A number of virtual organ instruments have been released in the past, but IK Multimedia has pulled out all the stops with this one. The Hammond B-3X—officially endorsed by Hammond!

Most virtual organ instruments utilize a sound engine that deliver the sounds of the tone wheels and the rotary effects, or simulations thereof.

The Hammond B-3X, however, puts a combination of the high-quality PCM sampling used in the IK Multimedia SampleTank series, as well as the modeling technology as found in their MOD BASS, MOD DRUM, and Amplitube products. But it doesn't stop there! They've developed the B-3X in tandem with the Hammond company itself, and the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation here in Japan.

That the manufacturer of the Hammond B3 would team up and co-develop the Hammond B-3X with IK Multimedia should tell you that this is a special endeavor, and a very high-quality instrument. And, the Hammond B-3X is officially recognized by Hammond, and proudly wears the Hammond badge.

If you compare the main panels of the B3 and the B-3X, as well as the sound, design, and layout, you can see (and hear) that the two are nearly identical.

Moreover, modeling technology has been used to faithfully re-create the Leslie speaker, guitar amps, and a slew of effects.

Approved by Hammond

The Hammond B-3X sound includes samples of 91 types of tonewheel sounds from a real B3 that was in top shape, as well as including samples of the noise elements. Further, you can create a sound in realtime by tweaking the drawbar settings, for a faithful, legitimate B3 sound.

The fundamental sound can be controlled by the main screen, where you will see settings for the upper and lower keyboards and pedals, each with their own tonewheel drawbars and tab switches. What's more, at the lower left of the screen are tabs for CONTROLS and ADVANCED functions, which when clicked will bring up new screens showing detailed settings which you can then change however you like.

CONTROLS

The CONTROLS screen shows basic parameters key to making a sound on the B-3X.

• VOLUME
• VIBRATO
  
  
• VIBRATO AND CHORUS
  As on the original, there are 6 types of modeled chorus & vibrato.

• PERCUSSION
  Options for 2nd and 3rd intervals are provided, which are modeled.

• EXPRESSION
  Vital to organs is the expression (volume) pedal. In this case, you can either control it through your DAW or over MIDI.
• Drawbar Setting (Preset)
  24 types are at your fingertips here.
• LESLIE
  Visual controls for SLOW/FAST/BREAK are provided, and you can set this to be controlled by a mod wheel or a pedal.
• Drawbars
  Drawbars for UPPER・LOWER・PEDALS are provided, which are based on samples of 91 different types of tones from a B3.

ADVANCED

The ADVANCED screen allows more detailed editing than can be done in the CONTROLS screen, which allow you to make a tailored, more realistic sound.

TONEWHEELS

• MODEL
  The MODEL selection allows you to choose between four models of B3 samples, each with its own peculiarities and characteristics, so it's easy to find one that suits the sound you're trying to create.
  
  1　1971 A-100
  2　1960 A-100
  3　1966 B-3
  4　1955 B-3

• GENERATOR LEAKAGE
  The B-3X includes the noise elements of the tonewheels, so it very faithfully re-creates the authentic Hammond sound. You can tweak the noise settings here, which are handled by modeling, to your liking.
• KEY CLICK
  The Key Click sound is also handled by modeling, and you can edit the color of the key click sound.

PERCUSSION

Percussion can be set to 2nd or 3rd, and the volume and decay time of the percussion sound can be edited. This is also handled by modeling.

CHORUS

The mis level and high frequency boost can be set to your liking.

CABS (CABINETS)

The CABS（CABINET）tab allows you to edit where the output of the organ sound goes. You can choose the go-to organ sound processor, naturally a Leslie, as well as guitar amps.

SETUP

The SETUP section allows fine-tuning of the speeds of the horns at the top, and the drum (or rotor) at the bottom of the Leslie cabinet. You can also set the time it takes for the speakers to spin up and down when transitioning from slow to fast and vice versa, as well as having control over mic placement.

You can see for yourself as we dive in pretty deep here in our Demo & Review Video. The graphics and animation her are especially nice and show an attention to detail that displays just how far IK Multimedia did their homework while developing this product.

LESLIE AMP

The LESLIE AMP utilizes the same technology IK Multimedia employed in their AmpliTube modeling effects package. Also, you can tweak the AMPLIFER and CABINET to get just the sound you're after, and the graphical element here is a nice touch.

• AMPLIFER
  8 types of amplifiers are available.
• CABINET
  5 types of cabinets are available.

GUITAR AMP

One more special characteristic of the Hammond B-X3 sound is that in addition to the Leslie Speaker, you can send the output through a Guitar Amp and mix the two together. Here too, modeling technology from the AmpliTube package is used. You can get some organic distortion from the Guitar Amp and add it to the Leslie output to fatten up the sound, or put it to use however you want. The possibilities are nearly endless.

LESLIE EQ & MIXER

• LESLIE EQ
  The Low, Mid, and High on the Leslie can be edited.
• MIXER
  Here you can mix the DRUM L/R and HORN L/R volume from the Leslie, along with the output of the GUITAR AMP, and there is a control for DI（DIRECT INPUT）which allows the pure, untouched sound to be mixed as well.

STOMP ＆ POST FX

Stompbox Effects

Five types of stompboxes are provided, all with realistic graphics and sound too. IK Multimedia's high-quality effects modeling technology used here just further polishes the already excellent B-3X sound.

• OVER DRIVE
  The nostalgic coloring and sound of a MAXON pedal.
• GRAPHIC EQUALIZER
• ANALOG CHORUS VIBRATO
  Reminds us of a BOSS CE-1
• SPRING RIVERB
  For a perfect match to that era-specific sound
• WAH PEDAL

Post Effects

The final step in the signal path, here we have three effects processors straight from the T-RACKS series. All of them are processors you should be able to recognize at a glance.

• VINTAGE LIMITER
• EQ
• DIGITAL REVERB

Manufacturer-approved Organ Sound Engine

The Hammond B-3X has the official seal of approval from Hammond itself. IK Multimedia used their leading-edge modeling tech and co-developed the product with Hammond. Thanks to this, you can rest assured that you'll be getting your hands on a high-quality, authentic virtual instrument that sounds just like the real thing. Be sure to watch our Demo & Review Video so you can see and hear it for yourself.

Demo & Review Video

Sales Info (Japan only)

IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X

IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X Crossgrade

by musictrack