Corky’s VST Organ Tips and Tweaks Page 🎹

Hi Phil

Amplitube will get you there. The thing I hate doing, is running B5 DI out, because it takes away the warm, woody sound of B5. But, the biggest problem B5 has is it’s overdrive. just not up to par.
I can get you there, but it will be a little while, as I am not with my setup at the moment, but I have a YIND setup already, which I think you will really like. I will send you a PM.

Corky

Thanks very much. This is one cool thread!!

Phil

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I am amazed how this thread took off, and stayed active with tons of great participation. We are near 10,000 views, and over 600 replies.

In celebration of 10,000 views, and as a gift to everyone for the Holidays, I will be posting a series that will hopefully benefit some, and interest others.

It was a lot of work, but it was worth it for all I’ve learned. I will begin posting soon.

:snowflake::snowflake::snowflake:Happy Holidays :snowflake::snowflake::snowflake:

Corky

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Replying to my own post (is that the way to follow up on a post you made yourself?).

I finally was able to compare the JBL Eon 610 and 612 yesterday. The first thing that jumped out at me is the 610 looks like it’s only half the size of the 612 (actually it’s 2/3rds the size). The 610 is a much easier to handle. The weight difference isn’t as noticeable (610 is 26 lbs vs 33lbs for 612).

The 612’s weren’t dramatically louder or stronger bass wise with gain and input set mid way. When cranked up they were louder and had slightly better bass. VB3 sounded pretty much the same with both, just louder with the 612’s. If I didn’t already have upgraded (Eminence woofer) Alto TS115a’s I would have gone for the 612’s. I think the 610’s will do fine in the local pubs.

Heads up for someone considering them for use when practicing. They have an audible hiss for some reason. I haven’t connected with the bluetooth app to adjust them so that might be able to be reduced. It doesn’t bother me, once you’re playing you don’t hear it.

I got nice mini stands (Pyle PSTND32) for them:

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I usually start with Hey Dave, it’s Dave here …but to each his own … :wink:

I use a pair of 10’s most of the time and they are great for my usage but I use 12’s with the rock band.

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PRESET MANIA

I started this project a few months ago. It became way too large for a single post, so I decided to break it up into several smaller ones. It was my intent to create user presets covering specific songs and artist styles. I study every artist and song in an attempt to understand the hows and whys. Some of the presets were made from requests, and others are made for my own use.

Everyone’s ear is different, so if you feel a need to modify, by all means, make it yours. That is the way it is meant to be. If you want multiple leslies, added EQ’s, reverbs, distortion pedals, octavers, whammy pedals, whatever….go for it!

THE HURDLES

We now have a plethora of Hammond VST clones. I use them all, but I understand everyone is not like me. I purchase every new Hammond toy freshly released. Knowing this, I took on the challenge of creating these presets for several of the current clones. So, if I create a preset, let’s say “Rock Organ 1”, I will also create the same preset for the other clones. The challenge is, the clones are all different, and therefore, I couldn’t simply transfer the settings from one clone to another. The other hurdle was that many of our forum members use IK Leslie with their clones. So this is the extra length I pursued……

Every preset will be made for the following:

VB3 1.4

VB3 1.4 with IK Leslie

Blue3

Blue3 with IK Leslie

VB3 II

VB3 II with IK Leslie

B5

B5 with IK Leslie

IK Hammond B-3X

These are probably the most commonly used VSTs. There are others that are older, not compatible with current technology, and sadly are not supported by their developers anymore. There are newer ones, but not worth my time trying to get a simple “decent” sound out of them.

Other hurdles involved different settings within the particular song, lower keyboard settings, user preset loading/transfer, and other hair pulling vst challenges. I try my best to get these presets to sound correct as possible within the VST, even though the limitations of a few may fall short. Adding IK Leslie usually makes a difference, but sometimes, the VST by itself is enough.

THIS IS HOW I WILL SHARE

Brad has given us a great tool with “plugin snapshots”. Using these, we can share any presets, from any plugin, without going through the many different ways to save presets within the plugin itself. This is the way I chose to share my presets. The added beauty to this is that only Cantabile users will be able to use these presets. Cantabile v 3632 and later is required. Many thanks to Dave Dore’ for an explanation on how to import the snapshot presets below:

Set your plugins preset model to Entire Plugin Snapshots. This ensures that all the automatable parameters plus any unlisted setup parameters are stored in the snapshot

image

Make sure you are set to the correct preset model and Import the preset into whatever preset slot you want by selecting the preset slot first and then doing the import when you receive it from another user
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If you have a series of presets in the numbered slots they can also be shared as Banks “CantabileBank” by Exporting in the same way you did the Programs (presets)
image

IN CLOSING

Each post will be a style, or a particular song….maybe both. I will have a few notes on the song or artist, and how the presets are used. I may add a few audio/video examples. The IK Leslie I use in these presets will be in T-Racks, even though I prefer Amplitube. I will also post VST version number used to create presets, just in case. Newer versions may have better parameters for creation (I hope).

It is my hope with this project that we all learn about these clones and how they can be tweaked to satisfy our tastes. I have learned a lot, and usually find something different every time I dive into another preset creation. This is why the thread was created. I obtain great satisfaction from sharing, and learning from others. PLEASE UNDERSTAND—PRESETS ARE ONLY A ROADMAP to a defined sound. Most organists constantly adjust drawbars, percussion, vibrato/chorus, and Leslie switches. What sounds great in one venue will not sound the same in another. So, adjustments are always necessary.

Now to the presets………………

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PRESET MANIA 1 – Gimmie Some Lovin’ – Steve Winwood (The Spencer Davis Group)

Side Note:

Most everyone, including current Hammond clones, copies the “Gimmie” preset from the old Hammond sites and forums, and it never quite sounded right. It is important to know that Steve Winwood always had a soulful/bluesy Voice and Hammond sound. The preset of old never displayed that sound. I studied, and listened to Winwood at length, and found many photographs/videos exposing drawbars and techniques.

In my preset, the “B note” preset (A/B on some plugins) is the setting for the interlude at beginning, and between chorus and verse. The brake is sometimes used during the interlude instead of slow Leslie in live performance. A#/Bb preset is used in the pre-chorus and chorus, which uses fast Leslie switching occasionally to slow. Winwood uses lower keyboard during verses, although in my case, I switch to the piano part in verses. This is all based on the original and live recordings.

Winwood was known to use twin Leslie 122’s live….don’t know about the recording, but the Hammond he used in that recording was on fire. The organ was very gritty and out front. It was always the dominant instrument.

Original Recording:

Live:

THE PRESETS:

VB3 1.4
VB3_x64 1-Gimme VB3 1.4 - CR.CantabileProgram (15.5 KB)

VB3 1.4 + IK LESLIE v5.1
VB3_x64 1-Gimme VB3 1.4 IK Leslie - CR.cantabileprogram (15.5 KB)

TR5 Leslie 1-Gimme IK Lesle VB3 1.4 - CR.CantabileProgram (11.0 KB)

BLUE 3 v2.2.2
Blue3 1-Gimmie Blue3 - CR.CantabileProgram (24.0 KB)

BLUE 3 v2.2.2 + IK LESLIE v5.1
Blue3 1-Gimmie Blue3 IK Leslie.cantabileprogram (24.0 KB)
TR5 Leslie 1-Gimmie IK Leslie Blue3 - CR.cantabileprogram (11.0 KB)

VB3 II v2.1
VB3-II 1-Gimmie VB3 II - CR.CantabileProgram (33.0 KB)

VB3 II v2.1 + IK LESLIE v5.1
VB3-II 1-Gimmie VB3 II IK Leslie - CR.cantabileprogram (33.0 KB)
TR5 Leslie 1-Gimmie IK Leslie VB3 II - CR.cantabileprogram (10.9 KB)

B-5 v2.5

B-5 v2.5 + IK LESLIE v5.1

B-3X v1.1.0

Hammond B-3X 1-Winwood Gimmie - CR.CantabileProgram (33.7 KB)

Additional Notes:
B5 presets are too large to share on the forum. I am sharing those on Google Drive. If there are any problems, let me know, and I will correct.
My personal view…most of the clones adapted well, B5 - B3-X - VB3 1.4 - and Blue 3 did very well without IK Leslie. VB3 II did not…although addition of IK Leslie DID a great job.

Always link an expression pedal to the VST swell pedal, as it simulates the tube breakup on the Leslie amp. The more you press the pedal, the more grit you get.
Routing is up to you. Some of the clones may not have upper keys on midi 1, so change what you need. Vsts with IK Leslie are already set to direct out, so just route them out to IK.

:snowflake::snowflake::snowflake:Happy Holidays:snowflake::snowflake::snowflake:

Many more presets soon…

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Just upgraded past current stable build. It took me a while to find where you find “Choose Preset Model”. I got to it by going to Cantabile menu icon (hamburger) in upper right of the plugin window and chose “Choose Program”. The option is at the bottom of the list that pops up.

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I bought B-3X a while back to take advantage of the introductory pricing. I’m just now getting around to switching some songs over to it. I’m getting a bit of occasional “static/crackling”. CPU level isn’t too high or spiking. It seems like there might be a relationship between the expression pedal and the noise but it isn’t exactly aligned. I upgaded B-3X and it does it on the latest C3 stable build. I have a test song with only that plugin. Wondering if anyone else has run into this.

Doug

I remember getting static noise at one time, but don’t remember how I resolved it tho. It seems I corrected it by turning all the stomps and rack fx off, but not sure. If I get a chance today, I will boot my rig up and see if I can remember what I did.
At Saturday nights gig I had a terrible, over distorted sound coming out of B3-X. I had to pull up another clone very quickly, and play on. Haven’t looked into that yet.

Hi Doug,

I had that happening with B3-X but fixed it by doing an engine restart. It seemed liked it reorganized itslf somehow by going through the process. I am running my audio buffers at 128 so it may not have been a problem at 256, I never tested for that.

Dave

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NEW CANDY STORE NOW OPEN!! :drooling_face: … I can put these gems in a class with forbidden doughnuts and other addictions. :grin:

Many thanks for all this work and your generosity Corky, the effort shows with all the context and options added! I am anxious to try them out. I will start with your latest B3-X and then look at the VB3 1 & 2 combos with the IK Leslie.

I do have one request that you may already have a patch for and that is the organ patch(s) for Allman Bros. “Melissa” and “Midnight Rider”

Dave :sunglasses:

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Thanks very much, Corky

Hope to check these out over the holidays…

Merry Christmas :slight_smile:

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Already have some Gregg Allman near ready to post. :grin:
Many others are ready and will be coming…Boston, Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, Brian Auger, Billy Preston, Argent…on and on it goes, and expect some surprises. Requests are welcome, but I have a ton of presets I personally use I am going to post as well. It is time consuming to tweak so many different plugs, and create presets for share. I love doing this, but it does make my head swirl (like a leslie) keeping files straight to completion. :joy:

The Candy Store Is Open…and everything is free. Keep a check on blood sugar levels as you taste the rainbow. :rainbow:

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Just created an account to say thank you! I don’t use Cantabile (I use Mainstage and Ableton), but this page is the best place to find info about Virtual Hammonds on the whole internet! Congrats.

Happy Holidays!

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Thanks for the kind words Walter. We have a great group of knowledgable people here! It has been interesting for sure.

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Hmm, maybe we need to start a virtual organ sister site :smiley:

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BTW I’ll be interested in your Boston (specifically Foreplay/Longtime) sound. It’s a tricky one. Part of it is that it’s an M3. I know how I get it, let’s see how yours lines up lol

I’ve actually thought about it. I really wanted to do some videos, but not really set up for it. Most of the people I’ve seen reviewing or testing have no clue what they are doing (not that I do, I just work harder at it :grin:). I received requests from outside of the forum, and helped out. With the new snapshot feature Brad gave us, I can keep the presets restricted to Cantabile users, so all in the family.

We will talk later…lol.

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I already have it for B5. Gotta translate it to the others. B5 has a great sounding A-100 that really responds well to minimal tweaks. It is my goto for heavy/progressive rock.
I also have another preset you will like, but again, I have to apply it to the other clones before releasing. I did it for a forum member, and he is extremely happy with it. I will send it to you when I get it ready for posting, and see what you think.

Hope you and your family have a great holiday season…on the East side.

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