Hammond-Suzuki XB-2

I don't know. It only makes one weak sound, so a repair was clearly necessary. See below.

The rubber rings on the front rail pins wear out which produces very wobbly unevenly spaced keys. I bought teflon tubing, cut them somewhat longer than the original and now I have well-spaced keys. Probably better than the original design.

I have now been informed by two reputable service sites that Hammond-Suzuki no longer has any processors or the version 2 software upgrades in stock. The former is "custom made" so there will not be any available in the future. H/S did not return my calls or emails. I would sure like to find someone who has a smashed keyboard or other reason to offer me the parts I need.

My XB-2 has version 2.0 software. It's easy enough to use; I was able to figure out most of it without the manual, though I had hoped the online community would be more helpful than it was in that department. Anybody looking at reviews and considering buying one now is going to be getting one used - and probably missing the manual - since they are no longer in production. I'm going to do what I wish somebody else had done and share what I was able to discover about its operation:

There are 32 presets available on the 8 preset buttons. Press a button to get a preset in the current bank (A,B,C,D) and press the same button again to cycle to the next bank. Then if you push a different button you'll get the corresponding preset for the current bank. There are 128 patches, which are arbitrarily assigned to the presets. This doesn't make much sense to me; maybe you can access them through a MIDI interface but the patch system otherwise seems useless to me. The LCD display tells you which bank, preset, and patch you are currently using. If it says "C" then you are not using a preset and are in "cancel" mode which uses the drawbars with default settings. The XB-2 starts up in Cancel mode, and you can press the "Shift/Cancel" to exit a preset and enter this mode. I could not figure out how to save settings for Cancel mode - otherwise I would always use it and ignore the presets. The LCD also shows a graphical depiction of the drawbar positions. An asterisk next to this display indicates that the drawbars are active. No asterix means you are playing from a presaved patch, and moving the drawbars will have no effect. Pressing and holding the "Record" button will give you a numerical readout of the drawbar positions.

To change settings, press the edit button. It will light up to remind you that you are in Edit mode. Preset buttons 4-8 have subject headings above them (for example, button 5 says "Percussion/Foot Sw.") Press the button to enter that subject's edit menu. Press the button again to cycle to the second subject. Each subject has several pages; press the gray "Shift/Cancel" button to cycle through them. The LCD tells you which subject and page you are on. An arrow icon (>) indicates which field is active. Press button 1 (which has the > symbol above it) to cycle the cursor through fields (some pages have 2 or 3) and the 2 & 3 buttons to increase or decrease the value for that field. Most of the Edit menu is self-explanatory. Here are some of the more obscure things:

You should remember that UM stands for Upper Manual, LM for Lower .. this applies to the split feature.
The "Organ Solo" button does nothing. I don't know what it's there for. If you activate its function in the edit menu, what it's supposed to do is cancel the split to give you Upper Manual only, but it doesn't give you the full keyboard; it just turns off all notes below the split point. Useless.
Under the Percussion menu, "Keyboard Tracking" sets the volume of the perc to decrease on higher notes. I turn this on. "Drawbar Cancel" turns off the sound of the 1' bar when percussion is on, which is traditional for a B3. I also turn this on.
Under "Preset" there's an item called POD. If POD is on, the drawbars are active. If it is off, the preset will play a saved patch. I always turn POD on.
Overdrive is located in the "Effect" menu. Turn it on and you can control overdrive level with the modulation wheel.

Once you're done monkeying with your settings you might want to save them. Press "Edit" to turn off the light and return to normal mode. Press and HOLD "Record" and then press the preset button you want to save to. It should briefly flash a message telling you it saved. If you press anything else, you will switch presets and lose all the adjustments you just made.

Good luck.

Polyphony is sufficient. Theoretically I would assume polyphony should be FULL on something like this, but a few other people said it was 16. I don't know, but as long as it's more notes than I can play with my hands, I'm okay with it.

Built-in Leslie is okay - I don't know why everybody keeps dissing it. Sure, there are plenty of outboard gadgets that sound better, but the onboard effect is useable if you're not obsessive about it. I've heard single-rotor effects that sound just like this on lots of old records. There's a big ol' jack on the back to plug in a genuine Leslie cabinet if you want to be authentic.

The overdrive is nice and smooth and I like controlling it from the mod wheel. It does increase the volume as you turn it up though, which means you'll usually have to set it and then leave it alone.

The keyboard is lighter and more plastic than it should be, but I can forgive that because of the sound.

Other than that, it's got drawbars, percussion buttons, stuff you'd expect from a clonewheel organ synth. I wish the Vibrato/Chorus was controllable with switches on the front panel though. Having to click through a bunch of menus to change it is a real bummer.

I give it a 5 in this category because it's just an organ, that's all it does ... but that's all I expected.

The sound nearly made me crap my pants, it was that good. I have suffered for years with a Voce V5 drawbar module and spent many lonely hours crying because I could never get it sounding right. I wanted it to sound like the organ in old soul jazz records by the likes of Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, Brother Jack McDuff, etc and it just wouldn't do the job. Its keyclick was fake and arbitrary, its "leakage" sound was intrusive and unnatural, its overdrive was crunchy and useless. Plus its tone was too clean and lacked something .. call it "grit" or "power" or "soul" or "balls" .. the Voce didn't have it... and "better" organs like the XK series or the Nord Electro were out of my price range.

The Hammond XB-2 has those qualities I was looking for. It sounds more like a real B-series organ: sort of dusty, wheezy and soulful with lots of bark when I need it. The key click is amazing; it sounds like slightly dirty mechanical switches opening and closing. The overdrive is subtle and smooth. Leakage does not seem to be controllable on the XB-2, but I can hear it quietly scraping in the background when I set the drawbars low. This thing can be used anywhere you would want to use a classic tonewheel organ sound. I'm very pleased with the sound and I was able to get this baby (used) for less than the Voce cost me.

I've only had it a month, but it feels solid. The fake wood-grain has peeled off the sides, but other than that it's in great shape. The keys don't even have that loose wiggle that they are supposed to "inevitably" develop over time.

I'm keeping my Voce "just in case" but I don't think I will need backup for my XB-2

Never dealt with Hammond. Sure wish they made the owner's manual available online, but I guess that's asking too much.

If it were lost or stolen, I might hunt for another one, or I might go back to my Voce and play it while saving for an Electro or an XK-3.

The sound has been inspiring (as opposed to frustrating) and I've been playing more since I bought it. Definitely worth grabbing if you happen to find one...

Plug it in, turn it on and play. I mainly used the drawbars rather than the presets so it doesn't get easier than that.

I never liked the overdrive. A very limited number of presets so I couldn't have one assigned for each song. I essentially used a preset to govern the lower split and effect, then I'd do the draw bars for the upper split manually. I think it's a bit slack not to have 128 presets available.

The fact I didn't have a real leslie was probably most of my problem with this keyboard. It was passable for Hammond sounds in a live gig, but for me I've been very happy to leave the XB-2 behind and start using Native Instruments B4.
It's certainly much better than almost all the synths I've ever tried that had a sound called "Organ" but ended up making me cringe.

It never failed on me but after 5 years the keys started to rattle about but still kept working non the less.

It's not a bad keyboard to pick up if it's cheap and you use a lot of hammond sounds that aren't given too much scrutiny. I'd get another one if I hadn't found Native Instruments B4.

I used software 2.0, recently upgraded from 1.2 version.I haven't used much the presets, because i configure drawbars always manually.Perhaps when you get the organ for the first time, you can be little confused, but later when you figure the simple 5 buttons (edit,cancel,>,+,-) you can quickly edit the configuration to your needs.
Every button hides some options if you press it twice or more times.

Polyphony - haven't had any trouble with that, because i used this organ as an organ and not as a midi keyboard.
XB2 has built in vibrato, and chorus, mine doesn't have any reverb, it is perhaps one of the eary versions.Too bad you can't use the vibrato/chorus and leslie simulator effect together.Drive is very nice.If i compare the drive with viscount D9E and old Korg CX-3 i had, these was the best organ drive, even the overdrive on Korg G4 leslie simulator i use isn't as good as thisone.
It has MIDI, but i had trouble when i wanted to use it to play piano(VST plugin - the Grand), because the keyboard wasnt touch-sensitive, so it didn't wanted to play all of the notes pressed, but at using it for the B4 and B4II plugin, there werent any problems.You could even configure the drawbars to work thru MIDI.

Sounds are very good.It has three types of drawbars,bright, mellow and B-type.I used this organ with ELKATONE 700 leslie and it sounded awesome.I compared the sound with Korg CX-3(old version) and the sound of this organ is brighter and more treble.In some parts if you configure the drawbars, overdrive and chorus right you can even get almost the original sound of the real B3.(of course there is only one original)

I haven't had any trouble with this organ.No keys were broken, only the buttons for the functions started because of the age not to function, but i oppened the organ and sprayed some contact spray on it and they worked again.

I wrote to hammond.uk, then to hammond.de for the version 2.0 chips to buy, but haven't still after 4 moths gotten any reply from both.At last i bought them on ebay for 80 EUR-o shipping included

I use version 2.0.
Well, the presets were programmed by the former owner. Certainly not my cup of tea, but shows how versatile those organs are...
Editing is ok, I haven't tried the presets yet, but the effects are not a big deal to change. Sometimes it doesn't save your changes, but maybe that's my fault.
Mine came with 3 manuals. Version I in English, Version II in Englisch and Version II in German. Almost a little library, but you don't need it very often, just look once how it works...

Polyphony is 16, I think, but I never had any problems.
The Keys are the weak point on the whole thing: They are just standard syntheziser-keys, no waterfall. Of course that's a huge disadvantage, but find a used organ with waterfall for the same price. Good luck...
There are some effects: Let's start with reverb. Very simple to use (a little knob on the left end), sounds ok. Then Percussion. Also a weak point, sounds plastic-like. But if you set it on "soft" and decay on "fast" it's ok, really. Then we have Vibrato / Chorus and Leslie. You have to see that this instrument is basically 15 years old. So you can only use Vibrato/Chorus or Leslie exclusively - and neither of those sounds really good, but they are useable. More to that "problem" later.
Also on board there is a overdrive effect. Again, 15 years later there's better stuff, which doesn't mean that you can't use it at all.
Ok, what else? You can edit several details - how the drawbars react and things like that. Maybe modern clonewheels offer more possibilities, but the XB-2 has really enough. I just took "B3-like" every time it was possible.

MIDI is possible, but I haven't tried yet. What seems a good idea, is the "organ solo" button.

I'd say it's fairly easy to set up. If you don't know it very close, take the manual with you, but it should be enough to do that only the first time. The display under the manual is absolutely no problem for me. Even more, I find it looks pretty cool :)

Leslie 11-pin connector is here as well as effect send/return, expression pedal, headphone, MIDI in, out, through and footswitch. By the way you can change the contrast of the display by turning a little knob on the back. Nice idea. Furthermore it offers wheels for pitchbend and modulation.

Weight is very ok!

The sound...
Ok, let's split it up into two possibilities:

Number one. Just plug it directly in an active speaker, P.A. or keyboard amp and use the built-in effects only. What you will get is a decent sound with only one effect (c/v or rotary) and a slightly sterile flair.

Number two. Do what I did yesterday. Take a tube guitar amp (Fender HotRod 1x12 in my case)and a Boss CH-1. Plug the XB-2 into the light-drive channel, set the Boss in a way you like it and...have fun!
The sterile sound is gone, the crackling sound of a slightly overdriven Leslie is here and it really screams the more drawbars you pull or the more notes you play. I love it. Only my neighbours might hate me...
You could also think of a external Leslie to make it even better, which I haven't tried yet.

I'm mostly a jazz and funk player and it should work perfectly for that.

I bought it only a month ago, so I really can't say too much. But it seems to be quite strong. Backup? Not really. The modulation wheel is a bit loose, but I don't use it anyway.
The only other thing is the "wooden" surface. After 10 years it becomes loose. But thats a matter of 20? and gives you the opportunity to replace it with real cool high-gloss wood or stuff like that. See it as a chance to make her a diva...:)

The people at Hammond Germany were very friendly and helpful to me, even as I didn't make them any money, but only wanted to hear their experiences.
Great.

I could very well imagine to buy it again. Ok, it doesn't have waterfall-keys, but I just don't have the money to buy a XK-2, VK-8, new CX-3 or XK-3.
What I like very much is the possibility to place a MIDI-controller and a organ expander on top of it. My teacher does that for gigs and it sounds good. Of course it doesn't look like a real Hammond, but that's a different issue.

Before buying it I thought that you need very much money to get happy with an organ. Well, at least for me that wasn't exactly the truth.

What can new clones do better than the XB-2? Overdrive simulation, Leslie simulation and Chorus/Vibrato simulation. Ok, percussion and waterfall, too.
But the solution for effects can be very simple: If you happen to be a guitar or Rhodes player, just take your equipment and use it with your baby-Hammond. The sound is really good and you save lots of money.

Using version 2.0, don't really use the presets. I've done some really minimal editing of settings (leslie speed, etc.) pretty easy with the manual. Manual is very informative and useful, gives a great rundown of drawbar basics. Really easy to use if you just want a basic drawbar organ, presets make it a little trickier. I adjust the drawbars on the fly, so i don't need the presets, but they look really easy to use once you get them programmed (although I can't figure out why they put the buttons below the keyboard?! kind of weird design...)

Polyphony is great, no problems. The synthy keyboard action is fine for me, but will probably annoy most of you Hammond purists out there. Overdrive effect is very useful, leslie sounds like poo, but i'm getting a motion sound for it. The leslie is actually not too bad in a band mix, and it gets the point across, but it definitely dosn't sound like a real leslie. Chorus is great, mine dosn't have any reverb (1991 model). If you're looking for expansion/midi/sequencer etc. look elswhere. This is purely an organ, and a damn good one!

This thing ROCKS! I got it to go along with my kurzweil, becuase I just couldn't deal with their organ sounds any more. The XB-2 really does the job. It's basic tone is very B-3 like, and the variety of sounds that you can get out of the drawbars is just unreal. It might not be the most authentic "clonewheel", but it has a lot of character and can really become a part of your sound. I've spent some time with an XK-2 as well, and they actually sound very different, and I think it really becomes a matter of preference at that point. I love the tone of mine, and I love the variety of sounds it can make. It really is a fantastic organ and a joy to play.

Seems pretty sturdy, but you'll need some contact cement to glue down the "wood" finish that keeps coming up. The keyboard also seems like it might be the first thing to go, as the keys seem like they're getting a bit wobbly. I gig it without a backup regularly.

I got it from Goff Professional (THEY RULE!!!), I'm going to them if there's any problems. I've never dealt with Hammond-Suzuki, and I don't plan to.

If it were lost or stolen I would shop around and look at the newer crop of digital organs, but I would very seriously consider getting another XB-2 because I really love how it sounds, and it really sounds different from the new ones. I've been playing for years and years, but I'm only 21 and just starting to gig out regularly with my band. I use it in conjunction with a kurzweil KME61 for clav & rhodes (I run it through a morley wah, and a big muff) and a kurzweil PC1X for piano. It really fills in the organ sounds beautifully and I would hate to have to play without it. I'm planning to get a motion sound Pro-3T to take care of the sub-par leslie sim, but other than that I have no complaints. This is my favorite board that I own, it makes me a better musician.

Like one of the previous reviewers, I too found the presets to be kind of lousy and spent a good deal of time tweaking them. It was VERY time consuming but I knew the thing inside out by the time I was done. The interface is not that great. Each button serves multiple functions so it's easy to screw up if you're not paying attention and makes for lousy on-the-fly editing at a gig. The Hammond organ control buttons (Leslie, chorus/vibrato, percussion) are well positioned, but you need to go a good 3 menus deep to change the chorus/vibrato settings. The same for the percussion decay. However, all three chorus and vibrato types are there AND you can edit the speed. A nice feature.

The action is your standard spring board synth action. It's fine but nothing like the Hammond waterfall keys. A downer to organ players who use one as backup or when they can't (or don't want to) bring an organ to a gig. The Leslie simulator was good for it's time. I think it was released in the mid 90's. Most onboard simulators are not great but some of the newer models from Hammond-Suzuki and Korg are better since they are more current. THE SINGLE BIGGEST DRAWBACK: You can't use the Leslie simulator and the chorus at the same time!

Overall it sounds pretty realistic. Organ players are often critical of clones, but the XB-2 is pretty close. You just have to remember that it's not an organ so it's not going to sound exactly like an organ. Playing it through a Leslie or a good outboard simulator adds some extra depth and realism. The onboard simulator is not going to cut it. The chorus effect is very good. Sounds like the scanner unit in a B3. As I mentioned before, some of the presets are not great. It just doesn't come with too many drawbar combinations that you use very often. You should take the time to edit them to your liking. I set mine to match the reverse color key presets on a Hammond console and filled up the rest with my most often used drawbar settings.

I got it right when it came out. Don't remember when that was (1995 maybe). Hasn't given me any problems.

If it were lost or stolen I would probably get a Korg CX-3 or more likely a Hammond-Suzuki XK-3. I use it more often than I use my Hammond organ for gigs. I'm pleased with the sound, but the newer ones are even more realistic. If I found a used one in good shape for a very good price I would probably get it rather than drop $2000 for one of the new models.

I like the sound. I'm a little frustrated by the complexity when editing. I'm not crazy about the Leslie simulator, but I never use it. I play mine through a Leslie 122 with a custom amp or a Motion Sound RT3 when I don't want to haul the Leslie.

If you own one or if you are contemplating I would recommend using a Leslie or a good simulator or clone (like a Motion Sound unit). It will add that extra dimension to the sound that only a real rotary speaker can. It will also allow you to use the chorus. Another recommendation is to play through a tube amp with 15" speakers. You will get a warmer more Hammond-like sound.

I've got an XB2 version 2 that I bought new in 1999 and love it. I'll agree with many of the posts that the presets are kinda lame, HOWEVER, after one rainy weekend of woodshedding just me, the keyboard and the manual, I edited some of them, replaced some of them and left some of them alone. What I ended up with was 32 voices that are just exactly what I want. Stored them in banks in a way that was easy for me to remember and at gigs I can jump back and forth in mid song if necessary. Granted it took a lot of time but it was well worth it.

The keyboard action is a little springy but I've gotten used to it over the years. The action on the XK2 is much nicer. The leslie simulator is pure junk, IMO, but the vibrato is kinda nice. The percussion was too shrill out of the box but after I figured out how to set it back it's perfect. I tried MIDI'ing with it but wasn't too thrilled with the result. The expression pedal is ok, but seems a little touchy. I've adjusted the drag on it to the max position but it still seems to jump a lot with just as light of a touch as I can give it with my foot.

I play in a classic rock cover band. I play it through a Leslie 145 w/the combo preamp pedal and it sounds killer. I've had many compliments on the sound of it. I realize that the real Leslie has MUCH to do with this but I had the Leslie for 10 years before I got the XB2 and nothing ever sounded as good with it. After adjusting and getting the hang of the percussion I can get the "hits" that I want. Very Hammond-like

I have gigged with it regularly for almost 4 years now without a problem. It came with a VERY nice, deeply padded flight case that has been a godsend. The keyboard has not one scratch or flaw on it and it's been in some very unseemly places. I am, however, very protective of my stuff. I never thought of taking a backup, but I guess I'd be screwed if something happened to it at a gig. My other keyboard is strictly a piano.

I haven't had to deal with them on the XB2 but I've called them with some Leslie questions and I got the impression that I was bothering them. They didn't seem too knowledgeable anyway. Lots of people out in the field know more about these things than some guy at a desk. Someone mentioned Goff. Those guys are good.

If it were to be lost or stolen, I'd try to find one just like it. Mainly because I know how to edit and tailor it to what I want. If it were to quit after I'm through gigging, I'd probably buy an XK2, although I personally think that the XB2 has more guts and soul, while the XK2 might be a little better for around the house and small get togethers. I can't compare it to the Korgs and Rolands because I haven't played them. I hear they are great keyboards too. I've been playing for about 35 years and this is the most enjoyable keyboard Ive ever owned. I've played a lot of B3's, (never owned one) and there is nothing like them. I still own a couple of M3's and an L111 but they are impractical to gig with and frankly don't sound as good as the XB2. The first time I heard one I said I was gonna get one and haven't been the least bit dissapointed.

I use version 1.* but never used the on-board presets, always use my own settings.Editing the percusionsettings etc.. is quite easy.

It's an organ, what do you expect.It has midi but not very usable.
The effects are not great. Poor lesly and overdrive effects.
I use it in the studio and live with a Korg G4 lesly simulator and it sounds really awesome. The G4 has a very authentic 'wooden' sound and can really scream. I use outboard effects( digitech tsr-12)

Always have compliments about my Hammond sounds even though not using a real lesly. The XB-2 can boast out some very good B3 emulations and has a nice sustain effect for that old mall organ sound

Never let me down.
The wood is not really wood and it shows after the years.

Never dealt with it.

Would buy it again especially for gigging.
For studio work I use the Native Instruments B4, it has the better midi functions

I give the XB-2/ver.2 a 7 rating in this category due to the preset functionality. You need to review the process and practice saving your presets a number of times before you have it down pat. There are some nuances and once you dive into the process you will realize them. So the learning curve for saving presets is a bit high. Other than that the XB-2 functionality can be learned easily. The preset patches are not very useable. The manual is ok.

I have been playing synth keyboards since the late 60's so I have no trouble with the keyboard action. My palm swipes were developed on synth type keyboards so I pull them off with no problem. Leslie simulation in ver.2 is improved but still not like a real leslie. Vibrato is ok. I use an H&K Rotosphere and it works well but realize there ain't nothing like the real thing baby. Percussion is adjustable per the software menu and ver.2 has keytracking which will keep the percussion tonality constant across the keyboard. It has midi functionality but I am still unable to do a sysex dump to save my presets. Overdrive is excellent. I use the overdrive on the Hammond versus the H&K's.

The sound of ver.2 is much improved from ver.1. The basic B3 sound is there. Running it through a good pa head (at least 300 watts) and 15" inch speaker will most likely give you what you need versus what you want. Apply the necessary equalization and you will get a very decent B3 sound. But remember this is B3 emulation, so take it for what it is. I play with a bunch of guys who love the sound of the XB-2 and I have received nothing but positive response about it.

So far it has been very reliable and the keyboard is about 5 or 6 years old. If you purchase a used one reseat the connectors on the board to make sure you are getting good contact.

CS is not good and Hammond-Suzuki will only sell parts to an authorized dealer. There are rubber like tubes that sit in the individual keyboard key action. These wear out eventually and cause the keys to wobble back and forth. I used CAT5(network computer cable)as a substitue for the original rubber tubes. Check with GEOFF Professional, they can help you out with regard to service or replacement keys. Be careful when you replace keys, spray some silicone on the plastic end before you attempt to slide it out.

If you are looking to not spend over $600.00 the HAMMOND clone will be a good fit. If you have the money try a VOCE5, Korg CX3 or Roland VK-8. If my XB-2 fails I am not sure what I will buy. The other clones are very expensive and with the exception of the VOCE5 come with too many bells and whistles which I will probably never use. I come form the old Hammond school of drawbars and percussion only. The big thing that I don't like about these clones is that they are not road worthy. They should be covered with tolex and not made like a fancy peice of furniture. If you do not move the keyboard then the cosmetic composition is not a problem. But you know what I mean if you are gigging or practising out once or twice a week.