Organ Plugins - Opinions?

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I don’t understand why developers NEVER give a good demonstration of the products they are marketing. Just the demos alone, I wouldn’t consider this, but if I could get my filthy hands on it ( no demo), I would bet this has more to offer than expected from the samples. The first audio sample on their web site has the organ completely covered up in the mix. With VB3, B5, and Blue3 lower in price, they will not stand a chance. This runs on Kontakt so no UVI to deal with. Maybe someone will give a better demo of it soon, but until then…nah.

Short Video:

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Well, it would be nice to try out. As kind of an updated version of Charlie it could have potential if they’ve solved the issue of Leslie ramp-up/down speeds in samples and it gets a good overdrive.

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This just in from GG Audio:

We’ve got a new update for Blue3, to version 1.2.0!
This update includes the 2 most requested features from users: Global Tuning and Sustain Pedal support.

Yes!!! Now I can be a total organ non-purist and use my sustain pedal!! :smiley: :smiling_imp::hear_no_evil:

Neil

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Well lawdy-freakin’da! :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley: How about a new Leslie model??

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@Neil_Durant

Lol…I guess we are all non-purists for using VSTS or even sound modules. But, you are right… the sustain pedal gets us much closer to being complete!

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I see Blue3 has now included Tuning from A=435 to A=445 since I made mention about not being able to detune to 432 hz. I seriously doubt anyone else but us C3 geeks have been discussing this and mentioning Blue3 at the same time. Also been discussing sustain pedal. If we prompted GG Audio to update these features thru our thread, then I am impressed. GG Audio…if you are reading this, thanks for the updates, and I am really enjoying your product!

PS: And oh yes, Fred wants more leslies and a free personal version, lol. Merry Christmas Fred :rofl:

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I contacted GG Audio directly about the sustain pedal thing, and got an immediate reply from who I think was the sole developer, saying it was a commonly-requested feature. So he definitely seems receptive to feedback. It would be nice if it was monitoring the forum here, and eliciting feature requests :slight_smile:

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Wait, I never said I expected it for free, did I? lol I just want to be able to demo the flippin’ B5. Kudos to GG for having a demo version.

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So, what is the actual status of this topic? What is “best”?

I don’t use VB3x64 anymore because it caused heavy crashes. So I switched to GG Audio and I like it… but it doesn’t sound that natural to me… what do you think? Is B5 best?

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After everything, I’d still say VB3 (I run the 32-bit version using jBridge, which is rock solid, as the x64 version crashed for me too). Blue3 has an amazing tone engine, but for me the VB3 Leslie trumps all!

Neil

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VB3 is still my favorite, but I am incorporating B5 in many more songs, now that it has become stable and the leslie was changed. I agree with Neil D that Blue3 has great sound engine, and I do use it in several songs. Here are some more thoughts:

VB3: Still a great organ and has stood the test of time. Very warm, great leslie emu, low cpu usage. Solid as a rock (as Neil said), and easy to tweak, even tho it’s great out of the box, and loads quickly. CON: apparently recent crash issues in Win 10 makes it less desirable. Also Guido at GSI has not updated this plug in several years. He did make a 64 bit version of the Win plug in recent years, but has abandoned further VST development, even tho he continues to upgrade it in his hardware, and it is killer! He has said recently that he intends to get back to the VST upgrades, but he has basically left it on it’s own for 7 years now. :cry:

B5: I love the open sound of this plug. It sounds as if you are really sitting at the real thing. Arno at Acoustic Samples has listened to his customers on this one, and continues to upgrade the plug. It is SOOOO much better than the 1st version. This one is good out of the box, but tweaking this one will really bring out it’s internal beauty. B5 is easily the top dog in the organ VST world, and has become my new mistress away from VB3. Having a developer this involved absolutely makes a huge difference. CON: B5 requires the UVI engine and ILOK. I despise ILOK because of their past practices. I will say that I have had very few issues with the newer ILOK, but occasionally, I will lose license confirmation on boot, and have to re-boot to get it back. It has not failed me during performance. B5 is partially sample based, so it can be a little slow in loading. It has been a little picky with the way it interacts with C3, but I have good control after discovering it’s needs.

Blue3: Great sounds! This one loads as fast as VB3. It has a newer synth look on GUI that took a little getting used to after years of organ pics, but I like it. Like any VSTi, it’s beauty is under the hood, and tweaking this one brings out it’s charm. Out of the box is good, but getting the sound you want is just a matter of spending the time. I have yet to discover everything with this plug, but am very impressed with it being so well thought out in early development. There has already been a few updates, so the developer is engaged, which is definitely a plus. CON: Could use more controls i.e. tuning and more leslie choices.

These 3 plugins are all great. I am finding that, now that there are more choices, I use which ever plug I think would be best in the particular song. VB3 is still the master. B5 is exciting and fun to play. Blue3 is the new kid with new surprises. They all work great live and rival the real thing in recordings. The software organ market left me dissatisfied for a long time. I spent 50 years behind the real thing, and these 3 are the only plugs that ever excited me enough to perform as if I were sitting at the keys of a real Hammond. The best is hard to determine, and is only in the ears of the individual.

My 2 cents

Corky

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Currently, I use VB3 (32 bit jBridged) and Blue3 live. VB3 is (to me) a bit smoother and “creamier”, so I use it mainly for “body” organ parts, where the organ sound is part of the overall texture of a song. Blue3 is a bit “edgier” and more difficult to fit into the mix, but excellent in pushing through the mix, so it is my default plugin for lead organ parts and soloing.

Since both work very nicely, I haven’t yet seen the need to add my third organ (B5) to the live arsenal, especially since that one is far more demanding on resources (disk and memory), and it also has the ugly ILOK restrictions.

But B5 finds its ecological niche in my production work - it’s got its own character, especially in the small details of realism that don’t matter that much live but really come to life in a production.

Cheers,

Torsten

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Hi Torsten

I concur. My laptops are Win 7 (I will hold out as long as I can) so I am using the VB3 x64 with no problems. I really like the B5 live now that the cpu load has reduced. I just love the way it sounds in certain songs. Have you tried the new update from 3 days ago? I want to try it just to see if the cpu load is further reduced, but gigging again tonight, so I am not going to change anything yet.

Regards

Corky

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Thanks for the feedback, guys!

And did someone of you some tests with the PSP L’otary plugin?
http://www.pspaudioware.com/plugins/multimode_effects/psp_lotary/

This could be a mass improvement!

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Hi Christian

Since I have been so obsessed over the years about alternative Hammond and Leslie emulations, I have spent a small fortune and years of time trying to recreate “the sound”. I have progressed from hardware to software. I used L’otary for some things and really liked it. Many others don’t like it. but I found it useful. I also liked MRotary. I really just depend on the native rotary in VB3, B5, and Blue3 while playing live because the “special” sound I may have created with rotary sims doesn’t translate any better in most live situations than the native sim. A recording session, or special stage situation would be different. Just a matter of taste and what you are trying to achieve.

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To me Lotary should sound good but… it just doesn’t really. lol I don’t know what’s missing there. Actually it does guitars very well though.

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@FredProgGH

You apparently didn’t apply the “secret sauce”. :laughing:

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A p p a r e n t l y not…

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VB3 has the sound, especially for modern music. Low load and fast load times, comes with a superior leslie emulation, and (most of all) the harmonics stand out well when tweaking it with an EQ. Like everyone else here, I am hoping that Guido releases version 2 sometime (independent of KeyPerformer). …on that note, …has anyone on this blog actually been able to obtain version 2 independent of KeyPerformer, …anyone got the file/download for this? …and will it work with my current VB-3 license key?

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The Key Performer version was a very early version of VB3 2. When it was fully developed, they used it in hardware instead, such as the DMC-122. There is no file for VB3 2. Believe me, I have even tried to use DMC-122 files by breaking them down, lol. Guido has not developed VB3 2 for computer use. Only for hardware use. I am absolutely the main cheerleader for VB3, but unless Guido comes back to software, you are stuck with VB3 1.4. BUT, I’ll have to say, since the current upgrades of B5 and Blue3, I am not as clingy to VB3. B5 and Blue3 developers are very engaged with their customers and product. I am very pleased with what the future holds for these two products. I am using them more, and more all the time. So, if Guido never comes back, I will be very sad, but his product is very successfully being challenged by the new guys.

Cheers

Corky