Re: Custom Hammond and Leslie

["Mark Longo" <longo@zk3.dec.com>]

> You mentioned a little while ago about how you've been EQ'ing your
> XB2's output.  I was wondering if your weekend trip to Goff has changed
> that at all.  You said your XB2 and Al's C3 sounded remarkably similar,
> especially through the 122.  But you didn't say if you were EQ'ing the
> XB2 like you normally do or running it straight.  

        I did bring the EQ down to GOFF but when running the XB-2 through the 
122 I wasn't using the EQ because of the way we had things wired up.  I simply 
backed the XB-2 treble control off to 50% and that made the XB-2 match the C-3 
tone through the 122 (this 122's driver [and all the stock ones] doesn't output 
anything above 8K).  Interestingly, the C-3 sounded best through the PRO-3 when 
EQ'd flat BUT with 8.5K and up set to full cut.  Before cutting above 8.5K the 
C-3 sounded oh-so-slightly "ringy" through the PRO-3's wide range titanium 
driver.  Even though Al says the C-3 doesn't put out audio above 6K, there must 
be some reflected signal multiples or some such sneaking around up there.  
Since the 122 driver doesn't produce anything above 8K anyway, EQ'ing the XB-2 
with the 122 is useful only for overall coloration and the XB-2 tone controls 
are sufficient for that.

        I'm not sure if I'll change my EQ settings for the PRO or not.  I'll 
let you know after this weekend's gigs.  When comparing the XB-2 and the C-3 
through the PRO-3 I was usung my usual EQ settings developed for my 302 and 
they sounded nearly dead on.  After that we plugged the C-3 back into the 122 
and left the XB-3 plugged into the PRO-3 and I tried screwing around with the 
EQ a bit to try to match the XB-2/PRO to the C-3/122.  Micro-matching is very 
difficult because you can match a specific drawbar setting to the C-3 using the 
EQ, but change the drawbars on both organs and the match isn't as perfect.  By 
the time we got to this, time was starting to get a bit short and the results 
of this were inconclusive.

        My feeling is that the prime advantage of the EQ is to remove 
everything above 6K from the XB-2 signal.  Beyond that it's a matter of taste.  
You can use the EQ to shade the XB-2 sound to be nastier, sweeter, etc., but 
the main thing is to get out the harshness.  My guess is that the EQ settings 
I've developed will remain pretty much the same with the PRO-3 as with the 302, 
with minimal changes according to the room, atmopherics, my mood, etc.

>  Also, you said you
> were actually running the XB2 through the C3 - how much did the C3's
> preamp contribute to the sound of the XB2?

        I believe that the XB-2 signal going through the C-3 wasn't using the 
C-3 pre-amp for tonal purposes but rather simply as a pass-through signal path. 
 Is that right Al?


        Mark

=======================================================================
  Mark Longo                                    Digital Equipment Corp. 
  longo@zk3.dec.com                             Nashua, NH
  88 8200 030