IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X

The First Real Hammond Organ for Mac and PC

Hammond B-3X is the next-level organ virtual instrument that delivers an unprecedented new degree of realism and detail to give musicians full immersion into the electro-mechanical Hammond organ experience with all its soul, passion, and vibe. Created in close collaboration with both the Hammond Organ Company, of Chicago, Illinois, and Suzuki Musical Instruments Mfg. of Hamamatsu, Japan, the Hammond B-3X instrument captures the authentic sound and vibe of the legendary Hammond B-3, with a comprehensive, holistic approach. The end result delivers the full sonic impact that this legendary organ has made on generations of musicians and modern music as we know it.

IK has combined this groundbreaking sound with a full rig FX chain including stomp effects, a full Leslie rotary cabinet with multiple microphones, a variety of mix-and-match power amp and cabinet models, a parallel guitar amp with 4x12 cabinet, a full mixer, and even post-mixer effects, to completely recreate the entire signal path and character of these instruments, as used across the history of modern music.

It's All About the Details

In true IK style, Hammond B-3X approaches the instrument the way the original hardware organ works. B-3X starts with 91 free-running tonewheels, based on several meticulously-maintained Hammond organs, and mixes those in real-time based on the note and the drawbar levels for absolute realism.

IK's industry-leading modeling then faithfully recreates tonal filtering, independent key click, and the iconic Hammond percussion and chorus-vibrato circuits to recreate the massive, organic feel of the real instrument. All the settings, controls, and circuits were modeled to IK's exacting standards and every detail checked and re-checked with the team at the Hammond Organ Company.

You can even simulate the effects of "aging" components, controlling tonal balance, generator leakage and crosstalk, and even the presence boost of the chorus circuit.

True Tone and Real Feel

The controls of Hammond B-3X are designed to recreate the exact experience of playing a classic hardware B-3 organ, but with a bit of modern convenience. Every element, from the order of chorus/vibrato settings to the placement of the percussion switches, is exactly how it should be. The drawbars even update in real-time when you select the inverted drawbar settings keys, allowing you the ability to also save 24 custom drawbar settings per preset. For live use, a "Controls" view hides the keyboard and enlarges the drawbars and switches for less distraction while playing. And there’s even included MIDI assignments for modern Hammond digital organs, making it plug-and-play easy to perform with everything right at your fingertips.

Classic Organ Effects

The organ feeds a 5-unit pedalboard in the STOMPS section with overdrive, graphic EQ, stompbox-style chorus-vibrato, wah-wah, and spring reverb. Derived from IK’s award-winning AmpliTube and T-RackS software, these effects are carefully chosen and arranged to make it easy to recreate the widest range of iconic tonewheel organ sounds and can be assigned to MIDI control for on-stage use.

Real Leslie Sound

The signal is then sent to a CABS section with your choice of real Leslie amps and speakers that can be mixed and matched along with a parallel guitar amp and 4x12 cabinet. Using the technology derived from IK's award-winning Leslie Collection and amplifier modeling from AmpliTube, the Hammond B-3X's cabinet section offers a truly massive range of sound-shaping options.

Setup

The Setup tab lets you fine-tune the slow and fast speed settings of the Leslie, including acceleration and deceleration, and adjust the mic distance and miking configuration, recreating the two most common microphone arrangements.

Leslie Amp

Here you can choose from 5 different Leslie power amps (or no power amp modeling) and two guitar power amps to use in the Leslie cabinet with full control over gain, EQ, and volume. You can also independently choose between 5 Leslie cabinet models.

Leslie EQ

Shape the sound of the rotary speaker with high-pass, low-pass, and parametric mid-EQ.

Guitar Amp

For more typical rock tones, add the parallel guitar amp into the mix. Choose from two models derived from AmpliTube, based on the amps most often used by top rock and blues players, with full tone-shaping controls and spring reverb.

Mixer

A convenient mixer lets you blend the sound of the Leslie, with independent volume and panning of both horn and drum mics, the parallel guitar amp, and DI organ sound for unprecedented tonal flexibility.

Add the Finishing Touches

Lastly, Hammond B-3X offers 3 rackmount studio effects derived from T-RackS to add a final, professional sheen to your tone.

IK's Limiter 76 FET-based compressor offers an iconic, timeless sound, the EQ-81 adds classic console tone-shaping and warmth, and a digital reverb adds a pristine sense of space to your tone.

No other digital organ offers such a complete vision of the legendary Hammond organ from the initial sound generation all the way through the complete effects path with fine, detailed control all along the way. This combined with our authentic "Hammond" branding makes Hammond B-3X a truly next-level virtual instrument.

System Requirements

• MacOS 10.10 or later
• Windows 7 or later
• Intel Core 2 Duo or better
• 4GB RAM or more (8GB or more recommended)
• 700MB of storage space
• An OpenGL 2 compatible graphics adapter is required
• An ASIO compatible sound card is required on Windows