Hammond-Suzuki XB-2

I upgraded to Version 2.0 from 1.0 - the upgrade is worth it. If you have older firmware (versions less than 2.0 do not scroll the version on the LCD when powered up) I recommend the upgrade.

The drawbars and buttons give me plenty of real time manipulation of the sound. When you're done, you store it in memory. I prefer to use my own sounds. The presets in the XB-2 are so-so, the XK-2 has far better presets. The manual is pretty good.

Let me start by saying that I still own a Porta-B and Leslie 760. The XB-2 sounds much closer to a B-3 than my Porta-B does, especially since the Porta-B is internally an L-100. But both have a unique sound. My honest opinion is that the XB-2 wins for B-3 authenticity.

The XB-2 preset library is tailored for Rock and Pop music; the XK-2 library is much more varied, with presets that are usable in gospel, classical, and church. I even attempted to duplicate some nice pipe voices from the XK-2, but they just don't sound the same in the XB-2. But if you're playing with your own registrations the XB-2 will fit any style of music. Just *don't* use the onboard Leslie, opt for a better simulator of the real thing - it includes an 11-pin connector ready for the Leslie cabinet.

I use it in Rock music most of the time. The percussion can cut your head off! I played everything from Boston's "Foreplay/Long Time" to Deep Purple's "Hush" and the sound was real close to the original recording. I found a real nice Gospel registration for those "Motown" tunes.

I also like to play Bach organ music and this does a good pipe organ voice, especially with outboard digital reverb effects.

When I play it live, the drawbars and buttons are plenty of options for varying the sound, and I often use the mod wheel wired to distortion for volume boost during solos.

It's been great until a few months ago. It's now making odd noises, and I haven't had a chance to troubleshoot it. I repair my own equipment, and my opinion is that the problem is a dirty connector somewhere (I have a BTEE and am very good at troubleshooting). But it's gone almost ten years without a problem.

Soon after I bought the XB-2, I requested and received a service manual. Very responsive.

In all the years that I've owned a real living breathing Hammond Organ and Leslie cabinet, this is the first thing to come along to make me leave the real thing at home. When the Korg CX-3 was new in the 80's I was not impressed enough to buy one. The XB-2 impressed me. I can't say the same for the Roland VK-7.

The Dynacord cost me an extra $900, but the authenticity of the two together was worth the combined $2200 investment. Everybody agrees that the Hammond Organ and Leslie cabinet were a natural match, and I find the same is true for the Hammond-Suzuki XB-2 and the Dynacord CLS-222 Leslie Simulator. Since the Dynacord is discontinued, good luck finding one used.

The XB-2 is a great addition to my club rig. If I still had only the Porta-B, I couldn't pull off songs like "Foreplay/Long Time" because I need to switch registrations on the fly, and the Porta-B has no presets. The XB-2 was great for pulling that off. It's nice to push a button and instantly go from rock organ to blues organ.

Aside from the spring synth keyboard and lame Leslie simulation, I highly recommend it for Hammond sounds.

I'm currently using the XB-2 version 1.2. The factory presets are lame. I would suggest using your own drawbar configurations and saving them as your presets. On my XB-2 you have 8 presets and 32 on version 2. You have to search for many of the editing pages. This can create a problem with live performances. I recieved a newer manual which helped me get to grips with the XB-2.

The polyphony is really great. I hear every note that I play. I hate the XB-2's keys. They are not like the keys on the B-3. I've played cheaper keyboards with better keys than the XB-2. It's very difficult to get a good palm-up or slide down on the XB-2. The leslie on the XB-2 is very poor. It is only a one-rotar leslie. The Leslie simulation doesn't give me the gritty organ sounds that I am looking for. I don't even use the XB-2's percussion. It's too muddy at the lower end and too shrill at the upper end. As far as MIDI goes, the XB-2 works best on it's own sounds.

If you use the XB-2 with a real leslie or a better leslie simulation, the XB-2 is a real exceptional instument. The XB-2 does sound great and with the right leslie simulation, can be hard to distinguish between it and a real B-3.

Haven't had any problems yet.

Once you find a good Hammond dealer, they usually have everything that you need.

The percussion could be a little better and the edit pages could be a little easier to obtain. The XB-2 has great organ sounds, and with a real leslie or leslie simulator, can be a great instument for live performances as well as recordings.