Second hand XK1 Hammond

[violanted]

Hi All

I am selling my Vox Continental latest reissue for getting an Hammond XK1

I was wondering due to budget limitation if I can play the Hammond using Vox keyboard amp 50watts

The Hammond is needed for home recording

Also is this Hammond any good?

Thanks

 

[delaware dave]

I'll give you my opinion....

I owned the Hammond XM2/XMc2, which is supposedly (as marketed by Hammond) an XK1 in a rack ( LINK ). I did not like the leslie, it had no depth nor presence in the mix. I used a Ventilator for the leslie. I also despised the chorus/vibrato. It was way too warbly, C3 was so warbly that it was unusable. I moved to C2, then eventually settled on C1, then out the door. The C/V ruined the vibe for me. At the time I purchased it I thought it would be an upgrade to my Voce V5+. At the end of the day I ended up keeping the Voce V5+ and selling the Hammond; I thought that the Voce sounded closer to my B3 and although the Voce doesn't have the greatest C/V I found it to be more pleasing than the Hammond. So I wouldn't give the Hammond a high grade.

I have never heard the Vox keyboard amp so I have no opinion other than to say that it has an 8" woofer. How is the bass response of this amp? Leslie speakers are essentially lo-fi speakers so it is not necessarily an advantage to having a hi fidelity speaker to drive a Hammond clone through as the Leslie speaker itself is not hi fidelity. However a typical tube leslie like a 122 or 147 leslie has a 15" woofer and the cabinet is large allowing for some pretty deep bass response. I don't know how the Vox would hold up reproducing the low end of the hammond tone. The only way to know for sure is to give it a try and judge for yourself.

 

[anotherscott]

I am selling my Vox Continental latest reissue for getting an Hammond XK1

I was wondering due to budget limitation if I can play the Hammond using Vox keyboard amp 50watts

The Hammond is needed for home recording

Also is this Hammond any good?

I'd say the Vox amp will be just as suitable for the XK1 (or not) as it was for the Vox Continental.

As far as organ sound goes, I'm not sure there's a clear winner between the XK1 and the CX3 engine in the Vox Continental, though the XK1 at least gives you access to more editable paraneters, and real percussion/CV controls.

If you're looking for better sound for recording, instead of swapping the VC for the XK1, maybe consider running an organ VST from your Vox? e.g. B3X, B5, VB3, Blue3

 

[violanted]

I'll give you my opinion....

I owned the Hammond XM2/XMc2, which is supposedly (as marketed by Hammond) an XK1 in a rack ( LINK ). I did not like the leslie, it had no depth nor presence in the mix. I used a Ventilator for the leslie. I also despised the chorus/vibrato. It was way too warbly, C3 was so warbly that it was unusable. I moved to C2, then eventually settled on C1, then out the door. The C/V ruined the vibe for me. At the time I purchased it I thought it would be an upgrade to my Voce V5+. At the end of the day I ended up keeping the Voce V5+ and selling the Hammond; I thought that the Voce sounded closer to my B3 and although the Voce doesn't have the greatest C/V I found it to be more pleasing than the Hammond. So I wouldn't give the Hammond a high grade.

I have never heard the Vox keyboard amp so I have no opinion other than to say that it has an 8" woofer. How is the bass response of this amp? Leslie speakers are essentially lo-fi speakers so it is not necessarily an advantage to having a hi fidelity speaker to drive a Hammond clone through as the Leslie speaker itself is not hi fidelity. However a typical tube leslie like a 122 or 147 leslie has a 15" woofer and the cabinet is large allowing for some pretty deep bass response. I don't know how the Vox would hold up reproducing the low end of the hammond tone. The only way to know for sure is to give it a try and judge for yourself.

The vox vx50kb use technology called nutube basically it emulate the valve tube on some of the old keyboard style used in the past. It gives to the keyboard that warm mellow sound which is great.When I use the vox Continental with this vox amp the Fender Rhodes sound is fantastic to my ears there is no much difference with my other real fender Rhodes

I also own a Roland Keyboard amp, the question is, i never had an Hammond so can Hammond sound well on those type of keyboards amp?

The bass low end frequency is fantastic especially on the Roland.

Thanks

 

[anotherscott]

The vox vx50kb use technology called nutube basically it emulate the valve tube on some of the old keyboard style used in the past. It gives to the keyboard that warm mellow sound which is great.When I use the vox Continental with this vox amp the Fender Rhodes sound is fantastic to my ears there is no much difference with my other real fender Rhodes

How do you like the Vox amp on the Vox Continental's "CX3" sounds? If it works okay for that, I'd expect it to work okay for the XK1, since both are essentially Hammond B3 emulations.

What is your impetus in making the change? Keeping in mind that you'd be losing the non-organ sounds, e.g. the Rhodes you like so much.

As for the Roland amp, Roland makes a variety of amps, some better than others. Probably none are really great for piano, but for organ it's likely to be fine. If you're talking with models in the same range in terms of playing volume, the nutube you like for Rhodes may be an advantage for organ as well (the classic tonewheel Hammonds and Leslies had tubes). OTOH, many Rolands are stereo, which may give you a bit more presence for the Leslie rotating speaker effect.