Suzuki Hammond XB-2

Depending on your whishes, you may find it a very easy to use organ.

I don't use presets, I just mess around with the drawbars and the leslie fast/slow switch. Very, very easy, just plug in it, turn it on an fool around!

However, if you want to use presets with all different kinds of settings like splits, effects or whatever, you're in bad luck, because you will need a proper manual. The original manual is miserable.

I use software version 1, and would like to upgrade to version 2.0 (see 'support' below)

Features a leslie-sim, percussion, reverb, overdrive and more.
It has midi capabilities, but I don't use it.

There is one issue, the organ has a 'send' and 'return', but I can't get it to work!

The leslie-sim is nice, however there's no way to change any of the characteristics of the leslie. I have a real leslie box which makes the XB-2 sound much, much better, but I don't want to take it with me every time I go out to play. I had a seperate leslie simulator (Korg G4) for a while. Although there were more parameters you could change, it sounded crappy and way too 'digital' so I sold it within a few weeks. I stick with the internal leslie-sim.

Percussion is too loud, and there seems to be a key-click even though I disabled it.

Overdrive sucks, I really hate it when the output volume increases when adding gain.

Reverb is nice.

I bought mine about three years ago, and it never let me down. However, as I mentioned before, I can't use external effects using the send/return.

Terrible. Trying to get software version 2.0 update seems impossible. Hammond-Suzuki directs me to the local reseller, the local reseller directs me to Hammond-Suzuki. Sucks.

Never tried to get the send-return problem fixed, so I can't give any comments on that. Maybe later...

I love it, it is simple (the way I use it) and sounds good, especially when connected to my leslie.
I use it in a reggae/ska band, along with a Korg synth for piano sounds.

If It were lost I would probably get myself another XB-2, or another model like the B-1, or XK-1, depending on what is being offered on ebay or something. No Rolands, Oberheims or other brands for me, I'll stick with Hammond!

Presets are fair. Much more fun to create your own sounds using drawbars, percussion etc;
The manual is totally useless except for the simplest things

The keys are somewhat cheap and cheesy and no waterfall keys here. The leslie is unrealistic. A leslie or motion sound amp helps this alot. I prefer to use a simulator such as the line rotomachine more than the onboard leslie.

The main problem with this keyboard is that the bass is overwhelming.
You must tune the treble control on the back to 10 and the bass to 0.
Better yet get an equalizer to sweeten the sound.

The xb2 is very reliable and I've used mine steadily for 8 years with no problems. The wood veneer is cheap and rolls up around the edges and looks crappy.

I'd like to upgrade to another more recent clone and will when the xk1 and xk3 become less expensive

miserably slow. presets use an arcane system of drawbar settings that use unrelated numbers and affect the sound you are editing without being under your direct control

keyboard is spongy at best. no reverb. MIDI zones are nice.

Percussion is ALWAYS too loud. Leslie is nothing more than sonic animation, as an pronounced vibrato.

I have a unit that is exhibiting 3 abberant behaviors. the voice assign software is re-assigning voices in groups of 4. Each time a phrase of 4 notes or more is played, you can hear how the tone generator has moved its selected voice, even when playing repeated notes.
The B-type drawbars have a problem that sounds as if the output was being played through the blades of a window fan, that is, a predictable and consistent ticki-ticki-ticki in the tone. The percussion tabs also have this weirdness, on the mellow or brite drawbars.

I NEED service in the south central WI area, near Madison. HELP!!!
I need an upgrade, too. Jim Brown in Stoughton, where are you?

avoid if possible for gig use. makes a nice leave-it-somewhere-to-rehearse-with piece.
Anything Roland organ is better.

I endorse a lot of what I havc read about the XB-2 and would be repetitive. I would only add that the 'ZONES' are useful for live work driving my other sound modules.
The RPM rack mount leslie simulator is a valuable piece to own since it affords INPUT, DRIVE, HORN SPEED, ACCELERATION, SPREAD and BALANCE controls.
For me, it is the best leslie simulator I have used, but the salesman who sold it to me couldn't demonstrate it. I bought it at a reduced price, new, after throughly researching the unit. Try it, you might love, not 'like', it
One of my previous jobs was re-writing manuals and to date I consider it my most rewarding job.
Maybe one day I would undertake rewriting manuals for a manufacturer if the opportunity arises.
A very valuable book to acquire, and mine is 32-years old, is
the DICTIONARY OF HAMMOND ORGAN STOPS
BY
Stevens Irwin.
Published by G. Sschirmer
New York/London.

Mine is the Revised Fourth Edition from 1970.

Writtem for the Hammond Organ, this book is a drawbar organ owner's jewel. I won't Lend mine, and if you ever get ahold of one, watch out how you relate to it, it could get you charged with spouse neglect.
Bruce

Nearly exactly the same size as Korg's classic CX-3 single manual Hammond impersonator, the XB-2 is a superior instrument, particularly in its upgraded second version, and especially when linked to a proper Leslie. As the previous user has indicated, one of the worst features of the XB-2 is the user's manual. It's hopeless and has been poorly translated. This is a great shame as it takes ages to get to grips with what is in actual fact a very fine instrument. If you've never played a drawbar organ before, it's particularly difficult to understand the sort of sounds that you're trying to create, especially if you want a classic overdriven rock or blusey/jazz patch. I have one of the first versions of the organ (before the upgrade) and the preset factory patches were extremely dull and unexciting. After attempting to add overdrive to them all, I gave up, scrubbed round them all and put in 128 of my own patches. This took many evenings of patient experimentation, especially as the edit mode and save sections are so poorly explained in the manual. Sorting your patches before rehearsing/gigging are crucial for this keyboard because it doesn't respond well to changing drawbar settings live. What I've tended to do is keep my eight favourite sounds (Jimmy Smith/Jimmy McGriff influenced) assigned to the eight patch selectors, and a classic church patch on the drawbars themselves, giving you nine easily accessible sounds. Some Hammond players (James Taylor springs to mind) say that really you shouldn't play a Hammond on its pre-sets, just use them occasionally, and work the drawbars, but the XB-2 works best on its presets. The upgrade gives you 32 preset patches (four on each patch selector) and this would be a very worthwhile improvement. I also understand that the key click, internal Leslie, percussion and overdrive have been improved on the second version. Key click is an essential part of the Jimmy Smith sound; it's OK on version 1, but I've played the upgraded XB-2 and it's much better on the upgrade. To get the best from the XB-2, you really have to be quite patient, ? particularly in setting up the patches and the splits within the patches ? but the rewards are worthwhile as this organ can really deliver when well set up. And it's an extremely convenient package to lug around compared to a B3!

Full polyphony. Great keyboard action, very fast, and a joy when you adjust the percussion velocity section to Velocity on. Fast repeated single note runs are possible, just like the C3/B3. Getting to grips with the split feature within the presets is important to get correct balance between the upper and lower manual sounds ? all on the one keyboard! Does have Midi capability with splits for layering which I've occasionally used, but it's best on its own organ sounds. Built-in effects (reverb, vibrato, chorus) are good, although the internal Leslie on version 1 is poor. Much improved on version 2. Overdrive too fizzy on version 1; seems better on v2.

Once well set up, preferably through a proper Leslie and with the correct Hammond volume swell pedal, the XB-2 can sound utterly cracking, very good for rock, blues and jazz. The joy of linking it to a proper Leslie is that the sound improves vastly and ? provided your connections are correct - you can control the Leslie from the XB2's console. Ideally the organ should be linked to a valve Leslie, such as the 122 or 145/147 (using the six-11 pin connector, apparently, but take professional advice), but trannie 11-pin Leslies may be more practical, easier to obtain and lighter to transport. I use a 310 Leslie - a very rare, early 70s small trannie Leslie with a real Leslie horn and a simulated rotor on the 15-inch main driver, plus a clean channel for my Roland Rhodes MK60 piano. The 310 gives a cracking sound once the horn's front panel is removed (simply unscrews, two screws aside). I've further improved the XB2's sound by patching a VK-1 valve keyboard pre-amp into the XB2's effect send and return but I believe that this 19-inch rack unit may have now been deleted. If you can still find one. Get it! So, if at all possible, use a Leslie with the XB2. Otherwise a regular keyboard combo is OK, but if you go this route it might be worth finding a Korg G4 Leslie simulator as the on-board Leslie is not great on the first version of the XB-2.

No problems with the XB-2 to date. Had mine about six years. The Leslie can be a problem though!

Hammond UK have been very helpful to me, particularly over hooking up the XB-2 to a suitable Leslie (after discussing the sort of sound I was after it was their idea that I searched for a 310 and it was definitely worthwhile), although the literature on the XB-2 at the time of purchase was a bit amateurish. I hope it's been improved for the second version. Several big UK bands are now using the XB-2 (Mannic Street Preachers, Brand New Heavies).

I could go on forever about the XB-2, but I think you'll understand from my comments above that, provided you ignore the factory presets, you spend time on sorting your owne patches and you link the organ to a proper Leslie, it is a superb instrument.

Maybe 5 or 6; 7 at best I don't know which software version it is. Mine instrument is the original Hammond XB-2, before they upgraded it. It is easy to use right out of the box, if you don't want do do any editing Patch editing is a bitch. A patch editor would probably help, but I don't have one for this device The manual is pretty bad. It is poorly translated from Japanese by someone who didn't speak english. The manual is actually one of the worst aspects of this instrument.

Sorry, I don't know the polyphony. The instrument comes loaded with 128 patches, all user editable, and 8 programs, all user editable. Nine "drawbars" are used to edit patches, and function in real-time, but do not respond to MIDI Editing features include: program, patch, keyboard split, upper patch, lower patch, vibrato, chorus, percussion, key click, overdrive/distortion, "Leslie" on/off, and speed, velocity depth (off, 1, and 2), sustain, The unit sends 3 MIDI channels, and receives 1 MIDI channel The keyboard is your basic plastic synth keyboard action. One pitch bend wheel, and one modulation wheel. Onboard reverb was availible as an option on the original model. I did not get the option. I think onboard reverb is standard on the newer, upgraded machine. The newer OS is availible to upgrade the original OS. This increases the program memory from 8 memory locations to 24, amoung other things. There are no cards or card slots on this machine. Editing options are limited, but in part that's because it is an emulation of a Hammond, not a synthesizer. It basically allows the user to make any changes to the sound as would be availible with a real tone-wheel organ. There are a variety of editing features not found on tone-wheel organs

It sounds pretty decent. I am familiar with Hammonds, so I can tell the difference. Most people can not. I constantly get comments from listener: "Hey, you got some kind of Hammond there?". Most non-keyboard musicians think it sounds boss. The "Leslie" emulation isn't very good. I don't use it, in favor of an outboard processor. I key click emulation is satisfactory, as it the over/drive distortion. I use both key-click and overdrive. The instrument works well for any kind of music where a Hammond would fit: gospel, rock, blues, jazz, etc. The keyboard responsiveness is static, as it should be for organ. The instrument does send velocity, but I don't use it for controlling other sounds.

I have had no problem with breakdowns, or onstage performance. And that's over a period of eight years.

Support is availible on-line, but not by phone. I have not needed repairs, and have not tried to upgrade the instrument.

I bought the instrument when it first came out, in '90 or '91. At that time, it was the only Hammond-like keyboard around. In terms of Hammond sound and reliablity, it has stood up well over time. Currently, a variety of other manufactuers have come out with Hammond-like keyboards. If I needed to replace the keyboard, I would take a careful look at some of the other availible instruments. As a Hammond emulation, it succeeds. I can get the wails and growls and cool, jazzy groove that I want to hear as part of the organ experience. I use the instrument for live, onstage Hammond playing, and I don't use it for anything else. I would not, and do not use this instrument for anything else, say as a controller for tone modules, because it's a bear to set-up, and I personally don't like the synth-type action. My biggest complaints are that there are only 8 preset/program locations (it's not enough), the difficult interface, and the crappy manual. The manual is so bad, I still don't know if I'm saving presets correctly: sometimes they save and sometimes not. I have a college and graduate degree, so I figure I'm as smart as the next guy. And I find patches and preset really hard to configure. I figure: If I want the sound of a Hammond, then I need to use a Hammond. Given that I don't want to put up with the difficulties involved in using the real thing, the Suzuki Hammond XB-2 is a compromise: pretty good Hammond sounds, and not much else. Perhaps that's why this review sounds weak: the instrument itself is a compromise between what I want, and what I'm willing to put up with.