Korg CX-3

Extremely easy to use. Presets are in 8 banks of 8, standard fare. I'll get to the sounds further down. The keyboard is laid out like a B3 in that the percussion tabs are on the forward right section above the keys, the drawbars in the middle, chorus/vibrato controls to the left. This makes it easy if you are used to that arrangement on the real thing. This was one of the reasons I chose this over the Hammond XK-1. The manual is very well written, and of course it's only 30 pages because there really isn't all that much to deal with as compared to your typical workstation synth of today. You really don't need the presets if you know your way around a drawbar organ, which is nice. The experience in terms of controls is intuitive and organic like a Hammond.

Polyphony is full... there's no way you could max it out with normal organ playing. Built in effects are good, but I did notice a high signal-noise ratio on the Leslie simulator. Although for live performance or using in a heavy mix this would not be an issue, were you recording it direct and it was all by itself, the level of the effect in dead spaces would be a problem. In terms of flexibility of controls and parameters, I can't imagine a Leslie SIM having or needing more parameters. You can control top/bottom rotor balance, ramp up and down speeds on both, etc. etc. Very nice, but of course it's not a Leslie. Running it stereo helps. Action - well, this is where the main difference between a real Hammond and clone comes to bear. Real Hammonds have 9 key contacts, so that the drawbars engage one at a time in succession as you depress the key. This adds nuance to your playing that is lacking here, since there is only one active key contact. You can't get the "chucking" sounds like on a real Hammond, but it comes close. The keys also seem just a tad smaller (as is everything).

Taking it out of the box, I was upset... thinking what a waste of money. The presets, in my opinion, are useless. But after breaking out the manual and reading through, I went back to it again, made my own tweaks both globally and per a few patches, and found that it really does deliver. The leakage sound is pretty darn close, and as a global parameter can be increased to match your speaker setup (sound system is a factor, so you need these parameters). The foldback in both top and bottom seem right, and quite frankly I was pleasantly surprised with what a couple hours of tweaking produced. The overdrive is digital (sucks). Sorry, Korg... back to the drawing board on that. I found it was slightly better running through a Pre-Sonus BlueTube preamp. Overall, it cranks. Not a B3, but for most applications good enough. For rock/prog/blues, plenty good. Jazz, no way. Sorry.

Haven't owned it long enough, but based on the other Korg products I've owned over the past 20 years I'm not concerned - except for the case. Pressboard. Come on guys. Give us real wood. I bought it used, and it already has a sizeable crack in the front rail... this would not be the case if even thin plywood were used. I'm wondering how the original price of 1700.00 justifies particle board. Plastic would be better to be perfectly honest.

I anticipate none, since it was purchased used.

It's a very nice combo organ. If you want screaming B3 sound and you have wattage to back it up (and good bass response from your speakers) it will stand up to any guitarist's assault. It gets the leakage sounds when the drawbars are pulled back - a very important nuance, and for me it will be a nice change from the physical injuries my joints have sustained from hauling a Hammond/Leslie combo around for the last several years. It really does demand powerful amp and speakers though, so if you think you are going to just run this through the house sound and get a Hammond sound, sorry, not possible. I am glad I purchased it.

I???m reviewing the new CX-3 with the 2.0 OS upgrade. Have had it for 12 hours. I can already tell enough to review it, but perhaps I???ll offer another one later too. For starters ??? I am a former Hammond/Leslie owner. I bought the CX-3 because of all of the clones, the controls seemed to me the most logically laid out to cater to B3 artists. The instrument delivers, although I had to laugh at first, it???s like a little toy compared to a real Hammond organ! Getting past that took about 2 hour.
The manual is good, actually the instrument is very simple, so it???s only like 30 pages or something. 64 presets (128 if you include ???EX??? mode ??? useless in my opinion). Editing is a snap. If you can???t figure this out, well, I guess buy a real Hammond. Drawbars have a tad bit of a short throw as compared to the real thing (again ??? toylike), but they work just fine. Everything is positioned well for realtime control. I like that. On a real Hammond, you pretty much use the drawbars constantly, and you only have 12 presets, so this is plenty good with 64 presets.

Features ??? the only notable feature here is the midi in capability which allows you to use the lower manual (a virtual second manual for splitting the keyboard) on an external midi controller, thereby turning it into a dual manual organ. I believe the Hammonds have this capability too, so nothing really amazing there. Korg seems to make a big deal out of the EX mode, I frankly think if you are buying this thing to get Hammond sounds, EX is irrelevant. No offense, Korg.

Sounds ??? right out of the box, a Hammond / Leslie this is not. Anyone who has played the real deal will know how truly amazing Hammond organs really are (there just too darn heavy though ??? ahhhhh!) Well let???s talk about the presets. Less than ideal. But that???s ok, because if you know what you are looking for, you can get very nice settings with some quick edits. What I found is that if I just setup 4 presets in a general way, real-time editing is virtually the same as on the real deal ??? I???m already used to that, therefore I don???t see using the presets to be honest, at least not more than 1 bank. That???s just me??? I???m a tweaker. But honestly, most of the presets are absolutely useless??? I can???t imagine playing them and not drawing some laughter. If you want the real sound, you have to take the time to adjust some settings since your amp and speakers are going to be different than a Leslie (which has a very predictable sound), and most likely different than what the engineers at Korg were using. I can tell you this ??? you need a system with really powerful bass, because otherwise this thing will sound pretty cheesy. I tried it on a single 15???/mid/piezzo setup and it was pretty weak, but adding a dual 15??? sub and mid/treble horn to that, it cranks. So what I am saying is the entire effect is bigger than the Korg itself. You knew that already, so what the heck. The drawbars do a decent job of creating the basic tones, although in my opinion the higher drawbars are kind of stale. Good enough though. The processing is where the sound really takes shape. The distortion is alright. I???m running it also through a blue tube preamp which helps slightly (nothing like pumping it through 2 12AX7s on the organ preamp and 1 more 12AX7 on the Leslie, then outputting through the 2 6550 valves). The Leslie sim??? sounds OK, but there is an obnoxious signal to noise ratio there which Korg really needs to solve. I???m not sure what my soundman is going to say when he hears the hiss. (I foresee an argument!). But at least they put the effort into adding as many rotary effect parameters as possible. I appreciate that. You can adjust the rate of the ramp up on both upper and lower rotors, the slow (Chorus) speed on both rotors, levels, etc. etc. Very workable. However, a Leslie it is not. What I found though is that running it stereo in the room helps, because after all, a Leslie???s main effect is how it throws the sound around the room. So stereo is very helpful here. Mono just sounds ridiculous. In the context of a band on stage of course, mono, because after all, you mic up a Leslie and run it through a PA mono. I???m talking only about how it sounds in the practice space. At the end of the day (literally today), I was able to really crank a good Hammond/Leslie sound and played some music with a drummer and it sounder better than I expected. I???m happy with it.

Haven't had it long enough to say

I have never had to call Korg, and I've owned Korg products since '93, so I anticipate this will be an unknown here.

I like the keyboard. I'm usually skeptical at first and then find ways to like what I bought. I understand this is not a hammond organ, and quite frankly, that's ok. I think were I to pair this up with a Leslie 145 it would actually be really nice. Since I just sold my 122 and bought something else, it's going to be a long time before that happens. Oh Well. Until then I'll be using this and enjoying it for what it is.

I'm writing a review for the old (first) edition of the Korg CX-3 from around 1979

Backside : High mono out, low mono out, FX in, FX out, leslie speed jack, no midi
Knobs : volume, key click level, overdrive level, high & low eq, pitch fine tune, percussion level, percussion decay
Buttons : 2 percussions types, leslie on/off, leslie fast/slow, drawbar presets 1 2 3 & manual (real time)
And the actual drawbars.

I bought this one very cheap a couple weeks ago, more for fun and toying around rather than actual use with the band (I'm using a Roland XP50/XP80 romplers for 99% of my work). However I was pleasantly surprised when I took it to rehearsal last time as it sat REALLY well in the band mix.

I was even more surprised as it didn't sound very good on its own in the basement, nor through headphones, just a really dated, flat and lifeless organ sound. Almost cheesy when compared to organ emulations in modern keyboards (and I have a few). But I suppose this is precisely where it all comes down to : modern keyboards are probably trying to emulate the sound of recordings rather than the actual thing. IMO they're also tuned at the factory for immediate (and individual) satisfaction rather than live use with a band.
Frankly, how many keyboards or synths have you encountered that came with factory presets made for live playing rather than for studio work ?
Me ? None ... not even the Nords
At least this one doesn't cheat with effects and gizmos ...

Anyway the other guys were drooling and complimenting on my Hammond sounds (of course this is a one trick pony and I used the XP80 for all the rest). We're all grown ups in the band, I've been playing guitar and keys in rock bands for almost 20 years.

Leslie : the effect is shy and closer to a chorus than to a real leslie. If anything it sounds like a distantly mic'ed leslie rather than close mic'ing. That's not a bad thing though ...
The Korg is mono out so don't ask about mic spread.
It ramps up quick and nicely but no ramp down here. Actually that's not bad either as I like to ramp down as fast as possible.
I can't hear a distinct horn and woofer acceleration but who cares beside the cork sniffing keyboard purists ?

Overdrive : The CX-3 overdrive is pretty shy too and you only really hear it on the percussions. I've used the CX-3 with and without a Korg G4 leslie sim. I prefer the CX-3 alone as the G4 takes away a lot of high frequencies. On the other side I'm able to add some more grit with the G4 as well as a better leslie sim.

Decisions decisions ...

Well it's 30 years old and everything works 100% ...

I'm still waiting on the user manual I mailed Korg about.
Hope I won't have to wait 30 years ...

I hate the idea of lugging one more piece of gear to the gigs (two actually including the G4) but looks like it'll be worth it ...

On the other side, the coolness factor of showing off a real dinosaur on stage is absolutely priceless haha.

super easy to use....

this is one of the best parts of this instrument---if there is 'something' about the sound you don't care for (i.e. too much of this, too little of this. etc.) editing is powerful, versatile. and super intuitative...

Here is where the debate ends....I've had every clonewheel possible (electro, clavia c-1, vk-7, vk-8, hammond xk-1, hammond xk-3 ) This one is the best. Why? Because it has all of the essential hammond qualities and features one needs (i.e. draw bars ONTOP, not to the side...electro does not even hit the radar here....) PLUS it has a little bit of it's own personality. There is no one around who is going to argue that they would not rather play a real b-3/leslie combo. No clone wheel will ever match the real deal...this is not because of sound quality, but it's because of the whole overall organic 'experience' you get when you sit at a b-3 is something only a real b-3 can generate. (a porsche and a ferrari are both fine cars, but they generate different feelings...) In that same sense, the cx-3 has a unique organic 'feeling' all of it's own that makes the player feel very connected and at one with the instrument. The ability to edit is so hugely important with this instrument. This is where the cx-3 leaves the others, particularly the nord electro, in the dust. Everybody has a unique preference to how they like their hammond....with the cx-3 you can shape the sound you want quickly and easily. You can't do that with the nord. If my career gets to the point where I have a road crew, a hammond technician, and a b-3 plus TWO leslies....than I will leave my cx-3 at home. Until then, I really don't care how many new generations of clonewheel's come along, this one has proven itself to be a worthy part of any serious keyboard player's rig. Go to any pro show, and you'll see for yourself how many cx-3's are on stage.

never a problem

I have purchased another CX-3 after selling my previous one to buy a Hammond XK3. The CX3 has "it" over the XK3, in my opinion. Also, the XK3 is way overpriced and harder to lug around. They didn't need to include the black presets. The CX3 is intuitive to use, especially if you grew up a B3 player - piece of cake!

The features are laid out very much like a B-3. I could do without the EX mode for the weird non-B3 settings. Korg didn't need these to include these.

The thing that makes this is the Leslie simulator which is incredible. The sim on the Hammond XK3 is just plain mediocre compared to it. The CX3 comes loaded with some very useable presets, all of which are very easy to edit.

I used my first CX3 for about three years straight without issue - even dropped it once (without issue). Personally, if I were touring, I'd take two of any main axe (including the CX3). For local gigs,however, one is quite sufficient.

Again, this is my second CX3. After being duped by hype about the XK3 "system" I bought one - even bought a Leslie 2101. Even with the Leslie, the XK3 has nothing over the CX3. I also own a 1974 B-3 and two Leslie 122's, so I think I have a realistic sense of my Hammonds. In the end, the choice of a Hammond clone is subjective and I respect each player's choice. For me the CX3 is the next best thing to a real B-3 and Leslie 122.I will not part with mine this time. Nor will I attempt to improve upon it with the XK3 or Nord electro. By the way, the electric pianos are incredible on the Nord but the organs are not going to satisfy a die hard Hammond player.

I played the CX-3 version 2.0 for about a year. I myself own a Hammond XK-2 and now a Hammond C3 with a tube Leslie since last year. If you have the real thing and if you played on original tonewheel console organs, then you are able to rate this product and compare it to a console! Before the Hammond XK-3 system came out
the Korg CX-3/BX-3 was the thing to go for when using a clone.
Beginners will be pleased to first own such clone before they are advanced enough for changing to a Hammond organ. Although everything on the CX-3 looks like organ the editing is quite synthe-like which is ok in most cases. For the CX-3 you don't really need a service manual, everything like on all the other clones is intuitive. You simply need to know how to save a setting if necessary, for midi, and if something doesn't work. Edit your key click, the leslie sim if there's no leslie in your rig, the percussion and maybe the chorus/vibrato. After that everything should be ready.

To my mind you might be able to edit everything you wanna do, there's full polyphony. The keyboard action is even better than on the XK-3. The leslie sim sounds full in comparison to other sims. The XK-3's leslie sim sounds more like real leslie but it lacks because it's much too thin. A mix of both would be attractive. Using a leslie sim depends on the room you have on stage. If there's enough room in your car too a tube leslie will do much to the sound. In live-situations there's always a compromise. If you carried your leslie(s) on stage there'll be the mics. A good tone technician will deliver your audience goosebumps all over but I even heard real bad mixes where the low mids and bass where not there ("Hammond growl" impossible). In such situations a leslie sim does a quite good and solid job if well edited. In fact it is not too important to the audience if there's a real leslie or not when it sounds good with the band. For yourself and myself as a Hammond-gourmet an organ needs a real leslie without a question. The transport of a chopped Hammond tonewheel console often becomes very tough after a few times on the road. Since the CX-3 II, for the first time those light clones became a quite good alternative and backup line to the heavy consoles. The Harmonic Drawbars (2 sets) sound quite good, but as just mentioned there's to much bass in the lower section of the manual - be careful not to forget about editing the lower manual and use the split function. The chorus/vibrato is far away from a console but better than on the XK-2 - same with the purcussion. The distortion comes with the increasing volume like with tube amps and together with the leslie sim it sounds quite good for a clone.
At the CX-3 the multi pin output is missing, you'll need an adapter if you wanted to connect it to an original leslie. Before buying a Korg BX-3 with it's nice wood cabinet, better have two CX-3's (maybe built into a self-made-cabinet) like Keith Emerson had for percussion on both manuals, which is indeed very nice...

I'll rate it 6 because it's made to only repruduce the tonewheel sound -the Hammond XK-3 does it better except for the leslie sim.

Although the keys have another form than the original Hammond waterfall keys, the feel of this keyboard isn't reached till now by other clones. Everything else is already said. All in all it sounds good enough to my ears but it's certainly not a Hammond organ. A real Hammond has a lot better expression in every single way. It's completly different and you have to train your dynamics a lot more on a tonewheel console. If you have a tube leslie and a real Hammond next to the Korg BX-3 with a Leslie you'll hear the big, big difference.

Digital keyboards are often quite reliable since there are no mechanical parts inside which could cause a brake-down after a few years. On the other hand mechanical parts are a lot easier to maintain and repair than digital technique.
But you'll be satisfied with the CX-3 for years without a singe repair or service, I guess, if you don't use knives to hold down a note like Keith Emerson did with the cheap L100. The price for a new Korg CX-3 II is not to bad in comparison to other non-organ keyboards. But about 2000 bucks are not too far away from a good Hammond A100. I would never buy a BX-3 for 4000 bucks when I could effort a tonewheel console for the same money.

Nice. Except for the Hammond XK-3 the Korg CX-3 II the best clone out there.

I updated to software version 2.0 almost right after opening the case. The update was due to the key bounceback that triggered multiple notes. The bounceback was to be helped w. S/W 2.0. Partially, it did help, too, as the triggering point of notes got deeper.
Although the organ had very closely the same design knobs and was a functionality-wannabe-of-B3, I had some trouble finding a decent Hammond sound to come from it. But modifying preset D-3 (Carpet Magic) sufficed for my own use. All the time I had this organ, as I browse through my organ registrations notebook, I seem to have preferred evenly harmonized tones to oddly harmonized ones. My theory about this later. Leslie sim was good and well configurable.

Echo was ok, and also the leslie. But the organ was somehow miswired and the whole setup misfired, so I fired the organ. The keyboard had a bouncy feeling to it and I had to delete the resulting key bounceback notes in fast playing. 'Deep trigger' of S/W version 2.0 setting didn't help, either. But as I have read later after getting rid of the device, that this feature might be due to low serial #, as I had serial #10.
I liked the leslie miking simulator where you can adjust the proximity and angle of mikes.

Ironically, modifying the preset H-3 'Voxinental' with even harmonics gives you the best approximation of a VOX organ I've ever heard. It might be even better VOX than the real VOX. Thus, this organ might have certain value after all for long-haired wide-sleeve-hosed hippy potty flowery powery garage musicians.
The other harmonics 3 & 5 overlap esp. in chords in a buzz of a thousand bees manner too familiar from other clones to me. Thus I had trouble believing CX-3 had only 91 output frequencies like the original B3 from its tone generator. Is everybody serious in their review(s) or haven't you heard a real B3 next to CX-3?
I've already retraded the unit, but I can return to being a Korg's customer if they compare closely to a Hammond and can have their tone generator sounding right. I disliked the overdrive with exp. pedal which was a lousy 1980's type digital buzz. An overdrive sound that mimics 1980's type Hammond digital clone gone hay-wired.

No problems in terms of reliability.

No comment as I've never had to deal with Korg's customer support, ever. They might be hiring monkeys from the jungle there and an average musician wouldn't know. Don't be upset guys as I know your coffee breaks keep on prolonging.
As for design department Korg has had so far the right stuff for building roadworthy gear.
Does the Korg have a support department?

I've already bought another brand and submitted this review to share my point of view. I've been playing for my personal interest for 15 years among other work I do for living. You considering this unit should try Clavia's Nord Electro 2 '73 before buying this beast as both are relatively closely priced. NE 2 lacks string reverb and real drawbars, but you can compensate and hook a set of real ones instead. NE's latest SW 2.1 has crashed on me which Korg never did. Perhaps more about NE 2 in an another review, some day.
DISCLAIMER. You can't model an analog computer well with digital technology. It's like trying to digitize a woman. You can come close and perhaps get one part right and that's all.

I have version 2 software, the latest. The presets are a little boring for me, but I love playing with the drawbars anyway. The beauty of the board is changing the presets and saving sounds you like is a snap. Editing is so simple, I never even cracked open the manual. Hmmmm....where did I put it?

Polyphony is unlimited, it is an organ opure and simple. The keyboard action is perfect when compared with a traditional Hammond. It is very quick. Effects, now it gets interesting. First of all, you have to hear the leslie sim on this thing, it is brilliant! It soulds as good as the real thing and I was able to even enhance the doppler effect, creating an even "thicker" effect than a real leslie. This is all in the "mic" placement. There is no expandability, but who cares, this is a first-class organ. The distortion (overdrive) is very good, although I wish it had a more gutsy sound, it is a little buzzy, but very good in a mix. The reverb is great, I didn't even have this on my A-100 years ago.

This organ is a Hammond for all intents and purposes. It sounds like one from the tonewheel sound right on down to the rotary speaker effect. It is lightweight, and handsome as can be. I hate carrying three boards around (I have a Triton and a Roland RD-170 too), but I will not be able to leave this baby home. This organ would be great in church, or on a rock gig, blues, jazz, you name it. Everything on it is very editable, and you can get it very mellow, or very bright. Keyboard action is brilliant.

Depend on it? Are you kidding, this is a KORG! I would take it without back-up, but I love how it sounds with the Triton and RD-170.

Gee, in 35 years of playing, I've never dealt with the company. I have had everything from a Poly-six (love at first sight!) to a DW-8000, Triton Classic and now this wooden gem. KORG website is brilliant, check it out!

If it were lost or stolen, I'd have to get another. I had another one a few months back, thought I didn't need it, sold it on eBay, and I was miserable. Had to get another one, and they will be burying me with this one! I've been playing semi-pro for 35 years, and this is worth every bit what is costs if the old Hammond/leslie sound is as important to you as it is to me. I love the portability of it (37 lbs, and most of that is the weight of the wooden cabinet I'm sure). I know there are some great "do it all " boards out there, Fantom, etc, but this nails the tonewheel/leslie sound, had to have it. My Triton, for example does horns like the "wrath of God", but the organs sound bland and static next to the CX-3. The RD-170 does good pianos, but again the organs...BO-ring! Compared with KORG's competition, the Hammond clone from Hammond is great, but more costly, and heavier. The Nord is very good, but no real drawbars (digital simulations). The Rolands are very cool, but the leslie sim can't touch the CX-3. So, to sum up my legnthy verbage here, I recommend the CX-3 to anyone who loves the old 60-70's Hammond/Leslie sound. This board is perfect for anything from church to jazz club, to straight-ahead rock, distorted "leslie" and all! In my performance, I'll do everything from soft blues to Steppenwolf on this thing. Don't buy a Hammond clone until you try this one first, and then decide for yourself.

its more practical than other combo organs.the most important parts have their own knobs.so you can easly use them even you play live.i used to have vk-7.and worst thing with it was i couldnt use vibratos and chorus easy.korg made the knobs just like a b3 so its perfect.

it has every thing to be need in an hammond sound.

i had a roland vk-7 before korg.the mid tones were good but if you play solo the difference is too much with an original hammond.i never get that feeling with the korg cx-3.before i buy it i tried roland vk-8,hammond xk-3,nord electro 2 and non of them felt like i am playing a real organ.but i feel that solo organ sound with korg cx-3.like every combo organ has a digital sound so has korg too.even they made the leslie simulation so good u know that something wrong with the sound.as every one knows no amp with transistor has a great sound than a amplifier with lambs.the original hammond also has amp with lamb.that gives the soft and hot sound.but for the perfect hammond sound with a combo organ i had a solution.i am using my korg with a hughes&kettner tube rotosphere.u cant even imagine that small pedal gives the exact sound with an original leslie. i suggest you to use that pedal with your korg.

i am always using it in live performances.i am still keeping my vk-7 for a back-up but i never had to use vk-7 since i bought korg cx-3.

i didnt need support yet..

the only thing wrong with the korg is its output.if you want a soft tone without overdrive u cant get a powerfull volume.cause the main volume is not high enough.u can only get a powerfull sound if you turn on the overdrive too.but even with that problem i can still say the best organ!! i dont give a 10 even i love it but its a digital world and i am sure in a few years i'll find a better organ sound.but i guess its going to be a new model of korg..

This is the latest version of this keyboard (version 2.0). At this point, I've only owner the KB for a week. In general, the keyboard is a "10" in ease of use. However, there's a lot of editing I'll have to do to produce the exact sounds I'm looking for. Many of the presets are close to what I want but the key click is over emphasized for my tastes and takes some editing to change. Therfore, I'll rate it a "8" in this catagory. Otherwise, it's very easy, straight forward and intituitive to use. It's nice having real drawbars, overdrive controls, reverb level and everything else at your fingertips.

I looked at numerous keyboards and emulators looking for the best B3 sound I could find. I looked at the Roland VK-8 and the VR-760, Voce, Nord Electro 2, and Hammond XK3. My second choice was the Hammond. On this keyboard, having real drawbars are a big plus for me. The keyboard feel is great. The keyboard also has reverb which is missing on the Nord.

The keyboard can be split to operate two manuals with two sets of drawbars. Via MIDI, you can alternativily, attach a seperate keyboard to operate as the lower manual. Again, you have two sets of drawbars for this. In EX mode, the drawbars are combined to give you a large ranges of tone controls. Control location's on this keyboard are very player friendly and function well.

The Korg will give you just about any sound you desire from the lineage of the B3. The built in leslie emulation sounds very good to my ears. I'm not a B3 expert or purist however the recording engineer in me makes me finicky about sound quality. Is it the real thing?... no. But it's so close that unless your a B3 purist (no offense intended) about the leslie sound and your intending on using this as a primary featured solo instrument, you won't be able to tell the difference in the mix (live or studio). In many recording situations, I'd rather run this direct into the board rather than miking up a leslie cab anyhow. Not because of laziness but due to recording situations with other musicians laying down basic tracks at the same time, in the same room. (Meaning: no keyboard sound leaking into drum or rhythm guitar mics.) However, you can still run the Korg into a leslie if you want via it's 1/4" line outs. **Note - there's no direct leslie multipin connector on this keyboard.

I chose this keyboard over the Hammond XK3 due to the fact that I don't see a big difference in the sound between the two and yet the Korg is priced significantly enough less than the Hammond that I couldn't justify the additional cost just to have the Hammond. The Nord is a decent KB as well. It gets rave reviews for it's B3 sound/leslie emulation. It's well know for its other keyboard tones that it offers, Rhodes, Wurly, etc... all VERY good sounding. However, I found it's range of B3 sounds to be somewhat limited and the overdrive poor. When trying to obtain a good overdriven, rock Deap Purple, Boston, edgy kind of sound, the Nord's overdrive implementation went from a very nice sounding bluesy, jazz tone and with just a bit more overdirve broke up into a horible raspy and harsh sound. Maybe I needed to work with it more? I don't know, but I don't think so either. If the overdrive sounded better on the Nord and it had reverb I would have bought it over the Korg for the additional keyboards it emulates.

As I mentioned earlier, many of the presets on the Korg are close to what I want but the key click is over emphasized for my tastes and will take editing to change. The fast leslie spin up time is a little slow for my tastes as well but this too can be adjusted via additional editing. Like any new instrument, you'll need to invest some time into it to tweek the sound to your tastes. At least this keyboard has the ability.

While I haven't owned it long enough to determine it's reliability, I know this keyboard has a good reliability reputation and it's road worthy even though mine will sit in my home studio.

I've never had to deal with Korg. I do like the fact that their web site is decent and offer downloadable updates online for those that own old versions of this keyboard. They also have a few different mp3 sounds of this keyboard to give a person a little bit of a preview into what it's capable of producing in terms of sound. I'm not slamming Hammond here, they make a great product. however, if they want to try to compete with the competition in this class of keyboard, they could take a few lessons by looking at Korg and Clavia's web sites. I'm sure it would help to boost sales. The new XK1 that will be coming out around March of 2006 will likely be positioned to compete more directly with the Rolands, Korg, and Nord.

I don't normally do these user ratings, but I did for this product becuase I felt this purchase decision was a bit more difficult for me than some others. Sometimes a person can get too worked up with the minor differences between different makes and models. i.e. "Which one should I buy?" I feel I bought the best keyboard for my needs and I'm sure I'd buy it again after deciding on the Korg.

So here's where the truth comes out... While I play keyboards, I wouldn't call myself a keyboardist either. Thus many might ask "How do you know what a real B3 should sound like?" I think that would be hard for many of the B3 experts to answer as well. Consider the wide range of tones a B3 can produce and the fact that people have different tastes in what they like in a B3 sound. Also, no two B3's sound exactly the same and over the years, the overall sound of the B3 went though a couple changes in overall sound. So the best answer for me is: I don't do cover tunes so I'm not looking to perfectly emulate any specific artists B3 sound. I just know the overall B3 type of sounds I'm looking for and the Korg delivers it to my satisfaction. My primary instrument is guitar and I record most of my own original material which, I guess could be classified as a classic rock type of sound. (My ears are alraedy burning... "Oh great! A guitarist reviewing a keyboard/organ!) But hey, it's a review from maybe a slightly different viewpoint. I've been missing that big B3 sound for several songs I'm working on and thus the CX-3 purchase. I do own a Roland keyboard and some software based keyboards. This combination gives me most of what else I need for keyboard sounds. I've been a musician and recording engineer for 20 some odd years so I guess I've got a certain amount of experiance to know what I need and like.

I bought my CX-3 new for $1480. The standard going price on the web is about $1,799. My local music store would have sold it to me for $1580. They discounted it another $100 for me due to a very slight ding in the top wood panel.

If your a CX-3 owner, and would like to share some hot patches/register settings etc, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks