Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:39 am
Hello again Korgman and everyone!
Since I've received Kronos, I've been dealing with the CX-3 engine, as organ playing takes a consistent part in what I do. I've been using Nords (and GSi VB3) for quite a while now, and used to work with a B3 + 122 leslie in the early nineties.
We know that as with every Hammond organ, or general tonewheel organs (and analog clones like the original CX-3), each unit has its own particular sound, and the combination of amp systems makes the thing even more varied and personal (not counting the instrument age here).
Recently I had a chance to play a few concerts in Japan using an original CX-3 (which was rented by mistake, I asked for the digital version but they were, err, very professional, so they thought I wanted the vintage model. Thank you!). That event refreshed my memories on the CX-3 original sound and I could say that (maybe obviously) the CX-3 engine in Kronos mimics the original CX-3 sound, I mean it sounds more like a CX-3 than a proper B-3, and yes that's great! It has its personality.
Even so, we all want that classic sound. My considerations on the Kronos "Hammond" sound is that the factory patches are a bit too bright. I personally think not all tube amp cabinets or rotary speakers could produce so many high frequencies... Of course they're oriented towards various music styles and tastes, and should sound in comformity with the rest of the sounds in the instrument. But what I first noticed was that most of these patches are jazz, fusion, blues or gospel oriented (I haven't tried any extra librairies yet). As a rock musician, I missed the balls a bit, or more rock oriented factory patches I should say.
But when you get to know the engine, as its very easy to understand (and better now with Rich's wonderful video), you can see how flexible this machine is!
With a bit of tweaking throughout the months I eventually came up with this:
http://korgpatches.com/patches/kronos/fr_hammond_organ
Still in progress, it's a very basic B-3 approach, manageable to taste. I've tried to make it more organic, responsive and vintage-like, a bit noisy and grungy, but it sounds really great live as it screams without piercing your eardrums. I could say it's a mix of Ken Hensley's typical organ sound with my own bits in it. It responds very well to the Expression pedal. The left hand controls are the basic ones.
Hope you like it!
Sorry for the long post, greetings!
Since I've received Kronos, I've been dealing with the CX-3 engine, as organ playing takes a consistent part in what I do. I've been using Nords (and GSi VB3) for quite a while now, and used to work with a B3 + 122 leslie in the early nineties.
We know that as with every Hammond organ, or general tonewheel organs (and analog clones like the original CX-3), each unit has its own particular sound, and the combination of amp systems makes the thing even more varied and personal (not counting the instrument age here).
Recently I had a chance to play a few concerts in Japan using an original CX-3 (which was rented by mistake, I asked for the digital version but they were, err, very professional, so they thought I wanted the vintage model. Thank you!). That event refreshed my memories on the CX-3 original sound and I could say that (maybe obviously) the CX-3 engine in Kronos mimics the original CX-3 sound, I mean it sounds more like a CX-3 than a proper B-3, and yes that's great! It has its personality.
Even so, we all want that classic sound. My considerations on the Kronos "Hammond" sound is that the factory patches are a bit too bright. I personally think not all tube amp cabinets or rotary speakers could produce so many high frequencies... Of course they're oriented towards various music styles and tastes, and should sound in comformity with the rest of the sounds in the instrument. But what I first noticed was that most of these patches are jazz, fusion, blues or gospel oriented (I haven't tried any extra librairies yet). As a rock musician, I missed the balls a bit, or more rock oriented factory patches I should say.
But when you get to know the engine, as its very easy to understand (and better now with Rich's wonderful video), you can see how flexible this machine is!
With a bit of tweaking throughout the months I eventually came up with this:
http://korgpatches.com/patches/kronos/fr_hammond_organ
Still in progress, it's a very basic B-3 approach, manageable to taste. I've tried to make it more organic, responsive and vintage-like, a bit noisy and grungy, but it sounds really great live as it screams without piercing your eardrums. I could say it's a mix of Ken Hensley's typical organ sound with my own bits in it. It responds very well to the Expression pedal. The left hand controls are the basic ones.
Hope you like it!
Sorry for the long post, greetings!
