie emulation & explores a hammond sound in depth.

it also explores doing it on different synths.

part1:http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan04/articles/synthsecrets.htm
part2:http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb04/articles/synthsecrets.htm
part3:http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar04/articles/synthsecrets.htm - Mon, 19 Feb 2007 9:23am

Gman
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Hey KG. Time for glasses - in the original post, it specifically says "it's a hammond organ, but it sounds nothing like a b3"

Yar! - Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:34pm

lepain
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Thanks all. I bought a tx81z off gman, and I'm pretty happy with it. I've got a rough approximation of the same sound, but I'm still experimenting. For the time being, the 200 lb weight difference makes it a very attractive alternative for gigging, though I still prefer the sound of my junky ass organ. - Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:22pm

KnifeGhost
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GMan, I read it to mean he had an organ but wanted one to sound like a B3. I dig. In that case, TX81z it up.

The other option (if you're feeling adventurous) is to poke around for cheap-shit portable organs. Nothing fakes cheap-shit organ like another cheap-shit organ. - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 7:05pm

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