I’m finding the VB3 (v1x) to be a pretty good solution for me, but I’m having three issues. The third (FC7 volume pedal not being a smooth controller for the VB3) has been answered here before and I’ll look up the answer.
Unresolved problem #1 is volume management. Like a real B3, the VB3 has is a huge dynamic range and that range is a problem for the jazz group I play in most of the time. Riding the volume helps, but I’d like to see if some compression can tame the beast. Unfortunately I’ve never been a good “compression guy.” Guitar players seem to have a better experience with compression, but I’m definitely not one of those…
I’d love to hear:
Some good guidelines to help keep the VB3 under control with a compressor or a limiter._ I’ve tried a few things and it seems like a 3:1 ratio is a good place to start, but I’m not able to dial things in as well as I’d like.
I have some decent paid for compressors (Native Instruments, Cakewalk, etc.) to start, but if there’s a good cheap/free compressor out there that are a good pairing with the VB3, I’d appreciate it.
Unresolved problem #2: The Leslie “whoosh” is always present. That’s a natural B3 thing that is bothering my bandmates - likely because they use in ears - so I need to put a gate on it because I’m tired of explaining what it is (and that it’s natural). Any help here (free gates that pair well with VB3, placement in the chain, etc.) would be helpful.
As a side note, how come guitar players can ignore their amp hum and screamingly loud solos and feedback, but we get a little “whoosh” our of a Leslie simulator and I’m the focus of the rehearsal room angst . Ugh…
The Leslie “whoosh” can be turned off. It’s in the global settings somewhere, I’d have to have it in front of me to tell you where exactly… I love it as sort of a cool nod to the real thing but I can see how it could drive some people nuts.
BTW…when playing a B3 properly, the swell pedal is a form of expression, so why ruin that with a compressor? Just turn gain points in C3 down to a reasonable level. Tell the guitarist to use a gate, and turn the amp down for jazz.
Blew up my live computer a while ago and just now getting the new one setup - completely forgot about that setting. I also had to turn off the bleed to clean it up a bit more.
And yes, I don’t know why I’m letting those with strings terrorize me the week of a gig. I may have some firewood - or toothpicks - for sale on Saturday morning…I’ll let you know… Or maybe I’ll just give them patneted “Gee, you sound out of tune.You should really check that…” look between each song
… /HangsHeadInShame>
I use the swell pedal for expression a lot, but in some cases I’m busy with the other pedals for the other keyboard, and it’s not easy to go back and forth at this point. Maybe the FC7 smoothing fix will help with that (that will be tomorrow night…).
Good luck Pat. Sorry about that puter problem…ouch! My worst fear for sure. Even though I am a guitarist too, I find that jamming VB3 through my 600W amp cranked to 1 o’clock drowns out whinny string pickers, as my eyes are shut, paying them no mind. A few songs like that usually calms them down as I innocently proclaim, “Really? I was that loud? Nah…Really? Well, when I get back home, I will have to check out that problem, along with the others…Sorry.”
I’ve had issues with shrill upper mids both with VB3 and with Blue3 - piercing upper mids when soloing high on the keyboards and wimpy, soft sound when playing lower. I’ve addressed this using a multi-band-compressor to tame the piercing range between 1,5 and 4 kHz so I can turn the whole sound up enough to let lower sounds be heard adequately without constantly having to counter-balance with the expression pedal.
There’s a free option (reaXcomp from the reaPlugs bundle), but my star of that show is the FabFilter multiband comp.
Funny this topic comes up the day I was listening to Jimmy McGriff’s album “Electric Funk” turned up loud and noticed sometimes his Hammond sounded just like what we’ve been complaining about. Maybe Ray and Guido are hitting the mark.
Thus my point. Don’t ruin the instrument. It has it’s faults, and it’s charm. It is what it is and that’s why we love it. It’s ok to experiment, ala Jon Lord, it magnified it’s aggressive side. Add a Leslie, voila the sweetness. For Jazz a compressor? Whatever floats you boat, but not to satisfy a guitar player. Maybe for a different sound though.
