Voce DMI-64 Mk II

I bought this used for $275... it's the best 275 bucks I've ever spent!!!!! I have the drawbar unit with it, and it's fairly easy to get a great Hammond organ sound, lots of pre-set sounds, as well as sounds you can create using the drawbars. You don't absolutely NEED the drawbars to create your own sound, but it's pretty complicated to access all the menus on the actual unit (any synth user worth their salt can do it with ease, though). I'll give it an 8. I downloaded a copy of the manual from their site. It's quite extensive and helpful.

64 voice polyphony. Has Leslie effect, vibrato, chorus, percussion (very authentic), & overdrive. Quite flexible using MIDI.

I'm flabbergasted at how I could spend 275 bucks and have a Hammond B3 with a Leslie... that's how it sounds! Incredibly authentic Hammond sound, especially on the pre-sets (I believe the pre-sets are samples, and the adjustable sounds are synthesized very well). The percussion is to die for, and the Leslie is very believable. I have used it live, and in the studio and it rules for the cost I paid).

I have had it for 4 years, and I have had no problems with it, and have used it often. When not using it professionally, I love to play it at home just to enjoy the sound, so it's racked up quite a few hours with home use as well... I'd say it's quite reliable.

I've never dealt directly with the company, but their website is good. They are still in business, making new products, and I downloaded the manual for this unit there. I would expect no problems. I'll give them a 9, for the fact that they are in business, and their web support.

Truly an unbelievable value. I asked the music store owner for a cheap rackmount Hammond B3 simulator, and he dug this out... I'm so glad he did, because I've never heard of Voce before, but I will definitely go check with them first if this unit ever craps out. My guess is that if this unit sounds so good, what they are making now must sound phenominal. What a deal!

Editing is not very user friendly, but with a manual next to you, it works. The manuals contains just everything you need to know

64 voice polyphony, effects include Leslie, distortion, vibrato. No expansion possibilities. It's multitimbral and you can assign virtually any Midi-control command to any function you would want to control in real-time. This makes it very flexible

The unit sounds just great, with a good Leslie spinning up and down at adjustable rate. Functions like "percussion" work just like on the real thing

Never had any trouble with it

Never needed support

May now there are even better modules on the market they are also much more expensive and, when used for gigging, no one in the audience will tell the difference

Presets range from greasy full out to Sunday best, but this unit is best for grungy sounds. Has a built-in distortion that is acceptable but doesn't really sound like an overdriven leslie amp. Many combo organ sounds too, which is nice for that 60's garage band sound. A couple of synth presets too (Square, saw, etc.) but that's not why you'd buy this beast. I'd say the presets rate an 8. A data wheel instead of slow up/down buttons would be nice.
I'd give it a 1 on ease of editing. Single 4 digit LCD display(not backlit, but large), lethargic scrolling through parameters and values using two parameter buttons and two value buttons (in fact, counting the power button, there are only 5 on the whole panel), and no parameter titles. Make a copy of the parameter list and tattoo it on your arm. There's a free DOS and Windows editing program available from the Voce web page (www.voceinc.com, I think.) No Mac version though. I don't have a patch editor, but I've only had to tweak a few parameters so far to get sounds I'm happy with. 99 user programmable patch spots, which can be restored to factory presets by opening it up, and removing the lithium battery from its' holder for half a minute.
However, despite its' painful interface, you have a lot of control. 64 waveforms, and then you can program your own waveforms using 9 different harmonics layered over any one of the permanent waveforms. Chorus (depth and speed), vibrato (depth and speed), Leslie simulation (slow and fast speeds, acceleration and deceleration rates), etc. but you can only have ONE effect active at a time. Programmable keyclick, tone generator leakage (hum), foldback, etc. They have ROM upgrades available still from Voce for about $50, which I haven't bought yet. Contact them to find out how far out of date your ROM is.
Manual is very detailed, but then it has to be, since all of the parameters are simply numbers. No programming examples, but it's not that tough. Try to avoid having to buy the manual from Voce, ~$30 for a photocopy.

64 note polyphony, I think. Single unit rackmount, so no keys or sequencer. Sixteen part multitimbral.
Built in effects include distortion (simply on or off, and it affects ALL voices in multi mode). Tolerable Leslie simulation, although I bet this thing would sound excellent through a real Leslie or a Pro-3. Vibrato or chorus or leslie, but not more than one at a time, and they are part of the patch. It will accept CC messages to control depth, speed, etc.
No expansion capabilities, although you can replace the lithium battery and the ROM yourself. 99 patch spots, all user programmable.
Can respond to just about any continuous controller, for any parameter. See above for the joy of programming the DMI-64.

There's only one reason you'd buy the DMI-64, and that's to get the tonewheel sound. This does Hammonds and combo organs well (especially for the used price), although the Micro B I/II and the new V3 and V5 by Voce are much more user friendly. Micro B's aren't programmable at all though, and they are sample based, not additive.
Suitable for any category, although it's not the quietest unit, and it is not true stereo output (or so I've been told). Perfect for someone who wants a more authentic Hammond sound for their Roland JV-30 (why does Roland pick such useless organ samples?).
Simple square envelopess here, no velocity response or filters to mess with. Will accept channel aftertouch messages mapped to effects.

Well, it weighs a lot for a single rack unit, apparently made out of navy surplus gray primer colored metal. Not a flashy unit, but definitely durable. Sometimes mine "forgets" the mod wheel setting when changing patches, but that's a minor complaint. I don't gig, but at this price why not have two? However, it uses a large, heavy 9v AC (not DC) power converter. Fortunately it isn't the wall wart variety; normal plug on one end and a small DC-type female plug on the other. I don't know where I would be able to get a replacement, but I'm sure it would cost a lot.

Voce gets my vote for the most friendly, personable synth company. I've called at 10 pm their time and spoke with someone regarding the upgrade and manual. Amazing that they still support their first module after so many years.
Haven't needed repairs, but if it died I would probably try to pick up a used Micro B II instead, since they've come down a lot in price.

Love the sound and flexibility, absolutely hate the programming interface. It's the cheapest hammond simulator out there though.
Wish it had the ability to have more than one effect active at a time (something they didn't get around to implementing until the Micro B II.)
Program your presets and control mapping, and play onward. Can accept input from the Voce MIDI Drawbars unit, but can't make realtime changes during a sustained note. Wish the drawbars were built in, like in the new V5 (but it lacks MIDI capability.)
Pair it with a good leslie or simulator, and it'll light your fire.