Yes, I use B3-X as my “lead” organ - so all songs with the organ in a prominent role. I use VB3 or Blue3 for songs where the organ is less prominent or part of a layered sound - they are easier on the CPU.
MIDI control of drawbars etc is pretty straightforward - the MIDI configuration page of B3-X works nicely.
I usually put my instruments into a rack and do all mapping of external controllers via bindings (from rack input to the plugin parameters), instead of using CCs directly from the master keyboard to the plugin. Using this approach, you could make B3-X behave just like your previous plugin - no need to change anything in your songs or in your controller assignment.
Thank you for the tips gents. So I thought I’d try Volker’s solution… however I can’t find the IKM Leslie plug-in, I don’t see a separate component in B3-X that is a Leslie plug-in like there is with VB3. Are you referring to the Leslie plug-in that comes with TRackS 5?
Yes…that is what I was referring. But, the resident Leslie within B3X can spike CPU, if you really start pushing the limits of the settings. When B3X first appeared, I was using a Win 7 machine, standard HDD, and very small RAM. B3X was damn near impossible to use, even as a stand alone.
My WIN 10 machines have plenty of RAM and SSD drives, and B3X runs fine. If I push the limits, I may go over 50% CPU occasionally. It is nearly 2AM here, and I just made it home from a gig. My B3X was in 60% of the songs, and performed perfectly.
Ok well VB3 II just crashed again so I’ve decided I’m now going to stop wasting time and replace it with B3-X. I won’t bother with the TR5 Leslie plug-in since all my systems are less than a year old running Windows 10 and can handle the load.
In order to minimise volume differences in song patches I also started replacing individual plug-ins with Linked Racks. So I created a Linked Rack called bass which uses the same bass pre-set I created in the Korg M1 plug-in for every song and that has been working great, however… I just created another Linked Rack for my B3-X plug-in and need to find a way to load different pre-sets according to the song loaded because at the moment it loads the last saved organ pre-set.
How do I accomplish this in a Linked Rack scenario?
Many thanks
Since you are planning to change presets for particular songs, This is what I’d do:
Set presets within the rack as States. So, preset 1 is the first state, preset 2 is the second, and so on. You will need to check the rack states “behavior” boxes, and save the rack state (presets).
Next, load the rack into a song, then at the “song level (page)” (not in rack level), you can select the state in the box to the right of the rack. When you click the box, all your presets will be presented. Just select the preset you want to use, and save it at the song level. The preset will be saved for the song. If you use song states, each state could have different presets.
Hope I made sense. I can make a visual for you if needed, but only after a few winks.
Forgot…your linked rack will be available for all the songs you want. Just drop it into song, and once you load the rack, it is ready for many songs without re-loading every time. It becomes very quick after first load within set list.
Most of what @Torsten said. I use Blue3 often for the layer, or the “Great” (lower manual of the B3) sound. It sits nicely in the mix and under a piano. There are only a few registrations (patches/sounds) I use for this. The IK MM B3-X, to my ears, has more “bite”, thus it pops out of the mix. I’ve also (don’t listen to this part @Corky) come up with sort of a fake-out way to simulate drawbar changes like Gregg Allman or Gregg Rolie. I map the Mod wheel so that the top 4 draw bars start coming out as the wheel advances. When the wheel is fully engaged, the top bars are something like 5688. When the wheel is all the way back, they are 0000. Also, when the Mod Wheel gets to about 100 the Leslie goes to fast. Although not completely authentic, it does simulate the different sounds on “Stormy Monday”, “Evil Ways”, etc. I’m OK with that because I’ve often had audience members tell me how they liked my flute playing when I just played a sax solo. (These are the people that want “more cowbell” and Freebird.)
I had one of those people put onto the floor by security last night. This was an upper end place with about 300 people, many in tuxes. Mr “Freebird” just came in from a College Football Game. After all…it IS the South.
Here is a test rack I made for B3X sometime back. It includes most of my presets, and the bindings were extractions of a couple of my key controllers, which you can delete if you want. The MAIN binding is the expression pedal. It is essential to my presets. If you have an expression pedal, link it to the exp pedal within B3X with a binding(as demonstrated in my bindings). Understand though, when you try it the first time, the exp pedal in B3X is at full throttle, so mind your ears. This simulates the feel of a Hammond. The more you increase the pedal, the dirtier the sound, as the pedal is driving the amp tube. Just drop this rack into Cantabile racks folder. Load it as a linked rack.
Hope this works for you! Let me know how it works.
@Pete_67 I use VB3-II in my studio and live setups, it works perfectly. I believe the issue is not related to VB3-II itself, probably some conflicts with other plugins and/or drivers you’ve installed.
Since switching over to IKM BX3 I haven’t had any issues with Cantabile locking up and shutting down. My guess is that VB3 just didn’t like working with either of my windows 10 systems and Steinberg URC audio interfaces.
I’ve never had a problem with VB3, or VB3 II. A few days ago, I had a C3 crash with VB3 II while preloading. My problem was with my computer. Your interface wouldn’t have anything to do with VB3, but the interface could have had issues in C3, like an interface driver problem, or a loose connection. Remember, you can always send a crash report to @brad for diagnosis. Go to: Tools>Options>Diagnosis>Open Settings box, then select the folder for the date and time the crash happened.
Hey Corky, good to see you’re back on the mend post Covid
In my experience windows device drivers can make or break a system and given this is my live rig, I’m always a bit worried about crashes, especially since going from full band to a duo. A crash pretty much disables the entire show. In my full band (pre-Covid days) a crash wasn’t as big a deal because the rest of the band kept going. I sent the crash dumps to Brad a few times but Guido never got back with any kind of support; I kind of regret blowing a sizeable amount of money on VB3II.
Anyhow, on the topic of better reliability, I’m about to replace my Steinberg UR22C audio interface with the more robust MOTU M4, that way I can route bass, keys and backing sequences to separate output channels. I’m really hoping the MOTU windows drivers are better written than the cheaper Steinberg ones.
Yeah Pete, I am mostly well. Still have a slight cough, runny nose, and hoarseness. But my energy has finally returned. Thanks for asking.
As I said, VB3 II has not given me any problems until the one a few days ago, but I can see where it was my laptop caused the crash. VB3 just happened to be unloading at the time. MOTU should be solidly stable. Glad B3-X is doing the job.
latency is crazy good 
