Acousticsamples has launched version 2 of its B-5 Organ virtual organ instrument for UVI Workstation. Version 2 is an entirely new product with many new features and a completely different sound.
The Hammond organs are very complex beasts, full of wires. Until now, the best renditions were synthesis, mainly because of how the organ works which is a set of 91 frequencies that are connected via contactors under each key and which volume is controlled by the drawbars.
Sample based libraries consist of stacking drawbar samples at the same time which works, but causes a big problem, sometimes you play the same frequency twice and because of phase cancellation, you never get the same sound twice when if you press the same keys.
We have found a way to use the 91 frequencies synthesis approach, but using real samples, so we get the best of both worlds, the real recorded organ tone plus the real behavior and we keep access to the versatility of the drawbar controls and the tweakability of synthesis.
Changes in B-5 Organ v2.0
- New Leslie emulation — Acousticsamples have been working with UVI again and provided them with a lot of measurements on their Leslie 122. UVI came up with a new Leslie Emulation, and Acousticsamples adjusted it even further to fit the sound of the different Leslie models they recorded. You now get the sound of the Leslie 122, 147 or 3300 and all of them with a variety of microphone placements and many controls over them.
- Refined Organ model — Everything has been revised, the click sound, the measurement of the real voicing, the percussion curves and Acousticsamples simulated a few real electrical behaviors like the voltage stealing and the loudness robbing that play a very important part in the sound of the organs. And as every B-3, C-3 or A-100 is unique, Acousticsamples now offer 4 different organ base tones, each with their own voicing and signature sound.
- Completely reworked Tube Saturation — The tube saturation now follows the exact behavior of the real Leslie 122 tube saturation. There is basically one main control that is similar to the volume knob you can find on a 122 and you can play with the volume pedal to get more or less saturation while playing.
- Complete MIDI integration — Acousticsamples pre-mapped some of the most used Organ controllers like the XK series, the Clavia controllers (Nord stage, C series, electro and C2D), the Mojo, the B4D, the HX3 and a few others. If your controller is not in that list, just use the new MIDI learn function to assign any element to the controller of your choice.
- Improved Pedalboard simulation — Acousticsamples have modeled 4 different pedalboards for which each drawbar controls a certain frequency combination. The voicings really vary a lot from one model to another.
- New preset system — Acousticsamples decided to add the two main presets for A# and B that control two virtual sets of drawbars. They also added a new general preset system with a few built-in presets to help you explore different sounds.
B-5 Organ for UVI Workstation is available for purchase for 99 EUR. Version 2 is a free update for B-5 Organ users.
More information: Acousticsamples / B-5 Organ
