Bloody hell lol I’m now loving the 3300 amp. I’m playing with the T-Racks Saturator too. Up until 3 AM… it’s kind of moving into uncanny valley territory. It’s so close I’m obsessing over little details. And then of course there’s the different VB3 organ models to f around with. I’ll tell you what I’ve pretty well nailed: that early Santana Gregg Rolie sound. Using the chorus vibrato can really wake the sound up.
Cool Fred. I have used chorus 3 in 80% of my organ work for many years. I guess Vanilla Fudge, Steppenwolf, Santa, and early gospel work left a bigger impression than I realized.
Well, after Corky and Fred’s replies and some more experimenting I too am getting a lot better results. It does indeed have crunchier amp models that were what I was hearing on the video with a clean VB3 input. I was on the 122 amp and it is very clean next to the other offerings. Thanks for the pointers guys, I’m getting the idea now! Oh, and like Fred I also want to try S-Gear as an amp and plan to give it a go.
Gave a look at the VB3 II (0 drive) to SGear (Amp head only) to Leslie 122 cab and found it wonderful, like Fred alluded to, it’s smooth. I went for the sound of the Stealer and the Duke Amps. While muddling around I also found by incident that the long reverb effects of S-Gear will be processed by the rotary after the keys are released creating for me anyway new unheard sounds and possibly a new playing technique 
I like that IK made it component style so these mods were easy to achieve.
Dave
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Not trying to derail this awesome thread, and I do agree that VB3 II + IK Leslie appears to the most popular setup, but I am switching back to Blue3 (v2) for my band’s next gig. Although I actually prefer VB3 II + IK Leslie in standalone listening tests, there are 2 reasons I am switching back (for now – I might flip-flop again next week!):
- The CPU Load for Blue3 is much lower VB3 II or IK Leslie (and MUCH lower than the 2 combined). When I have a song with Piano, B3, Brass, and other synth parts layered and/or split across the keyboards, I am hitting that 100+% “CPU Load (Cantabile)” barrier.
- For the 70s/80s Rock that I am playing in a live band situation, the Blue3 seems to cut through the mix (without being too harsh except when I want it to). I know that some have a different opinion on Blue3’s sound, which is equally valid, but this is working for me.
Not trying to argue that anyone should share my opinion…just putting it out there.
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j/k
(Every day I get to post that meme is like a little gift)
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I don’t believe there is any “popular” setup for a Hammond sound. I still use Blue3 a lot on stage, as well as VB3 1.4 and B5. They all have their own charm, and drawbacks. I totally agree with everything you say. What you are seeing here is relevant to the thread title. We are experimenting with the IK Leslie, and sharing our discoveries as we did in other threads about B5, VB3, Blue3, etc. I perceive all Hammond and Leslie vst’s as amazing tools we can craft to our own liking. Just like the real thing, it takes a lot of experimenting to get where you want to go. That is true with any virtual instrument. I am experimenting with all the Hammond clones, just to see how the IK sounds and shapes them. I am also anxiously awaiting Blue3 v2. In reality, I am still quite comfortable with VB3 1.4. It cuts thru, small load, sounds great. But like a kid in a candy store, I run to every Hammond/Leslie vst I discover because I am FN crazy about them. 
…or maybe I am just FN crazy. 
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I agree completely! The choices we have at our fingertips (literally! haha…) are amazing. You almost can’t go wrong with any of them.
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I miss therapy 
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Darn it! That means I’ll need to check it out and risk the G.A.S. … 
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Ultimately it’s great to have a choice. Sometimes you just need something to cut through in a dense live mix, and other times you’re playing a very exposed Hammond part and need all the detail. Sometimes you can afford 40-50% of your load to get a great sound, sometimes you only have 20% to play with. We’ve never had such choice and flexibility before 
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Thanks, Neil. Will need to check it out as a combination.
Well, I pulled the trigger on getting VB3II and IK Leslie. I’m still in the tweaking and comparing stage, having just gotten them installed today, but I think I am going to get better results than the Kronos CX-3 engine I have been using for a while. I think it’s the IK Leslie that makes quite a difference. Trying VB3 on its own (admittedly with little Leslie tweaking), I felt the CX-3 was better, but put VB3 and IK together…
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Amplitube Leslie is currently 1/2 off…$64.99. Of course, Amplitube is required.
Hello everyone, I am new to this community and already am so impressed with the vast wealth of great info and experience here.
I would like to share a video run through of the IK Multimedia Leslie plugin with the group. I was using the plugin in Cakewalk by BandLab at the time of the review and discovered a tip for controlling the speed.
Here is the link and hope you enjoy.
I look forward to sharing and assisting where I can.
Joyfully,
Simeon