B4 plugin vs. Roland VK7

[nickster]

Which one sounds most like a B3...?

And how does an instrument plugin like b4 work?

thanks

[Homebelly]

Having owned a VK7 and am now using B4 i would say if all your doing is using it to record with go with the B4,, if your looking for something to both record and gig with and don't want to take your computer with you to gigs then go with the VK,, or even check out the Korg version,,i cant remember what it's called,,,
Next to each other in my opinion, the B4 sounds way better,,, Plus you can run audio through the lesley simulator,,
It works in PT as an RTAS plug under OSX,, i'm not sure if the OS9 version is RTAS compatible,, but it works fine as a D-C plug except you won't be able to use the lesley as a plugin,,,
You have it sit on a stereo aux track and then set up three midi tracks,, one for the upper manual,, one for the lower and one for the pedals,,
I also have LOGIC PRO and the EVB3 is absolutely stunning in fact i never use the B4 in a LOGIC session,,
The only thing that all these models lack is the character of the keyboards on a B3,, i wouldn't describe it as velocity sensitive,, but there's a sound you can get on a B3 when you only play the keys real light,,, a kind of quietness thats real cool,,,
The only other part that lets me down is i am an atrocious keyboard player,,,

[Slim Shady]

The B4 kicks everything else's butt. The EVB3 in logic is decent, but doesn't have the same authenticity across the board like the B4 does (tonewheel leakage, growl and full customization are lacking). If you're looking to compare it to hardware, the Nord Electro2 is by far the best sounding hammond emulation for live work (great wurli's and rhodes too). I'm a professional keyboard player and tour with several major lable artists - I used to use a laptop running Logic and the B4 and Lounge Lizard plug-ins, but a few close calls with my Powerbook caused me to change my rig, and now I use a Yamaha Motif and Nord Electro2 rack and it sounds killer.

[bradd]

I have a real Hammond and have played most of the hardware emulations, although I haven't played the Nord Electro. Of the emulations I have played, the Korg CX-3/BX-3 are by far the best. They are also set up like a Hammond with real drawbars unlike the Nord. It is far better than the VK7, and I'm a Roland guy.

[Slim Shady]

Check out the Nord Bradd, it kills everything else. It has drawbar control too, just in button form instead of physical drawbars (which I like actually, less stuff to break). I used the CX3 for a while, and it can't touch the Nord, but it's closer than most. You're right about the VK7 though, it's the worst of the bunch.

[tele_player]

The Nord is wonderful.

The hardware drawbars for B4 look good. I haven't seen it yet, but I wonder if it's got a hookup for an expression pedal. That's one thing I use a lot when I play a real Hammond. When you're sequencing a Hammond sound, it's nice to get this into the sequence as MIDI.