What Makes a Great Virtual Drawbar Organ? – Daniel Fisher

Daniel Fisher, Sweetwater‘s tutor of tone wheels, looks at four handy virtual drawbar organs, and gives a historical breakdown of the tonewheel‘s development. Virtual drawbar organs are the best way to get authentic old-school tone with minimal gear and no hassle! These modern organs emulate the true mechanics of tonewheels but do so without adding cumbersome weight to your setup! Check it out!

0:00 – Intro
0:43 – Hammond Sk Pro
2:56 – Tonewheels Explained
4:30 – Drawbars Explained
6:20 – Vibrato/Chorus Explained
7:34 – Leslie Rotating Speaker Explained
14:16 – Organ Percussion Explained
16:25 – Distortion, Overdrive Explained
18:49 – Keyclick Explained
20:29 – Tonewheel Leakage Explained
21:56 – Yamaha YC61
23:08 – Lightup Drawbars
23:53 – Leslie Parameters
24:08 – Background Noise
27:11 – Overdrive, Distortion
28:05 – Keyclick Parameters
28:48 – Leakage Level
29:29 – Percussion Settings
29:55 – Vibrato/Chorus Settings
30:30 – Crumar Mojo Desktop Organ
30:46 – Two Organ Ranks plus Pedals via MIDI
32:14 – Drawbars
32:22 – Percussion Settings
33:02 – Vibrato/Chorus Setting
33:48 – Distortion Knob
34:34 – Keyclick Parameters
35:19 – Leakage Parameters
35:58 – Roland V Combo (VR-09)
36:23 – Runs on Batteries + Yamaha Reface YC
37:32 – Percussion Settings
37:57 – Vibrato/Chorus Settings
38:45 – Leslie Parameters
39:50 – Overdrive, Distortion
40:27 – Keyclick Parameters
41:23 – Leakage Parameter
41:59 – Drawbar Organ Wrap Up
42:40 – Thanks for Watching!

#Sweetwater #Hammond #Yamaha #Nord #Crumar #DanielFisherSweetwater #DanielFisher

[jakegiossi]

This video is absolute GOLD. Not just for pointing out the strongest contenders for virtual tonewheel organs in 2022, but for providing general organ education for a tonewheel noob like myself. The organ has always been a mysterious instrument that I could never quite grasp how to make it do what I wanted. 20 minutes with Daniel answered so many of my questions it’s mind blowing!

THIS is why I love Sweetwater so much!

[samnixon]

Nuns in a convent! B3 painted black. Pure Gold! Great video.

[LoveUnderWill]

I know this is a video on clonewheels... so I definitely was not expecting the Hammond organ fundamentals and basics! ! What a refreshing course! Thank you so much.

[AMTunLimited]

Another Crumar Mojo thing I don't think I've seen in other desktop units: it's a USB *host*, which means you can plus a USB midi controller directly into it without a converter or a computer

[graemezimmer]

A fascinating video, thanks Daniel!
Has the best explanations of some of the effects I have heard.

[derekfernandez]

This is such an amazing video, thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge! You've explained these concepts so well I have learnt a lot! I also appreciate you sharing your own personal stories leaning organ from your nun teachers! I love the sound 17:49 so much!

[kendevries]

I bought the Hammond XK-5. Absolutely killer. The guy is right. Once you use a dedicated organ, you won't be happy with samples. I absolutely love this organ.

[AMTunLimited]

I have a Crumar Mojo Desktop and there's so much to dive into. You can mess with THE DAMN RESISTOR VALUES! WHO DOES THAT?!?

[RayR]

Excellent stuff Daniel. I always enjoy your professionalism and presentation ability. Please do more videos if you can.

[dadduorp]

I’m a Hammond user from way back (with the always aching back to prove it) and picked up the Yamaha YC-88 a couple years ago and have been really pleased with it. Especially after the recent 1.2 update.

[Herschli]

Man - what a great video! And so wonderful watching Daniel being so enthusiastic! Thanks very much for this deep basic insight!

[mfurman]

Excellent video. One of the absolutely best explanation, I have listened to!

[vitale]

Epic Video ! The best summary of Tone Wheel sound generation fundamentals.

[NonEuclideanTacoCannon]

I'm in love with the B3. Someday I want the whole setup with the Leslie and everything. It's harder now that the generation who had them in their homes have mostly passed, but I still occasionally see one at an estate sale. Just never have the room.

[keithmurray]

@18:20 - Argent.. Hold Your Head High... you should have warned me.. now I've got to go change my manties.

[concussionoflight]

outstanding video. wow! loved the explanations

[regnifelrub]

This is btw one of the best explanations of a Hammond organ that I've watched. Thank you very much.

[krab]

Superb Info, extremely useful and interesting ! Thank you Daniel and Sweetwater too !

[thomasfokas]

I am not a keyboard player per se, but I found this video. Fascinating and very educational. Thank you so much.

[geoffk]

These are sall Ok. My personal favorite is the Viscount Legend, which is a virtally perfect clone of a classic B3 down to controls and layout, with a really amazing sound. Some other good alternatives:
- The Nord Electro (I'm amazed this wasn't mentioned--it's probably the #1 choice for most people).
- Roland's Fantom or Fantom-0
- The Kurzweil K2700
- Korg Kronos (no longer on sale). The Korg Nautilus has the same CX engine, but has no faders/drawbars, so is not ideal.
Also there some amazing Hammond softsynths--especially IK MUltimedia Hammond B-3X. This is available for Windows, Mac or iPad, so its very easy to add to your studio.