My Hammond Organ VST/Plugins Review

I posted this in the KVR Audio forums, and I thought it might prove helpful for anyone looking for a better Hammond Organ sound (if you're not happy with what you already have, or if you have none at all)   I should point out that there is already a thread in this Software Forum about the new GG Audio Blue3 plugin, along with several other B3 plugins.  But since that time, I've been doing some extensive playing and comparing with all the Hammond Organ plugins I own, and have come up with a more definitive opinion about which ones I like the best:
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Ever since GG Audio's Blue3 came onto the scene a few weeks ago, I've been playing, comparing, researching and reading reviews of the top Hammond Organ emulators/VSTi's. And as my grandfather used to say "OY VEY! My head hurts!"

I actually have Hammond Organ plugins that I forgot I purchased (that should tell you something) and I have one trial version.
This is the list of all the Hammond Organ VSTi's that I have installed on my DAW, and have been comparing and reviewing. I've been playing them by themselves and with other instruments (in songs), I've also been combining two together, which has some great results in some cases. I tried to list them from my favorite to least favorite (with a couple of exceptions):

GSi - VB-3 - Still my go-to Hammond Organ, although Blue3 is a very close second. For many users, this has been the Hammond organ plugin to beat.  I've been reading in various forums that a good percentage of users prefer this one....as do I.
GG Audio - Blue3 - After playing this for a few days, I waffled back and forth between this and the VB-3 as a "go-to" organ. It doesn't have a decent bottom end (you can't do a good "gliss" - a hand slide up from the bottom keys), and many presets sound too synthy. But it can punch through other instruments better than the VB-3, and I think it has a slightly better Leslie Speaker emulator. The amount of features and adjustments blow away anything else I own. It has a LOT of presets and Tonewheel sets. So for that alone, it's definitely worth checking out. I will most likely be using it on some songs. I tried combining the VB-3 and Blue3, playing them together, and it creates a very full sound, with the VB-3 adding the needed bass that's lacking in Blue3.
Native Instruments B4/ B4 II - It used to be my go-to Hammond Organ. When it was first released it was one of the best. It still ranks high on my list. It's a shame NI discontinued this line.
Native Instruments Vintage Organs - The replacement for B4 II, one of the worst product mistakes NI ever made, IMHO. A big step down from the B4-II. I don't use these organs at all. (This one should be at the bottom of the list, but I wanted to put it next to the B4 II.
Arturia B-3 V - (I have the Demo Version) Some people like this one best, but not one of my favorites. So your mileage may vary. It doesn't have too many decent presets for my taste. And the Effects Pedals (stomp boxes) don't really sound that great. Especially the Overdrive efx is not a good replacement for Tube Overdrive, found in other Hammond VSTi's. But it has a lot of unique presets that create synth-like, spacey, and non-Hammond sounds, along with traditional Hammond organ sounds.
AcousticSamples B-5 (Plays in the UVI Workstation) I had version 1 which I didn't care for.  But Version 2 is a big improvement. You can update it for free from v1. It's got a ton of presets, offers several different Hammond models and it really doesn't sound too bad. But for authentic B3 sounds it rates somewhere in the middle. I'm not too crazy about the rotating speaker sim either.
AIR DB-33  This is one of the VSTi's I forgot I owned. When I got the VB-3, I never went back to this one. Although it really doesn't sound that bad. 

So there you have it. In many cases, the differences between these plugins are more like comparing apples and oranges.  Again it comes down to your personal tastes, or in the case of this post/review, MY personal tastes.  They all have different sounds or "flavors" to them, but that doesn't necessarily make one better than another.  However when comparing features and under-the-hood adjustments, some are definitely better.   Blue3, as other users have noted, probably has the most choices, adjustments and controls allowing you to sculpt sounds from several different models and tonewheel sets that Hammond built, spanning many years. This includes many adjustments for aging and the condition of the virtual instrument. And for some, that would put this plugin at the top.

I hope this helps in some way, but there's nothing like hearing and playing them for yourself. I suggest if you download any trial versions (where available) you play them with other instruments to hear how these plugins sound within an actual song.  Playing these plugins by themselves can give you a quick idea of how they sound, but it really makes a big difference when playing with other instruments in the mix.

Actually GG audios BLue B has quite a buzz over on Keyboard centrals forum
 
read here
 
the big point is to reset the parameters and tweak them then it sounds much better
 
I dont remember anyone commenting on the palm smear issue
 
 

VB3 has become my goto but I will use others from time to time.
 
I like the Arturia B-3 V a lot for its non-authentic extra feature, the drawbar modulation, but probably would not call it up in preference to VB3 otherwise.
 
I used to use NI Vintage Organs a lot but via either Melda (for crunchy) or XLS labs (for clean) rotary speaker VSTs.
 
The Air DB-33 does sound very good, I got it as part of that big bundle deal and was impressed, even though its unlikely to wean me off VB3. It only has a single manual which only becomes an issue if you want both manuals going through the same Leslie and amp, otherwise just use two instances.
 
Some others not mentioned here.
 
UVI Retro Organ Suite - this is good for the casual user but probably won't appeal to someone wanting a full blown Hammond emulation. I have it because its got some nice unusual transistor organs.
 
Sampletekk Tonewheel - This is a one trick pony for Kontakt, a very filthy and distressed Hammond L-100. Only one manual again. But it has adjustable drawbars will cut through a strongroom door. Its a firm favorite of mine.
 
Sounddust Hammr+ and Hammr Growler - For Kontakt -Growler is a one trick pony but a very decent dirty Hammond, the Hamme+ is more fully featured. Its a decent emulation with its own strengths. Like the Arturia incorporates sound design features beyond the scope of the original. Each drawbar is its own pan, vibrato speed and depth and ADSR control. Very non authentic but it can sound wonderful.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks for the feedback and contributions.  I appreciate them.
It's gotten to the point where every time I go back to some of the B3 plugins that I mentioned, (besides VB-3 and Blue 3)  they really don't sound that bad.  It's like being shown 5 beautiful paintings, each done in a different style and asked to choose the best one.

It's especially hard to pick a favorite when listening to each of them within a song.   Most of the ones I listed sound pretty decent in a song with a full band of instruments.  If you gave me a blind listening test (that sounds funny) and asked me to pick the most realistic sounding B3 emulator, and say which one it is, I probably couldn't do it, except for maybe Blue3, which really sounds unique in cutting through the other instruments.
 

Blue3 now includes a separate Leslie plug-in.

That's how I understand it, Leee.
This is what I got from KVR (Jay/bug music):
"GG Audio did just announce that this last update includes a standalone rotary plugin (which is cool enough on it's own), but they forgot to mention one of the best things in this latest version IMHO.
There is now a second stereo output from the plugin, which is a dry signal taken from just before the pre-amp and Leslie emulation.
This makes for a lot of flexibility, and gives you (in effect) an "effects loop" to add your own plugins in line before adding the Leslie plugin.
And to hear something really cool, you can just add the rotary plugin to the second "dry" output, and suddenly you've got dual stereo Leslie's (playing with the different speeds makes for some really cool, and funky, modulation madness).
Also the rotary plugin sounds pretty awesome on guitar tracks too, the "custom" cabinet setting really nails that early Jimmie Lee Vaughn/T-Birds Vibratone sound !"

There's a few Poco fans around.

I'm one. Loved Poco back into the day.

Mmmm. Jimmy Messina. Loved that geezer.

Poco seem to be some kind of secret. No one ever talks abut them, even when discussing music of this period such as Steely Dan I loved the album cover with the horse as a kid, and used to pay the album when my dad was out (not that I wasn't allowed to play his records, but that he was always doing so when he was in). I remembered this a while back and Youtubed them, apprehencive the wouldn't sound as I remembered. They didn't dissapoint.
 
 

Kev999

Leee
This is the list of all the Hammond Organ VSTi's...

 
One elusive feature that I would really like is a rotating Leslie speaker that can be sync'ed to tempo. Is that possible with any of the available organ softsynths?

Have you looked a Melda's Mrotary? www.meldaproduction.com/MRotary This has tempo sync and a whole lot more if you are looking to go beyond the pure Leslie simulation. I don't have this one but you can try the demo if you want to see how the tempo sync works in practice. Melda have 4 random plugins 50% off each week so its worth looking out for that.
 

Two topics dear to my heart- B3's and Poco. I played every one of their songs at that time. And Rusty's B3 on the steel was brilliant. Best Country rock band of the era. 
 
I've been on a quest for a good organ as I use it in more than half of my backing tracks. My main "band" is drums, Bass, Piano and Organ.  I rarely use anything else. For years I played with a keyboard player so I was spoiled. But she has retired from live music and I'm on my own. To me Keyboards are an equal to the guitar in Rock and roll. 
 
For 10 years I was using Organ 3 in TTS-1  Wow. that hurt's to even admit it, but it's all I had. 
I grabbed this DFS sound center Hammond from the Cake store on sale for something under $10 a few years ago. For the life me I could not figure out how to install it so I never tried it out. I think it was to show in Dim Pro? 
 
I got the DB33 with the Air expand pack deal for $40? a year ago and have used that ever since. The sound quality meets my expectations and it's added a 100% boost in quality to my tracks. That and Air's Mini Grand. 
 
I'm not that happy with the DB33 response to the rotary CC1 events. It certainly seems to respond differently than the TTS-1 did. I find I have to  push the amount higher to keep it spinning. So it's almost easier to re play the parts and add the correct feel to the rotary speed, to me that is an important part of an organs presence in the song is that speeding up and slowing down thing. 
 
So thanks for the review I will have to check these others out for sure. I spend a lot of money on guitars, I don't mind investing in a top notch Hammond VST. 
 

Glyn Barnes

Kev999
...a rotating Leslie speaker that can be sync'ed to tempo...

Have you looked a Melda's Mrotary? www.meldaproduction.com/MRotary This has tempo sync and a whole lot more if you are looking to go beyond the pure Leslie simulation. I don't have this one but you can try the demo...

 
So I went ahead and installed a trial copy of MRotary. Unfortunately it crashed Mixbus immediately after loading it into a project. After that it wouldn't even close from Task Manager and I ended up having to resort to pressing the computer's reset button. It seems to work OK in Sonar though.

Glyn Barnes

Kev999
So I went ahead and installed a trial copy of MRotary. Unfortunately it crashed Mixbus immediately after loading it into a project. After that it wouldn't even close from Task Manager and I ended up having to resort to pressing the computer's reset button. It seems to work OK in Sonar though.

Melda make very frequent updates and their plugs are being improved continuously. It may be worth dropping them a line explaining the issue.

 
I didn't see any "Support" link on their website.

SmokeyJ628
There's a Contact link on the menu on their site. It's for support.

 
No menus to be seen but I found a "Contact us" link. Thanks.