Just the way he rolls. I purchased it when it first came out. I think it was like $129 or $149 U.S. Was excited, but the Leslie really let me down, but managed to dig into it and get some worthwhile presets. When V2 came out, the Leslie was amazingly better but still not outstanding. V3 is worth the 99 euro.
Sooo… I have the ancient NI B4 II…and as everyone knows, I’m not a keys player much less a Hammond player (a totally different animal imo)…but I can sequence a part into a mix. SO would I be better off using it in DI mode with the IK Leslie (on sale right now) or doing B5 v3?
Man…that is hard to say. B4, while in it’s day, sounded really good and I used it exclusively. So much has changed since then (15yrs?). The way they model tonewheels and are able to get those sweet highs and growling lows are far superior now. From my experiments on my tweaks page, NI and IK Leslie didn’t work well with each other. Very strange sounds. You could buy the IK Hammond, which has IK Leslie included, but a little pricey, but really nice. B5 on sale now at 69 euros is a sweet price for a completely revamped amazing instrument. It’s just not me, the internet is alight about this version. Either way, you can’t lose, and will have a better instrument than NI. There is always the old VB3, a killer organ, but it is not being updated anymore. You need something that will carry you into the future. Blue3 and VB3 II are good, and I use them, but more expensive than B5 on sale. Maybe not quite up to IK or B5. Your choice. What is the IK Leslie going for on sale?
I’m d/l’ing it and the full B3-X and will do a comparison. Also, you can buy individual Leslies in their online Custom Shop. The 147 for Amplitube is only $19.99…so if it’s enough to upgrade the NI I may just go that route for the time being since I have other things I’d like to spend on right now…
That is cool. I thought the free version only did mixing and mastering plugs. I stand corrected. I’ve had full T-Racks and full Amplitube for several years now, so I never used the other versions.
So this is interesting…the NI (DI mode) sounds similar to the B3-X (DI mode) into the T-Racks Leslie 122A, but the B4 II is more muddy and not as balanced sounding (full draw bars on each).
The B3-X into it’s own Leslie 122A sounds much better than in DI mode into the T-Racks Leslie. I’m pretty sure I have everything set the same and no pre or post FX same amp drive, etc. It’s like a very high fidelity version of the T-Racks Leslie to my ears.
I’ll mess around and see if there is a way to feed the NI (DI mode) into just the B3-X Leslie.
I was assuming the T-Racks Leslie was the same as the B3-X Leslie but it’s a pretty big difference to my ears…
OK so after comparing different drawbar settings the NI is pretty lame in comparison even into the T-Racks Leslie, which is an upgrade IMO.
Update: After more messing around, I’m finding a difference in how the NI handles the 1" drawbar when percussion is on compared to the B3-X, and that seems to be the biggest difference (when going into the T-Racks Leslie). The B3-X is clearly more refined, but the difference isn’t that great with a little EQ to match them into the same Leslie imo. Now the B3-X into it’s own Leslie is a different story.
LOL, the free version loads every single product they make for T-Racks into your VST folder and these days all you have to do is load it and you get a prompt: “Buy or Demo?”…so basically it spams your VST folder…
Thanks for the heads up…I actually tried the 122A. The pricing is a joke though, you have to get both the 122A amp and the 122A cab in order to use it in Amplitude freebie. The cab won’t expose until the matching amp is present too… So if I go this route I’ll get the bundle.
I would suspect… no. I like the guy, and he works very hard on his products. Most of them are stellar, and he is very proud, and protective. Can’t blame him, as the market he resides in is saturated. 69 Euros is a very good discount for version 3, and free for B5 owners. Very generous IMHO. And no, I am not a paid spokesman for him, but I would consider a sponsorship, LOL! Like that would ever happen.
Still sitting in the cart but I’m closer to buying. Here are my thoughts:
I have a hunch B5 v3 plays well kind of the way VB3 1.4 “just works”.
The key click and contact appear to play in a particularly realistic way.
The Leslie seems to be spot on and I like when the VST can do both well so I can just load Corky’s “patches” and go
The UI is especially intuitive and displays what really counts in way that invites manipulation.
The UI for advanced tweaking seems very intuitive - I would go so far as to say it looks like it will be fun.
It took me two listens to be sure which was real Leslie (did identify correctly which was the real one though) - https://youtu.be/NP8C_7P_e5o?t=286
Price is very fair.
Can’t have too many good Hammond emulations.
I really have had no issues with the latest software iLok - it has passed all my tests for not being onerous - it’s very transparent and is easy to decommission and recommission laptops.
I saw someone (I think Dave Dore) here comment that it doesn’t spike the CPU the way B3-X can at times.
True…but I have already started the process of modeling all the earlier B5 patches to fit V3. When I get them done, I will post them as a rack for anyone who wants them.
That’s my way of thinking
Also why I am a poor man