Ferrofish B4000+ Hammond B3 organ

I want to get a couple of quirks I experienced out-of-the-way first. I'm sure that they're unique to my installation, but I feel that I should mention them out of a sense of completeness. First, when I plugged in my expression pedal to the controller, (a vintage Roland A33) it responded backwards. Checking the manual on the controller, it is an expression pedal, not assigned to CC7, which is main volume. I tried the reverse switch on this device, still backwards. I use the controller for this and a board that has a bad key bed, and that one worked normally. Swapping the cables, the old board still worked normally and, this device was still backwards. I plugged the pedal directly into the back of the module and it works normally. I guess I'll just have to get one more for that old board. (Sigh.) The other is that the harmonic percussion is too loud, even when set to minimum. There are a few notes that are ear-splitting. That's my monitor speakers, I'm 99% sure... an off-brand pair of 10" two-way speakers with horrible crossovers. (Update: After playing with some EQ, it's much better.) I used to have a Hammond B with Leslie speaker. I'm not even sure which version of the B. It didn't have harmonic percussion, reverb, or even vibrato or chorus. It did have the plate for the rotary switch, but not the actual switch, assignment tabs, or scanner. I think that a previous owner was going to retrofit it but gave up trying. But what it DID have was that sound. That breathy, growly, beautiful Hammond sound. When I became a dad, I would play kiddie songs for the babies on electric piano, Farfisa Compact, and various synthesizers. Nah, not interested. Musical toys? Same thing. Crank up that old Hammond and that did the trick. Later, when I got a job as the Maintenance and Setup Guy at a recording studio, I brought it with. (That's where my handle comes from. Not as a performer.) When I left the studio, I had to leave it behind. So does this unit live up to my memories? Pretty darned close. I've had the opportunity to play a few real B3 and several different clonewheels over the years, and I'm impressed. Playing with the settings, I was able to get pretty close to that growl that I so miss. Unlike a synthesizer or sample playback instrument, it responds like an organ. I'll spare you the technical details. Just that the tone generators are always on and gated by the keys, so the relationship between notes is consistent. Most clonewheels do that, no synthesizers or sample playback instruments that I'm aware of do; if you can get the percussion layer to single trigger, that's lucky. The rotary speaker simulator has a lot of control and customization, the distortion sounds good at low levels, not quite tube, but it still sounds good. Personally, I like having the acceleration a little faster than a real Leslie speaker... I use the acceleration as an accent, and it brings it out a little. The reverb has a lot of variability, and can sound like a spring reverb or like room ambience. While it's not the focus, it will do a pretty good transistor organ. The same thing applies for the tone generators, so better than a synthesizer or sample playback instrument. There is a rotary speaker simulator speed controller jack. You can either use a single switch for fast/slow; "chorale/tremolo" if memory serves, and a dual switch connected to a TRS plug adds brake. The pedal can be set for momentary or latching switches. You can use velocity for volume, but really? Okay, it's there. On the other hand, you can use velocity to have the different partials to trigger slightly staggered, like on a real organ. Cool. (Every key on an organ controls multiple contacts. If you press the key slowly, it will stagger when the partials make contact.) For the wish list? When in play mode, I wish that the alpha knobs could be assigned to things like percussion on-off or the chorus/vibrato mode. My controller doesn't have any assignable switches, so that's something that I miss. Speaking of assignable functions, there is no MIDI implementation chart in the manual. It's available on the website, as is a list of the factory presets. I would also recommend panning the sound system a little less than hard left and right. Most likely, your speakers are further apart than the width of a rotary speaker cabinet, right? Also for the wish list, there are two audio outputs. One is a headphone jack, and one is just labeled as an output. Since there's also a stereo input, it would be nice if the "output" could be assigned to the tone circuitry pre-effects, so the input could double as an effect loop, then use the "headphone" output as a main. It will easily drive a mixer input. I don't have the facilities to try this, but if I was going to record it, I'd try a couple of tube guitar amps like Fender Twins, back to back or in a tight "V" and two good dynamic mics in an x-y configuration. A studio that well-equipped probably has a real Hammond, so just a thought exercise. This instrument Makes Me Want to Join a Grandpa Rock Band and relearn all the Cold 'n' Moldies that I played in high school. What's a Grandpa Rock band? Just like any rock band, except when you sneak out to the van on break, it's not to smoke a little weed, it's to check your blood sugar. And if you bring that girl that was giving you the eye out with you, it's not for a little romance, it's to rub a little Ben Gay on your back. Those speakers get heavier each gig! Ferrofish is a company that makes recording gear, and this device seems a little off-brand. I'm glad that they make it, but my guess is that there will not be a keyboard version. Shame. They could put the circuitry with some dedicated switches and two sets of drawbars with a good unweighted key bed, and it could retail for a lot less than the competition. Maybe partner with Behringer...?

Drawbars and harmonics are excellent. Percussion and chorus are adjustable, but too prominent, even at their lowest settings. Leslie effect is acceptable. Most settings are buried in the button-row menu system. Display is small but very readable. Built very well.

Fun toy to add to my electronic keyboard. Adds a rich organ sound, also helped me understand how organs in general work.

This module is well made and comes packaged well. The size and shape and weight is just right. It lacks in features. The stereo out is in one 1/4 inch jack, so the first thing you need to do iis buy a Y splitter. It has two midi ins but no midi out. The two ins are nice for two keyboards, but since there is no out, I had to muy a hardware midi Y splitter so I could send midi to my DAW. I understand the USB can send midi to the computer, but my keyboard is far from my computer. There is no overt Leslie speed or percussion switch. You can use the midi keyboard mod wheel or a 1/4 " jack on the back for Leslie speed, but the percussion has to be controlled by your controller, or use the menu system. The menu system works OK, it took a while to figure it out. I read the whole manual, it is well written but I could have used more examples. The drawbars work just like a real B3. BYW, there is no chorus/vibrato like on a real B3. This could worry certain players, but I don't usually use chorus / vibrato, just rotating speaker. As far as sound quality, it is good. The organ and the Leslie are good. I place them in the same ballpark as a Nord (I used to have a Nord Electro, I prefer this module for sound, but they are close). I have several VST soft synth B3 clones, by NI, Arturia, and IK Multimedia. The IK Multimedia is the best. Best organ, and by far the best Leslie. The VST instruments are better sounding than the B4000+, but the way I have my DAW configured I get too much latency. I am thinking about tracking using the B4000+, but recording the midi, and playback using the VST. Anyway, this module is much much better than trying to use the organ tones in something like a Korg Krome. The sounds in my Krome are hardly passible, and the B4000+ is satisfying to play. So if you are not a full time organ player who needs a dedicated organ with waterfall, and the form factor fits your needs, this module is the only game in town. Four stars due to features listed above that are missing. Sounds I give a five star, given the financial investment.

Just what I was searching for. This gives you that B3 sound and more. I can’t put it down, it’s just that awesome. It’s user friendly.

I wish the tuning "knob" would lock in instead of being continuous.

It is tough to get a good Hammond sound and this falls a bit short. The preset sounds are all pretty poor especially related to the rotary (Leslie). Mine kept losing it's presets until I got the latest software upgrade which seems to fix it. There seems to be a bit of a loudness variation between higher and lower notes in the upper. The user documentation is a bit weak. I wish I had returned it and gone with a different solution...but it is barely ok for the money.

lacking any real support stick with KORG or Roland

Klasse teil kann ich nur Empfehlen der sich verkleinern will ..Schöne fette Orgel Sound wohhh dachte ich und es stimmt