Hi, Welsh Floyd is a little like “Hotel California”, and I may be joining them again, so time to check out VB3-II and IK Leslie to see if I can better the Kronos CX-3 organs I was using last time I gigged with them. I can then also check out the Tony Kaye organ examples posted a few weeks back (have had no time since then due to an insane work schedule)
So I am just figuring out which is the best IK leslie version to consider: T-Racks or Amplitude. Is there a difference between them? Which is the best one to go for for usage in Cantabile - I have Helix Native for all sorts of amp models if needed.
And, dumb question alert, can you use it standalone, or do you also need T-Racks or Amplitude?
If you don’t have Amplitube already, I’d definitely recommend the T-Racks version. No need to load a surrounding plugin like T-Racks; you simply load the complete Leslie as one individual plugin. With the other version, you’ll need to load Amplitube and then assemble amp and cabinet inside Amplitube. Also, attaching the controls (speed) to bindings is a lot more straightforward in the T-Racks version - the parameters are exposed directly, whereas in the Amplitube version, you need to jump through some hoops to make the connection.
I’ve been testing the Amplitube and T-Racks side by side for a demo on the tweaks page. Gigs and rehearsals have been eating all my time lately, but will post it soon. @Torsten explained it very well, but there are pros and cons with both. According to IK Multimedia, they are exactly the same, but I am finding they are only “similar”. I went with T-Racks to begin with, but even with the additional system load, load time, and the binding work-arounds, I am finding the Amplitube version to have something more to my personal satisfaction. Anyway, I will post the few differences soon.
Thanks for that. As my budget is a little tight this month, the fact that T-Racks is standalone and I don’t need amplitude (I have Helix Native for an amp modelling and effects smorgasbord) will probably swing it that way, but I will be interested to know what Corky thinks the differences are.
One other thing, I haven’t found a demo version, of T-Racks Leslie on their website, despite them saying that demo versions are available. Am I missing something?
I think with IK T-Racks you have to download the big 1 gig T-racks installer. It will place all the plugs of the T-Racks series in your vst folder. you can delete all but the Leslie vst after the install and authorize only the one plug if you don’t want the extra dormant plugs in your vst lists. The plug should provide a choice to demo on first use if not authorized.
No doubt, as I did, the T-Racks is the better way to go for several reasons, price, ease of use, and easier load. I was just addressing the differences you asked about. The differences are few in sound, but I would be very pleased just to have the T-Racks version. The big differences are in implementation, and T-Racks wins that, hands down. Sorry if I confused you.
I have them both downloaded and about to install, but I suspect I am going to run out of time tonight and will be away for a few days at the start of the week.
But I’ll report back once I have then setup and going and see how the compare to Kronos CX-3
I didn’t get a huge amount of time on this last night, and hit the issue that VB3 demo mode does not appear to allow you to get into the editor screens (e.g. to turn its Leslie off). And now away for a few days…
On a quick A/B comparison, I didn’t hear anything that sounded instantly better than the organs in my Kronos and the CX-3 engine, so I would rate the overall sound on par
Next, I might route CX-3 sans Leslie into my PC to try the IK Media Leslie on it. Or I might just pull the plug on VB3 so I have another good organ source and then I can try the IK Media Leslie… I might trust my ears after hearing the organs on Fred’s latest…
