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I own a Yamaha MM8 that I take on the road with me.

Just bought it a few months ago. Piano sounds are great, but I'm not satisfied with the organ sounds. Thinking about trading it in for a (slightly more expensive) DP. Or if there was a smaller, more basic 61-key DP that can handle the sweet Hammond sound, I would invest in that instead and keep the MM8.

The "Rock Organ" and other similar sounds on my Yamaha are ok, but not good enough. Still tweaking the knobs to see if other sounds would work, but haven't come across anything yet.

Current Yamaha MM8 value: $1,000.

Any suggestions on my Hammond dilemma?

The Clavia Nord Electro 3 has arguably the best mix of Hammond and electric piano sounds at the moment. It also includes grand and upright patches, as well as the ability to load a whole slew of sounds from the Nord library such as mellotrons and synth sounds. It doesn't have real drawbars but uses "drawbuttons", which some people dislike and others don't mind. The semi-weighted action is something that you need to consider in terms of the way you prefer to play. Maximum length is 73 keys. The Nord Stage adds weighted keys and more functionality, as well as an 88-key version but is very expensive.

The Roland VR-700 (V-combo) is a similar type of keyboard but includes drawbars.

For organ alone, you might want to consider a used Hammond XK-1, but it's still likely to cost around $1,000. Alternatively, there are a couple of midi organ modules such as the Viscount DB3 or Roland VK-8M - if you can find it, the DB3 is likely to be cheaper than the Roland.

For straight DPs with organ and "Leslie" functionality, check out the Roland RD-700GX and RD-300GX, as well as the upcoming Yamaha CP50. The Kawai MP5 is a less expensive alternative. However, I suspect that none of those will satisfy a Hammond purist.

Pringlz, I use a Nord Electro 2 and have always been very satisfied with the tonewheel simulation - the more modern Electro 3 is even more realistic. Both instruments are available in 73 and 61 key configurations and relatively lightweight.

Alternatively, you may also like to consider a Hammond expander module, such as the XM2/XMc2, which can be controlled using your MM8 via MIDI.

Cheers,
James
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James -- I'm kind of interested in something like the Hammond XMC2. Can you buy this on it's own (if this is the only additional item I purchased to use with my MM8, would that solve my problem?), or is this an expansion item to the XM2? And can you explain a bit more how something like the XMC2 would work? Any other extra accessories needed? How easy is it to plug and play? I'm not too familiar with this type of technology and how it works hand in hand with a midi.

Thanks to both for the speedy replies! Very helpful

Pringlz, I don't have any direct experience playing the XM2/XMc2, however I believe the XM2 is the main expander module, responsible for generating the sound. This would be MIDI'd up to your MM8, producing a sound when playing the keys on your Yamaha.

The XMc2 is essentially the drawbar controls, which I assume plugs into back of the XM2.

Again, I've never used this system myself, however I've seen folks using drawbar controllers such as the XMc2 on stage (once connected directly to a Motif, I believe...), and it seemed to do the job.

I'm sorry I cannot offer greater information - my recommendation would be to post a similar question on another forum that is more geared towards keyboards/organs rather than digital pianos.

Cheers,
James
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Have you considered using a V-Machine or a macbook? There are a number of very good VST out there, e.g. VB 3 here, which can be used in V-Machine.

NI B4 - old but honour standalone&plugin!

What about software? You can get good samples and a "mini" to play them on for less then the price of a high end DP. Once you are setup you have quite a few sample sets to select from and updating them later is easy

Chris, note the first line of Pringlz post:



I could be mistaken, however this suggests to me that Pringlz is looking for a more 'standalone' solution than a Mac Mini, which would also require a monitor, mouse, and keyboard in order to be operable.

Cheers,
James
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Hello Pringlz.
I am very passionate about the Hammond, from a technical point of view since I don't know how to play it properly. But, I am an electronic engineer, so I got very fascinated about the methods involved in its sound generation.
Any Hammond simulator is interesting as long as it has drawbars and rotary controls. They are fundamental parts for the dynamic interpretation of your performances. The organ is not a static sound, basically, and you learn how to play it only if you have the right physical interface.
For stand alone versions, I would recommend to consider a few options:
Roland VR 700 combo, or VK8 module;
the new Studiologic Numa Organ;
possibly the Hammond xm2 module.
I do not think I kept properly focused on your budget, but I just wanted to give you my best knowledge of the possible solutions, without going into prime products like the KeyB, Hamichord or Pari.E.
S