Korg CX-3

I just bought this instrument brand new and it has the latest software version as of this writing, 2.0. I played a lot of them including previous software versions in music stores before buying it, though. If you are used to the Hammond drawdar system, you can just turn on the unit and start playing, making sure the drawbar selectors are set for manual use. If you are a synth player, you can skip the drawbar usage (for now) and go right to the preset patches. Best of both worlds.

It might be a good idea to read the manual before patch editing because the relationship of patches to manual drawbar settings is not readily apparent. The patches affect internal parameters such as EQ and amp settings even when manual drawbars settings are being used, and I don't think this is stressed in the manual. Also, unlike most synth patch edits where the front panel settings are all saved when 'write' is pressed, the drawbar settings will only be saved when the 'drawbar' section of the edit menu has been selected, and then only drawbars that are physically moved will have their settings changed in the save. If starting a patch from scratch, it might be a good idea to just push all the drawbars in and start fresh, but this is a pain if you have just developed a sound, have it set up, and want to save it. You gotta pull 'em out all over again. There may be a way around this, but I haven't found it yet. The manual is otherwise very informative as I have found all Korg manuals to be. The factory patches are fairly representative of mainstream Hammond sounds, but there are too many rehashes of the traditional Jimmy Smith '3 bars out and third harmonic percussion' sound. Even the 'harder' sounds lack the 'guts' that I have found this instrument to have. One nice touch in the programming is that all the patches are not rock oriented. Believe it or not, some people play music other than rock on this instrument.

One nice touch to add in the manuals would be ssuggested registrations beyond the factory patches. Cover more styles than rock, please. Hammond used to do this with literature supplied with their organs, but these registrations were all aimed at church use andthe pop music of the day (30's 40's 50's) and of course did not cover use of the instrument when jazz and rock artists took the organ over by storm. Interesting to note is that it is possible to use these older style registrations on the CX-3, and they come out just like the Hammond. There a good book on Hammond playing and registration ffor rock and jazz that is put out by the person who teaches it at Berkeley in California. Can't remember the guy's name, but this is available in some music stores, and might be something good to get if you want registration help.

In short: Very easy to use as is, and if you care to go further, WATCH OUT, this thing's a monster!

The polyphony on this instrument is simply all 79 oscillators able to run at once. Other reviews state that there are 91 oscillators, an extra octave, but this is not true. It must be thought that the 16' low octave is actually a set of oscillators and this is not true. The 8' octave doubles back. Note that on Hammond pedals (sorry, no provision here) the 16' octave was 'synthesized' by using the 8' and 5 1/3' together. In pipe organ terms, this is called a resultant. EArly Allen organs used this technique, too. I wish this was on the lowest octave of the 16' drawbar. You can come close by drawing the 16', 8' and 5 1/3' for bass.

The built in effects are basically what the larger console Hammonds had: Three chorus vibratos, three vibratos, percussion and Leslie (simulator). This is what you see at the front panel, but it sure doesn't end there. There are a variety or settings for amp types, EQ, amp gain, percussion overall volume, and everything about the Leslie except the color of the cabinet. The effects overall are great. I put the Leslie through its paces with some vintage Vanilla Fudge, Deep Purple and Lee Michaels. A torture test for other Hammond imitators, but the Cx-3 comes through shining. With all the effects and programmable perameters available, the organs of each of these artists, and many more, can be effectively simulated.

Although this is not the type of board that you would normally think of as a controller (more of a controll-ee) the MIDI capabilities are more than adequate. Upper and lower manuals can send both constant velocity and velocity sensitive data, even though the organ itself is of course not by its nature touch sensitive. Good for linking to a piano patch for doing Nickey Hopkins and other similar styles. In short, on the outside there are all the features of a high end console Hammond of the "B" and "C" series. Go beyond and you find a load of synth-like programability, but all aimed towards creating a Hammond sound.

The 'feel' of the instrument is simply elegant. The wood cabinet combined with quality controls such as the drawbars and the Hammond-like keyboard feel with programmable key depth response makes you feel you are playing a quality instrument. The sound that comes out confirms it.

The instrument itself is very realistic. It is intended to do one thing, imitate a Hamond organ, and that it does better than any other attempt yet made. It does something every good instrument should do, inspires the player. I sat for hours with this instrument just improvising in every style I know, playing covers from a variety of 'Old School' organists, and reliving my gigging days. (I had an Organ-Bass-Drums hard rock trio two years before there was an ELP) The CX-3 captures every mood of the player, probably more easily than the original Hammond did. It just seems that you don't have to work as hard to get the good sounds out of it as you did with the old monsters. The CX-3 does NOT react to velocity and aftertouch (or more properly SECOND touch) nor does it have a pitch bender. That's a GOOD thing. Many young keyboardists, including those that publish in national mags, think that eveything has to play like a guitar. The CX-3 is an organ, not a guitar, and it responds to those things that an organ responds to. If you want a bend, there is a great wheel brake, and the CX-3 responds like a Hammond did to that. The wheel brake bend was not recommended by the Hammond factory, but go ahead and do it on the CX-3 as much as you want. Ain't technology great?

I just got the instrument, so it hasn't had a chance to break down. Korg backup on my other products has been great, but these (Two 01W/FD's used together and an 01R/W) have also never needed service. As far as a backup goes, all my 01's have organ patches I've developed over the years, so that backup would automatically be there.

I haven't had to deal with Korg concerning this instrument, but as I said before, they have been just great on other customer inquiries. I understand that software upgrades are gladly given. Get 2.0 if you hae a n older instrument, Korg listened tomost all of the concerns I have heard voiced in other reviews, and did something about them.

If this organ was lost, replacement would be quick. If it were stolen, a life would be lost, the thief's!

I have been playing over 40 years and have played everywhere from a roadhouse blues band to the Vatican. I have owned actual Hammonds with 145 Leslies, a 2 manual Vox Continental before that, the original Korg CX-3 which I used with a 145, Three Korg 01's, an Akai sampler, and Theater Pipe Organs. Currently have a three manual Theater Organ. 3/15.

Things I love about the CX-3 are the overall sound and expressiveness as well as the programmability, which of course contributes to this. The idea that through programming I can create virtually any style or era Hammond organ I want to use is just great. The re-thinking from the original CX-3 is amazing, these guys really did their homework. There is really no real comparison to any other similar product. I gave them all the acid test (more like the Lee Michaels, Deep Purple, Vanilla Fudge, ELP test) and the CX-3 came out way on top. As far as helping me make music, the CX-3 is part of the solution, not at all part of the problem.

The only real gripes I have are the lack of provision for pedals, the method of foldback in the 16' octave, and the way drawbar data is entered into a patch write. Very little to yip about with such a fine product.

Finally it seems with the CX-3 we have gone full circle. The Hammond organ which was originally intended to be an imitator of pipe organs now itself has many imitators. The Hammond admittedly did not do a credible job of imitating either a classical or theater pipe organ. Don Leslie's breakthrough speaker invention was originally intended to make the Hammond sound more like a theater pipe organ. In its later years gospel, pop, jazz and rock musicians made The Hammond a separate instrument unto itself, not an imitator of anything. Although the Hammond did not do a great job of imitating pipe organs, the CX-3 does a KILLER job of imitating a Hammond. This is probably the LAST Hammond clone I will ever buy. It satisfies me completely. You pay comparitively big bucks, but all you want in this type of instrument is there. Save your pennies, kids.

I'm using version 1.0 (I think). I don't need the Leslie sim upgrade because I use a motion sound. I would like to see how they "smoothed out" the drawbar settings in the new version.
Editing is not easy on the fly, but 30 minutes at home will set you up nicely for the road. Also, live basic editing is just as easy as a B3.

Keyboard action is great (but mine does not have the new waterfall keys). I like the fast and light attack. Just like my B3.

I agree with Chuck Leavall -- this sounds very muck like my B3. I play it back through a Speakeasy Vintage Music preamp (with the 'Barker' setting, giving it a higher output, and all that tube warmth of SVM's beautiful preamps. My amp is a Motion Sound KBR 3D. It is just fine. (I tried the new MS Pro 145, and hated it - too dark and unimpressive) Also, I play a Nord Electro 2 (only for rhodes, wurly, and D6 clavs), so I need an amo that gived me a non-rotary stereo input. (I also run the Nord through SVM preamp, giving it the necessary analog warmth, contour and overdrive). This is the BEST combo I have ever had -- CX3 and Nord Electro 2 through Speakeasy Vintage Music preamps to a Motion Sound KBR 3D. It is a great groove based authentic system. (The piano on the Nord is 'acceptable,' but for more piano based gigs, I use a Kurzweil PC1X.

CX3 is totally reliable now for 3 years.

No support needed so far. I am looking forward to installing the upgrade to version 2.0. We will see how good Korg's support is once I screw up that install.. Anyway, I am pleased Korg is kind enough to provide FREE software upgrades to their loyal customers

If lost/stolen, I would either replace it with the new version 2.0 (or the double manual version), OR I might wait and try the new Hammond XK3 when it comes out.... (I previously had EVERY B3 clone --Hammond XB2/Voce V5/Roland VK7/Hammond XK2/Korg CX3/Nord Electro 2. I think the Hammond XK2 had superior B3 'sound' but not the B3 emotional presence of the Cx3. Still, I have a warm place in my heart for the XK2.
No B3 clone does it all -- I just think the CX3 is the best all around clone (especially when you use Speakeasy Vintage Music preamps, and Motion Sound KBR 3D to make it real....

I'm reviewing the version 2.0 keyboard. Physically, the 2.0 version has "improved" lipless waterfall keys and some, for the most part subtle, sound and software improvements over 1.0. I've been playing keyboards since the late 70's, have owned a few different B-3 clones (including, for many years, the original CX-3), have owned a real B-3/Leslie combination. I've compared the CX-3 to all the current crop of clones, and I also own a Nord Electro. And yet I've never been to Timbuktu. Now to the review . . .

Ease of use: yes. Very short learning curve. Its certainly a hell of a lot easier than landing a robotic probe on Mars and trying to wheel that thing around from umpty-million miles away. Not that I've done that myself, but I can easily imagine what a bitch that must be. The CX-3, by comparison, is a walk in the park.

One thing I love about the CX-3 is how customizable the sound is. Chuck Leavell has an interview posted on the Korg website where he talks about how every Hammond B-3/Leslie combination has its own unique sound, more key click, leakeage, grit, etc . . . and the CX-3 essentially allows you to edit virtually each one of these B-3 variables to create your own "quirky, unique" B-3 instrument. I think that comment nails it on the head. I think that comment is right on. Hey, speaking of Chuck L., isn't that his post a few doors down? I'd say he's working OT for Korg. No matter, I'll always love Chuck for his Allman Bro days not to mention Sea Level.

I could really bore myself here by marching through the list of features, but instead I'll just mention a few things I really dig about the CX-3. 2 drawbars, obviously.

If you're using 2 manuals in real time, you want to be able to adjust either one without some interim button pushing. For me, 2 manuals are critical.

Another cool feature, though a small one, is that you can trigger the slow/fast leslie effect with a momentary pedal. This is unlike any real B-3 or Leslie operation, but its something I find very useful. To speed up, my foot hits the pedal, and to slow down, I just take it away. I've always used the fast Leslie only in spots, not leaving it on for any long stretch. Moreover, I'm very busy with it. I like having the Leslie in transition mode speeding up or slowing down. Its a useful dimension for expressiveness. All of this is much easier when you don't have to think about whether you are clicking the leslie on or off. Essentially it allows you to manipulate the slow/fast function without taking alot of brain capacity away from thinking about what notes you are playing. OK, whew! Enough about that. Oh, wait, I should mention that the Roland VK-8 allows you to vary leslie speed with a pedal. That's pretty cool, I must say.

The last think I'll comment on here is the action. A subjective thing, to be sure. What I like may not be what you like, and so on . . . I like the CX-3 keys, the shape, size, and texture, very much. Obviously, they are designed to be close to the original. The larger size of the Hammond keys was a deliberate design to accomodate the playing style one tends to use on the organ. Or so it seems to me. The larger black keys on the CX-3 are very helpful. The VK-8, by comparison, has those smaller black keys and its just beyond my comprehension why they did that. Its not unplayable, but its harder to play. I go back and forth on whether I like the "shallow" versus "deeper" trigger mode of the CX-3. The shallow mode is very cool. I think my trouble with it might be because its different than other keyboards I play, going between shallow trigger on the CX-3 and normal trigger on other keyboards (Electro, for instance) leaves my fingers temporarily disoriented. Oh well, that's my problem to solve. Korg gives you the choice.

B-3 afficianados can get extremely geeky in comparing the sounds of the different clones. And every B-3 player eventually falls into existential dread thinking about whether it is better to have the authentic sounds of a real B-3/Leslie versus the convenience of a clone. Using a clone in combination with a real Leslie, or a Motion Sound product, is the reasonable compromise that alot of players settle on. But then, which clone? Which Leslie or Motion Sound? To pre-amp or not preamp. You could waste the flower of your youth, middle age, and septagenarian years wondering about all this. At least it will keep you off the streets . . .

To me, all of the modern-day clones sound pretty good. They have their stronger and weaker points, and all of those differences are worth considering very carefully (with your hands and ears) before you decide what's best for you. But when I go to a show and hear the keyboard twirling off some very synthetic sounding organ riffs from an Alesis or Kurzweil or any jack of all trades keyboard, the difference between that and any of these dedicated clones is so dramatic, it really puts it in perspective. A real leslie is a thing of beauty when you have the luxury of hearing it directly, without sound reinforcement. But it its miked and coming through a PA, the difference between that and a good leslie simulation will not matter to 99.8% of the audience. Of course, it still matters to the person playing the keys, and that may be the critical difference if it helps him/her play better.

I like the sound of the CX-3. The chorus/vibrato is fabulous. The leslie sim is quite good, and stands up well when compared to the other soy-based meat substitutes. The onboard distortion doesn't do much for me. The sound of the CX-3, in general, has a very digital edge to it. But there are countless ways you can round off that edge, with tube amps, tube preamps, or even just an analog guitar pedal. To the extent the digital edge is a flaw, its a very fixable one.

As I said, I own a Nord Electro. Mostly I'm using it for rhodes, wurli, or clav. (Its fabulous for that, but that's another review). The Electro has a great B-3 sound, but its not exactly the sound I want most of the time, and its not editable. With the CX-3, I dial in a smoother textured sound that to my ears works better for jazz and jazzfunk. That's why the CX-3 is my main B-3 axe rather than the Electro. That said, there's some really funky and cool things you can do with the Electro organ sound. You can dial in distortion, effects, wah-wah, to get some sounds that fit in very well in certain situations. And I do that quite a bit.

No reliability issues have arisen. As far as backup, I'm often taking the CX-3 and the Electro to a gig. With 2 keyboards, you will (somehow) get through any gig if one of them fails. It can be an interesting challenge to try to use an organ to fill in for parts that people expect to hear played on a piano or horn or something else. That was part of the design concept of the B-3 -- that it could copy the harmonics of other instruments. Not that my Electro has ever failed me. But my CX-3 is more reliable than most horn players I have known.

My profound musical thought for the day: find a B-3 clone that you like and stick with it. Practice on it, develop a relationship with it. Find your voice inside that instrument. Being able to cart around your keyboard into every situation means you will always have your hands on the same keyboard, a keyboard that is familiar to you, that you have an intimate relationship with, maybe even that feels like an extension of you if you've been playing it long enough. This is one of advantages of having a clone, so use that advantage. Just a thought . . .

First, I'm reviewing the OLD ("vintage") version [circa 1979?], not the modern MIDI digital sampler.

Extremely easy to use. Anyone with any hammond familiarity will have no trouble figuring this out, and for the rest, all you need to do is experiment a little bit to find out--audibly--what's going on. The ultimate in simplicity.

Compared to a modern digital synthesizer or workstation, this is pretty sparse. You have 9 drawbars, bass/treble, keyclick volume, percussion volume/sustain, and that's about it. You can't adjust the leslie simulator (which is decent on slow speed but pretty cheesy on high speed). I found the keyboard feel to be a little lacking, I'd like to have something a little lighter and a little spongier. This feels ok, but a little on the heavy side and the keys tend to bottom out with a hard thunk.

I'd say the sounds are perfect for most rock applications, good for most blues applications, and passable for jazz. It's surprisingly good, however, when you compare it to the modern sampled organ sounds. A good leslie simulator is all this needs to fool most people in typical live situations.

The model I have is about 20 years old and nothing has gone wrong with it. It seems to be a solid unit, and I'd bet it lasts another 20 years no problem.

There are places who will repair these things, but I doubt Korg would be of much help.

I bought this because I didn't want to carry around a (still heavy) chopped b3 and I didn't want to take an expensive korg/roland/hammond into the local bars and spill beer or cigarette ashes into it. This is definitely worth the street price of $400-500 you'll probably pay, since I think it sounds great and you're not risking a huge sum of money on a road instrument.

Just bought a demo unit that was on sale (SN 0000082!) and i did the MIDI upgrade to 2.0 firmware (on a PC with a MIDIMAN USBSport 2X2) and it went fine. It did take 10 to 15 minutes and i was crossing my fingers that we wouldn't have a power interruption. We didn't and it took the new firmware fine. (If power or your computer should fail during the firmware program, apparently you have no choice but to send it in for a new motherboard so only attempt this on stable systems!)

As serial number 82, it's definitely got the old style keyboard and yes, it does have re-triggeing problems if you whack the keys the right way. For now i'm not finding this much of a problem, i've even been using it to effect.

Sounds great to me, though i bought it for the drawbars and light touch keyboard more than the sound (apparently this model doesn't have true waterfall keys like the new, dual manual, BX-3 does - but it's definitely more organy than the XP-80 keyboard i used for organ before) I've been using Native Instrument's B4 for sound up util now, and it's very similar to this. One thing B4 will newver be able to do though is have the responsiveness of the hardware unit. The KORG is designed to trigger the notes when the key's top contact is closed. Velocity sensitive notes come out a fraction of a second later when the 2nd contact closes. Then there's the MIDI delay and the audio system's latency - adds up to several milliseconds. With the KORG however, it's immediately responsive. Really feels like you're playing a real instrument.

One of the new features on 2.0 is a noise parameter - just adds constant untriggered noise o the signal, which is nice for hearing that leslie woosh even when you're not playing... but i find even the lowest setting above zero, 1, to sometimes be too much. Needs a finer adjustment at the low end I'd say.

Lots of ability to change tonal character. Note that leakage and overtone parameters are only effective on the "Vintage" tonewheel set. The "Clean" tonweheels ignore these settings. App model 2 sounds alittle rounder, more tubey than 1, which as several state does have a harsh grainy digital characteristic to it.

Someone complained about the expression pedal causing distoriong as well as volume; well that's by design. A real Hammond would distort that way. What you need to do, is turn down the amp gain parameter, so when the expression is maxed, you get a clean, or ust very slightly distorted sound. Much more useful that way and you won't get the feeling you're stepping on a stomp-box. However for those who want it, the ability to distort on the padal is there.

I'm using a BOSS expression pedal with it and, after i discovered the callibration feature, its working fine with the CX-3 as an expression pedal (i didn't get the included pedal...part of the sale price no doubt. No manual either, but Korg have their manuals online for free, unlike Roland who need to give their heads a shake and realize manuals are free advertising, not the latest Tom Clancy novel.)

I've had it for 2 days now so can't really comment. But someone below mentions they're concerned that it's wood...well, it's a really tough particleboard (with nice fake veneer finish). Nothing is going to hurt this baby unless you snap off a drawbar, key or knob. Even those items are nicely recessed beheath the the wood. Compared to the metal/plastic frames of my other boards, it seems a lot more substantial -- and thankfully, isn't THAT heavy, you can carry it under one arm. It's not fun, but do-able.

I'm hooked. With the addition of another keyboard to for a lower manual, the dual drawbar sets complete the illusion. You really can run this like a genuine Hammond. All the controls are there.

I'll be needing one of these forever now. If I lost it, i'd probably get a BX-3, i'm so hooked. Shame it doesn't support pedals, as they use the exace same tonewheels, I hope it's something that might be addressabe in fuure firmware revs.

This is the newer CX3, but NOT version 2. Who cares. This thing kicks ass! The serial number is in the 2000's so there is no double triggering problem.

All I can say is INCREDIBLE!!! I've been looking at these since they came out new, and my wait paid off because I got it used for way less than new. Worth every damn nickle and dime I paid!!!

For those who don't want to lug a real Hammond around anymore, this is it. I didn't even get into the edit menu and started playing around with the drawbars, vibrato/chorus, percussion, and leslie simulator. Piece of cake to operate if you know Hammond Organs.

Manual is easy enough to figure out, but if you're a plug-and-play Hammond player, you really don't need it.

Organ only. Full polyphony. No sequencer here. WHO CARES?

Easy for me to use, considering I was once an M3 player, and a ham-and-egger at best. NOW I CAN REALLY PLAY!

Yes, onboard Leslie is amazing. Vibrato/Chorus/Reverb very good as well.

Perfect, except the overdrive isn't that good. It sounds grainy, too digital, and not realistic enough. Maybe Korg should have a 12AX7 tube built into it to make the overdrive warm. Hey Korg, did you hear that?

I don't have the CX3 hooked up for stereo play. I play it through my beat-up little 60 watt Crate keyboard amp, MONO, and the Leslie sounds FABULOUS!

The keys feel great and the action is excellent.

The Leslie simulation is, in a word, IN-F**KING-CREDIBLE!!! It beats the crap out of the Roland VK7 and VK8. Believe me, I've tried them both. OK, Roland lovers, relax. The raw sound on the Rolands is great. But the Korg's Leslie simulation beats it, hands down. The CX3's Leslie simulation SHIMMERS, whereas the Roland's I'm not too sure. They sound too much like a glorified vibrato with a phase shifter. Listen to the sample MP3's on both websites and you'll agree.

Percussion is excellent. Vibrato and Chorus also SHIMMER!

Drawbar sounds very realistic. Sounds like a Hammond!

DID YOU KNOW that this thing also has VOX ORGAN SOUNDS TOO? HOLY SHIT! I can play anything VOX without having to resort to my 60's/70's expansion board in my Roland JV80 (which is also a good board, considering its over 10 years old), plus, the VOX sound can be changed with the drawbars too!! I must admit that the Hammond/Vox sounds in the expansion board are also very good.

Just got it. I'll see. From what I understand these things hold up well.

I don't think I'll fiddle with the 2.0 upgrade. This thing is cool as it is. I've never dealt with Korg, so I really can't give an opinion.

I'll never get rid of this AWESOME instrument.

I absolutely love this keyboard. I'd replace it lickety split if it were to get stolen.

Ignore the guy who wrote the previous review. I own a B-3 and both a 122 and 147 leslie. Does the CX-3 sound like a B-3? Of course it does. Why would I own both the B-3 and a Korg CX-3 w/ a motion-sound? Because it is a great alternative to a real one. Does it sound as good? Of course not! One is digital, the other is analog. Analog has characteristics that can't be duplicated digitally. Is it a great alternative to the beast? Of course it is.... The question is, if you're going to use a clone rather than the real thing, which is the best clone to use and does the best clone sound close enough to be used as an alternative? The answer? The Korg CX-3. If you run it through a motion-sound and use it in a recording, you would be hard pressed to hear the difference. I KNOW.... It's certainly close enough for me.

Is everyone out there on drugs? These organs sound like crap. I heard some people actually say that they could not hear the differene between a cx-3, and a real B-3. I have never heard such ridiculous statements in my life. BOTH the 1979 cx-3, and the new version sound like shit. I laugh when I think that people actually spend thousands of dollars on these pathetic clones. If you cannot transport, or maintain, a real b-3, than change your sound. Play a Rhodes, or play a synth, but for the love of the b-3, do not waste your time trying to convince yourself that this is, or comes even remotely close to, the real thing. All of the hype is really beacuse people love the b-3 so much and cannot come to terms with the fact that they are that hard to move and maintain. Also, 21 years of having our sonic awareness adulterated by digital recordings have also convinced people into beleiving that these sound like the real thing. Sure, if all I did was listen to digital re-masters of classic Jimmy Smith lp's, I might decieve myself into thinking that these "clones" sound like the real deal.

If it were lost, I would consider it a blessing...

Anybody who are used to a real console hammond is familiar to the cx-3 layout. This is the only clone that has similar layout as the real thing. This rewiev is about ver 2.0 software.

Full keybed polyphony, for real smears. Excellent leslie sim. All parameters tweakable, so emulating your favourite hammond sound is possible. Even the shrillness of the old ver 1.0 is gone with the new setting "mellow". The chourus/vibrato is a little thinner than ver 1.0 but blends better with the leslie sim. Even speakersimulation is now selectable on/off witch is a good thing if used with a real Leslie. And analog background noice is now tweakable. Key response is now selectable swallow(no more bouncing notes and the same action as on most keyboards) or light (true to a real hammond but generates keybouncing wih ver 1.0 keybeds "lipped")

I think this is as close a digital emulator can come to the real thing without adding real tubes. Due to the heavy tweakability it's hard to get the sound without having a clear picture of the sound you want. The only effect that is not so tweakable is the reverb. There are four types in ver 2.0 and the only two parameters thats adjustable are time and blend and ofcourse the ability to put it before and after the lesliesim, but the reverb on this clone is much better than the reverb in real hammonds.

It's Korg, so reliability is very high. I have only had good experience with Korg gear ower the years, and I have giged with this organ for two and a half year with no problems.

I can only speak about the support here in Sweden, and it's exellent.
Firmware uppdater including new software at www.korg.com

I think this clone is a killer, and tweaked to taste it sounds better than many real hammonds with leslies. It's a bit pricey but to get a better sound with real hammond and leslie is far more expencive and not so moweable. Here in europe you can compare the the price of it to a exellent renovated Leslie 122/147.

As synth programming goes, the CX-3 is fairly straight forward.

It has a better and easier user interface than other organ synths. Controls are easy to access and use.

Here is the one problem I see with the Korg CX-3. I own a Hammond XB-2 and XK-2 and a 122 Leslie. I spent days running A-B comparisons between the Korg CX-3 and the Hammonds. The Korg sounds great solo. It Leslie effect is superb compared to anything except a real Leslie. But as soon as you try to set it into a mix, it just does not want to fit. It sounds over processed, has a digital sheen, and there are some harmonics that just make it sound like a fish out of water in the mix--even when it is run through a Leslie. When you play with the band or with recordings, the Hammond XK-2 has a sound (harmonic character) that fits right in: funky and thick. I tried to love the CX-3 and spent days trying to get the that organic sound from it. But after several months, I sold it in spite of loving everything else about the CX-3.

It always worked fine for the months that I owned it.

A solid keyboard no doubt. Brighter sound than the Hammond with more bells and whistles. But when you are playing blues and jazz organ, do you really need the extras? Try and rent or play a Korg CX-3 with your band or a recording before purchasing to ensure the sound will work for you.