Ferrofish B4000+ Hammond B3 organ

Fun toy to add to my electronic keyboard. Adds a rich organ sound, also helped me understand how organs in general work.

This module is well made and comes packaged well. The size and shape and weight is just right.It lacks in features. The stereo out is in one 1/4 inch jack, so the first thing you need to do iis buy a Y splitter. It has two midi ins but no midi out. The two ins are nice for two keyboards, but since there is no out, I had to muy a hardware midi Y splitter so I could send midi to my DAW. I understand the USB can send midi to the computer, but my keyboard is far from my computer.There is no overt Leslie speed or percussion switch. You can use the midi keyboard mod wheel or a 1/4 " jack on the back for Leslie speed, but the percussion has to be controlled by your controller, or use the menu system.The menu system works OK, it took a while to figure it out. I read the whole manual, it is well written but I could have used more examples.The drawbars work just like a real B3.BYW, there is no chorus/vibrato like on a real B3. This could worry certain players, but I don't usually use chorus / vibrato, just rotating speaker.As far as sound quality, it is good. The organ and the Leslie are good. I place them in the same ballpark as a Nord (I used to have a Nord Electro, I prefer this module for sound, but they are close).I have several VST soft synth B3 clones, by NI, Arturia, and IK Multimedia. The IK Multimedia is the best. Best organ, and by far the best Leslie. The VST instruments are better sounding than the B4000+, but the way I have my DAW configured I get too much latency. I am thinking about tracking using the B4000+, but recording the midi, and playback using the VST.Anyway, this module is much much better than trying to use the organ tones in something like a Korg Krome. The sounds in my Krome are hardly passible, and the B4000+ is satisfying to play.So if you are not a full time organ player who needs a dedicated organ with waterfall, and the form factor fits your needs, this module is the only game in town.Four stars due to features listed above that are missing. Sounds I give a five star, given the financial investment.

Just what I was searching for. This gives you that B3 sound and more. I can’t put it down, it’s just that awesome. It’s user friendly.

I wish the tuning "knob" would lock in instead of being continuous.

Drawbars and harmonics are excellent. Percussion and chorus are adjustable, but too prominent, even at their lowest settings. Leslie effect is acceptable. Most settings are buried in the button-row menu system. Display is small but very readable. Built very well.

One of the better Hammond B3 emulators I've ever heard.

It is tough to get a good Hammond sound and this falls a bit short. The preset sounds are all pretty poor especially related to the rotary (Leslie). Mine kept losing it's presets until I got the latest software upgrade which seems to fix it. There seems to be a bit of a loudness variation between higher and lower notes in the upper. The user documentation is a bit weak. I wish I had returned it and gone with a different solution...but it is barely ok for the money.

The B4000+ sounds great and the drawbars help to dial in tones and harmonics. But you cannot record or edit drawbar movements as MIDI data.