Voce Micro-B

Original Voce MicroB

The MIDI capabilities proved far more extensive than I anticipated once I got a copy of the manual from on-line resources; I may have been farther along on the learning curve without it had the selector dial been given slightly larger characters. It has all the right implementation to reproduce the events a real B would (save for the lack of reverb and expression pedal: I find that a couple of cleverly edited patches on a Digitech Vx400 work great to produce those features). With two control keyboards, a set of MIDI pedals, and a MIDI router (3-in, 1-out) this unit could be configured not unlike the real animal.

I must say that the Leslie is somewhat like a police siren; I would like to get a VoceSpin unit (the original- anybody got one for sale?) to give that effect a little more depth. The percussion is cool (preset 24 with the 3rd harmonic is the "Green-Eyed Lady" sound, and other 3rd harm combinations are reminiscent of our dear, departed Jimmy Smith). The distortion is simply OK- I'll be trying out gain-staging with a tube preamp for a little more balls. This unit would be useful in jazz, R&B, or rock setting.

This is a workhorse! The only reason any unit gets banged up (which, by the way, yielded only cosmetic flaws on mine) is because it is less than rack mountable (I hate velcro- but it is my last resort for getting the thing to stay on a rack shelf). The only thing that requires backup is the wall wart power supply.

The Voce online resources were easy to access for getting a manual. Don't I wish there were a software update available, since MicroB II addressed the lack of an expression pedal.

I would only replace at this time with either the rack-mount Nord organ module or a virtual organ such as B4 (when I have a laptop with the wherewithal to drive it!); otherwise, another MicroB or MicroB II would suit me fine. I've had Roland, Alesis, Korg, Kawai, Yamaha, and Kurzweil products over the years- none of them even come close to touching the "Bness" of the MicroB. I searched for over five years for the good, affordable Hammond sound: I stopped that search the day I found my MicroB (but never stopped listening to others, hence my preferences above). One product I remember trying and hating was the Baby B (I do not recall the manufacturer, but it would have been better dubbed Baby Farfisa!).

The Micro B is very straightforward - - no manual needed (though if you absolutely HAVE to get your hands on one just go to voceinc.com and get it there.)

The presets are marked with their targeted Hammond drawbar settings right on top of the box, which is convenient, though you'll probably figure out which 3 or 4 you're going to use right away and then roll with that.

As noted, no editing to be done here. Minus one point for the hard to read little dial.

Has enough polyphony to do palm swipes that sound real. No expansion or other frills. It is what it is.

Sure, it would be nice to have a port to run a CV pedal in for volume control, but hey, that's why this is version one and can be had at the local pawn shop for $75. I do wish they'd had the option to turn off the release click (keep reading.)

I'm another Hammond/Leslie owner and I'm not one to gush about Hammond modules - - I've been "spoiled" by the real thing, so don't give me any cheese. I owned an old Korg CX-3, which was solid and had drawbars, but was too heavy and the sound just wasn't worth the effort. So I sold it. Then a Peavey Spectrum which was not as good as the Korg, though light and bulletproof. Sold that too. I've been using the B-3 patch on my lovely Ensoniq KT-76, but there were two problems: first, I like to play a horn patch for punches while riffing on the B-3, which I couldn't do without splitting the keyboard, and two, playing organ on weighted keys just felt, well, weird and wrong. So I grabbed a cheapo midi controller and went for the Micro B.

That said, I agree with most others: The base Hammonds are really nice, and there's a wide enough variety to do several different styles. The settings that emphasize the higher harmonics are less convincing, but the workhorse 888000000 was right on. Ahhhh.

I've paired my Micro B with a Digitech RPM-1, which is the nicest of the Leslie simulators I've heard (I've used several, with the notable exception of the H&K Rotosphere, and most are pretty lame: The RPM-1 is darned close.) I haven't had the heart to hook my Leslie 145 up to the Micro for fear I'll fall in love with the sound and feel compelled to drag the Leslie out to gigs. Makes my back hurt just thinking about it.

Also I use the RPM to add a little drive (with its sweet little 12ax7 tube), as I'm not real fond of the drive on the Micro B.

It is pretty cool that Voce included the quirky foldback of real hammond consoles (for those who haven't played the real deal, this is the funky feature where Hammond ran out of harmonic notes, so they just go up or down to the nearest octave. It means that as you're moving up the scale one note that's "higher" on the keyboard actually sounds lower than the previous key. Dumb? Sure, but you get used to it to the point that you miss it when it's not there.)

Now, on the minus side, I really wish they had a switch to kill the release click. It is definitely louder than my A-100 (an ugly twin to the B-3, but at least with the same heart and soul) and gets in the way of an otherwise near-pristine sound. Maybe I could filter it out with a very sensitive EQ, but I'm not going to bother.

Fortunately I don't record at all (I play in a live blues/rock/R&B quintet) or this would probably be a deal-breaker. But for the band setting: Very sweet.

Percussion is fine, but not as bitey as on my Hammond.

Minus one for the irritating click, half for the top harmonics and half for the too-subtle percussion otherwise fab.

This one had been through a few wars before I got it in fall of 2005, and has the scars to prove it. But sounds just fine and everything works. As always, time will tell, but there seem to be plenty of these around, so I'm guessing they're pretty stout.

Voce still has info on their website (including an admission that you can't turn off the #$%^ release click), but that's about it for support. Kind of moot on a product getting this long in the tooth.

A real bargain for me. They go on eBay for $150 to $200, so I was glad to get it this cheap from the local pawnbroker (a good guy, by the way - - pawn shops get a bad rap, though some are really stand-up and a great place for music-gear junkies to swap stuff.)

Pretty easy to velcro to your controller and do the Hammond thing. Take some time on the Leslie side getting a sound you dig: I'm a way better musician when I really like the sound platforms I'm using - - it frees you up to explore, create, relax and just fly.

I said in another review that the true test of a piano synth is whether you ever forget that you're not playing the real thing. Same is true for your psuedo-Hammond: If you ever forget that you're not playing the thing, you got a keeper.

This is the first set-up where I've actually had those "I-forgot" moments. thus the perfect overall rating (of course some credit goes to the RPM-1 and the stereo PA that drives it.) Yeah, a couple of quirks and irritants, but ya know what? So do my real Hammond and Leslie!

If it were stolen? Hmmm . . . depends on how much cash I had in my pocket. But at least I know I have a really strong fall back. I'm happy for now.

I had a Micro-B when it first came out. Then had 2 Hamond XB-2's later. Sold them all and just purchased another Micro-B. Forgot what the sounds sounded like. Bought mine on Ebay, good condition, but out of the 32 or so presets there is only ONE that I like and can use. The others sound thin. The leslie simulation is pretty decent. I am going back to my synth organ sound with hopefully a Motion Pro Sound 3 simulator.

The unit is very easy to use. Built like a tank. Second and third harmonics are good also.

Like I said, built like a tank. Very reliable

Never had to contact service support but I read that Voce is great.

If it was lost or stolen I would not replace it. Have been playing 35 years. Love that Hammond sound!!

The Micro B is really Great, really. Very easy to use, you wont have problems with that. I love the presets, but i think that is important to use the micro b trough an stereo equipment with big speakers, good bass. I use trough a yamaha CN Series, Clavinova, who have a really great speakers, sounds like a church. The manual is ok, simple, enough.

I think the features are ok, if you are looking for something in paticular (hammond). The effects (diferent types of tremolo) are really realistic. Leslie sounds good, and the other efects are ok.

The sounds are very realistic, depending on what speakers are you using, but could be very realistic if you can. I use it for church music, and 60's and 70's rock, and it works great. Maybe voce miss an expression pedal.

I would buy another one, maybe the micro b II, but i still love this piece. Is a very good oportunity to have a great vintage sound in this days.

This 1/2 rack Is the definitive of sound accuracey, durability and value. Look at any of nay sayers reviews and ask what other unit they have at this price that does better with the outstanding features it offers such as rotor control, or it's ease of simulating a split dual manual (of course you have to READ the instructions to get that!

One word INCREDIBLE! As I said before it features elements that even units costing twice and three times as much can't even hold a candle to,. Let's remeber. We're talking about 10 year old technology here.

First of all whoever says a B-3 sounds like crap without a leslie must be either stuck in a vaccuum or listening through Radio Shack monitors. In either case they definately lack an undurstanding for the beuties of unaffected tone-wheel mechanisms like my M-3 (basically a small B-3). There is SO much versatility built into this box that I still can't believe I paid two hundred NEW.

Mine has been dropped on concrete, unhonorably dropped in equipment bags and tortured by ignorrant bar patrons for many years and the ONLY part I have ever needed servicing was the power cord. Which regrettably is a goofy combination that will challenge most parts enthusiasts.

Great value if ever there was one. Much lighter than my M-3. For anyone who believes that you must have a rotary speaker to be convincing. (they are very nice to have) and incredibly painful to move. Again the voce 1/2 rack IS THE keyboard value to get. With me.. It rates a straight-up "Beautiful!!!!!"

Way easy!

B-3 impersonator exrordiaire! As others have said a B-3 sounds like crap without a leslie and so will this unit.
That said with a leslie I challenge any one to the blinfold test. It is a excellent impostor.

The one most important feature that was omitted on this model but added on the Micro-B 2 was an expression pedal.

That is a real negative

The one most important feature that was omitted on this model but added on the Micro-B 2 was an expression pedal.

That is a real negative

Bullet proof

They are accessable

I would buy the Micro-B2 or the v-5 next time but this is a sweet unit

This is a decent organ module. I have owned the Emu B3 and found it too digital sounding and very, very hard to use. I have owned the Peavey Spectrum and found it cheesey. I have owned the Oberheims, both the key and mod versions (OB3 squared)...and thought they were both weak and whimpy. I would love to own a real B3 but I have been playing guitar (and organ off and on) for over 35 years and those years of schleping heavy equipment around are over. So, what am I to do? Well, thanks to Voce I can do something. These days I am more into playing organ than guitar and I use one of two midi controllers:
an old Casio CPS 700 digital piano with great action for an organ feel and the more "pianish" EP 7 MK II. Access is to 22 voices via a rotary knob and another 14 via midi...but unless you have a real controller with patch call up...forget those...besides, the 22 are more than enough. And these sounds are very realistic. You have access to chorus and vibrato AND LESLIE slow and fast but not in conjucntion with the chorus/vibrato (although the version 2 does allow this). The manual is straightforward and sufficient.

As I said the effects are adequate but using it solo is not enough. I run it through and Option 5 Destination Rotation pedal for an extra Leslie-like boost. And through a Voodoo Labs Tremolo for modulation effects...and using an echo/rebverb would be wise, too...
it has the standard midi in and thru. And that is all that is needed.

Other than a real Hammond and Leslie....this is the best there is....
in this price range. Of course, there are the VK88, CX3, BX3, Key 5 by Voce and the Hammond-Suzuki...but those go for much higher prices...much higher...you can get a used Micro B(this model is no longer available but Voce is being marketed by DR STrings in NJ) for under $200. And it is more than worth it.

seems well built....but I will seek another Micro B or B II as a back up.....just because I like to play it safe....

not really applicable..as I got it used...but the Company seems willing to help out...they have answered by emails....

I will continue to use this both for live and recording work. I will seek another as backup....and it stands out from its peers. I modified an old snare stand and extended the height rod so that I could sit at my keyboard and see the Voce eye to eye......in this way I can manipulate the effects knobs....and as the dials are very small and the numbers of the voices are almost impossible to see without being in close proximity......this is a good thing....
in short I like this unit......again, nothing wil replace a real Hammond and a real Leslie...but unless you have the wherewithal to tote them around...you would have to go this route......or one very similar to it...

Not a bad Box! I first heard about the unit in a Musician's Magazine several years ago. There was an article in it on Richard Goldings. Heavy jazz B3 organist. Anyway, not bore you with detail, he mention when he tours in Europe, he uses a Voce Micro B" because he could never find a club with a B3. I suppose they are rare overseas. Well if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me.. Easy to use and the presets were all the right ones..

The effects immediately caught my eye. I play B3 and this box has all the right toys. 2nd and 3rd harmonic percussion, Percussion volume and delay. I initially liked the 3 levels of chorus, 3 vibratos and a rotary speaker/leslie effect but soon found out they were limited and could not be combined as in a real B3. I really wanted Chorus and rotary control options to work at the same time. I was able to work around it as I explain later.
Pretty easy to use, I use velcro to secure it to my keyboard. Tip:Rotate the Box 90 degrees and place it on the left or right side edge of the host keyboard with the controls facing toward the middle. Now the cables will not be hang out the rear of your of your rig.

I have a trained ear to the Hammond sound and this box exhibited great possibilities. As mentioned but several other comments, the sound is a tad thin. As a stand alone it seems to lack the body of the B3 tone generator sounds. But it also does not weigh 300 pounds.
I play Jazz and R&B. I do not use a Bass Player, I play my own bass lines. I use two keyboards. My lower keyboard is used to play bass lines 100%. To get the fat Hammond sound out of the Micro B, I blend the micro with organ sounds from my upper keyboard. Now here's the trick fellow keyboard players. On the upper keyboard synthesizer, program the sound wave using only two oscillators not three. Use a sine wave form because it is clean and has the flute tones close to the Hammond. Use effects like reverb or echo only. Keep it simple. If your keyboard has rotary speed control, enable it to work using the control wheel. Program the two identical oscillators an octave apart. That setting will create the 16 and 8 foot stop commonly uses on the lower manual on a B3 for bass lines and comping when the other guys and soloing. Rotate the control wheel to fast. Finally, select preset 1 on the micro B, select 3rd harmonic & set percussion level as desired. Select RS to slow speed. Set rotary speed to fast on the keyboard. Use volume control foot pedal to control Micro B and blend the Micro over the keyboard organ you programmed. I will tell you "It Works". The doppler affect between the Micro and your keyboard really sounds like a leslie on corrale and the B3 with C1 Vibrato selected. The other preset sounds on the Micro B are equally enhanced with out changing the 16 & 8 foot stop setup on your keyboard. Try it! The sound gets rave reviews from other jazz organist musicians.

I depend on it 100%. The problem I encountered was an ocassional ground loop feedback. I thought it was my keyboard at first but I could not reproduce the problem when I took it in for service. Only happened on live gigs. Go figure. I concluded after several embarrassing interuptions that problem would go away if I reversed the polarity of the power cord on the other two keyboards or the micro B. Has not reoccurred in over a year. Other than that, no worries mate.

The Vocw website is cool. Never had to call for tech support. I appreciate the manual being available on line. I bought mine unitused from a music store with no instruction included. I would like to try the newer units like the V5 or the Micro BII. but I have not seen them locally in the stores.

If lost I would replace it with the same unit. I have been playing over 30 years. I wish this sound was available back in the day when I was touring around with a B3 and a Leslie. This is a great practical tool for the professional musician that does lots of 1 and 2 night gigs. The days or being booked 6 nights a week for 6 weeks are long gone. Its simply not practical to move a lot of heavy equipment for weekend gigs.
Overall, Great product...

This module is very self-explanatory. My only reervation is that you WILL have to experiment quite a bit to get the sound you want.

The micro B has alot of really great-sounding presets. The effects include 3 levels of chorus, 3 vibratos, overdrive, and a rotary speaker/leslie effect. I do not use any of these effects. The rotary/leslie effect sounds nice on slow, but when you speed it up it sounds dreadful, like a vaccumn cleaner with something stuck in it. The overdrive also is not great. The chorus and vibrato are O.K. The presets are great and offer a lot of variety.

The important thing to remember with this unit is that it is only useful (in my opinion) as the beginning of your hammond sound. You will need a good leslie simulator (the hughes and kettner rotosphere is INCREDIBLE - you could run a $50 casio through it and it would sound like the Small Faces) and you will need a reverb-echo. That said, you can really get some incredibly beautiful, moving, and realistic sounds out of this unit. Without augmentation, it sounds boring and tinny, BUT keep in mind how boring a real B3 can sound without a leslie, etc.

Perfectly reliable and predictable. No surprises here. We always gig with it without a backup because backups are for much richer people than me.

If it were lost or stolen... hmmm, that's a tough one. The price is right, you can usually find these on Ebay or wherever for under $250. If I lost this, I would actually probablt try to upgrade. This unit really does have great Hammond sounds, just consider it as part of a whole and not as a "B3 in a box" (sorry). I really, really wish this had some kind of built-in reverb. (Many Hammonds do.)

Overall, I consider this to have been a great investment. We've gotten a great organ sound for playing live. My band relies heavily on our organ sound and this unit has been wonderful. If you are thinking about buying one of these, keep in mind you'll probably want to buy a good leslie simulator, which will set you back another $200 - $300. Without augmentation, this unit is pretty pointless. As part of a whole system, it is awesome. For the $600 I spent on the Micro B and the Rotosphere, maybe I should have just spent $850 and gotten a more expensive, but simpler unit. (Emu, Roland VK, etc)

It doesn't get any easier

It soumds like a feekin Hammond B-3 if you run it through a leslie

A B-3 ran through a "regular" speaker sounds like crap and so will the micro-B
But at about 300 lbs. lighter the micro-B is my hammond for the road. Nothing other than the new Voce products sounds any better I like the VK-7
and it's versatillity. But for ease of use and price the Micro-B is the dude. Just don't use the electronic leslie it is a waste of time and ugly on the ears

Rugged

So far I haven't needed them :)

Sorry to disagree with some other reviewers, but I was sorely disappointed by the Micro-B. Its sound is thin, reedy and electronic -- it sounds nothing like a tonewheel Hammond. The top end is shrill while the bottom is weak. Of course anything sounds better through a Leslie, but even at $100-$150 I see no point in getting a Micro-B. The only positive is the percussion, which is a pretty good approximation of the B-3 2nd and 3rd harmonic perc tabs. Otherwise it's unconvincing and wimpy. The fact that you have to take the sounds as it gives them to you -- no drawbars, no editing -- just makes it that much less desirable. I sold mine 60 days after I bought it used and have never looked back.

The Micro B is a great organ module. It is very easy to use. Make sure your synthesizer has push presets buttons for example:1 to 36 or whatever,set the module to presets and it will correspond to your syntesizer's presets. The manual is short and very informative.

It is 32 polyphony.It can not be expanded but who needs it to be. I use this thing only because of its great organ'presets. I do not use its leslie effect which I find very displeasing rather I use the Rotosphere and the Motion Sound Pro-3t. Sometimes, even a leslie 122.

I have the new Voce V5 module also but till this day I can not part from the Micro B because IT HASSS GGGRRREEAATTT Hammond B3 sounds. I still can't tell the difference between it and a real B3 when the module is plug in a leslie 122.

I 've done two gospel concerts using the micro B. I use a Juno HS 60 keyboard and since I know which presets have my favorite settings . I press the buttons and voila I am there. I' ve sent one CD to Dave Amels and he was surprised on how good those presets sounding through the leslie. It was as though it had drawbars.Now it is being use in my home studio and it is also a reliable backup to my Voce V5. Oh you can also use a pedal board with it.

Excellent Company. Very helpful indeed.

I bought it when it first came out. You can now buy it used for a little over hundred dollars. But I never let it go because it use for a backup to the V5. But then I bought a second V5 organ module so I do have a powerful arsenal of organ modules I can go to.

Scores a 10 for ease of use. Preset half-rack module with 7 knobs (volume, overdrive, key click, effects select, percussion volume, percussion decay, preset select) and 3 buttons (percussion on/off, 2nd/3rd percussion, and rotary simulator fast/slow). Back panel: MIDI IN and THRU jacks, tuning knob, power switch and wall wart jack (12V AC, 800 mA), Ch1 and Ch2/Phones 1/4" jacks, MIDI channel selector (1-16 and omni), and foot switch jack (takes any momentary switch, like a sustain pedal) to toggle the rotary simulator speeds.
Absurdly easy. Pick a presetwith the knob (or via MIDI Program change), pick your effect (Chorus 1, 2, 3; Vibrato 1, 2, 3; rotary speaker, but only ONE effect at a time). Tweak the overdrive (much nicer than the DMI64, where distortion is simply on or off), and adjust keyclick and percussion to taste. No editing of patches, but there's a good assortment of B3 timbres. 3 split programs, and two combo organ presets (VOX continental and Farfisa Compact). Preset knob only goes to 22 plus multitimbral and Program Change positions , so you need to use Program Change commands to access the remaining 1, presets. No Display, so you've gotta stare at the knob closely or look at your synth's display.
Manual is good if brief. I never needed it, but if y're going to use it for multitimbral sequencing/playing, it helps.

Polyphony is maybe 20-32 notes (the manual doesn't say). It's a module, nonexpandable, with the built-in effects listed above. Multitimbral mode allows reception and program changes on any 3 consecutive channels (set with the knob on back). Note On/Off and program change only. Leslie speed must be triggered with the footswitch jack or the front panel button (no MIDI). Does NOT respond to MIDI volume (CC7), so get out your old volume pedal.
Not bad for ~5 years old, and they corrected the volume problem with teh MicroB II.

Tonewheel organs are great; combo organs are not as good, and that's all, folks. Excellent and cheap for Hammond sounds. If I could afford it, I would buy a Spin II stomp box, as the Leslie simulator is not modifiable. I think it speeds up too slowly (horn and rotor frequencies change at different rates) and the top speed is short of what I would consider "full out". No velocity or aftertouch responses. Would be nice to use multiple effects simultaneously (which you can on the Micro B II.)

I don't gig, but I think it is pretty bulletproof. Just don't drop it if you've balanced it on your rig to get at the effects and overdrive knobs. I would velcro it to the top of your keyboard, to keep it handy.

Voce is the greatest. Simply great people who answer phones and email (are you listening Roland?), provide info and literature upon request, and should be a model for other companies. Patronize these guys and keep them around. Dave Amels (sp?) is the organ man to talk to.
Anyone used their Electric Piano module? I'd love a good Wurli in a a halfrack, with stereo tremelo/pan. And if anyone has rackmounted a Voce halfrack module, tell me how you did it (what tray).

Definitely worth $100-150. Over that, I would look for the B II, since the lack of MIDI volume control and only one active effect limits it, and the B II remedied both of these shortcomings. Scored very favorably in the Keyboard B3 Wannabe roundup of a few years back.
Knobs are a definite plus, especially for adjusting overdrive, key click, and percussion. Others have complaied that the key release click (not adjustable on the B I, but is on the B II) is too loud on busy parts, but I can't say it's ever bothered me. Keyboard mentioned this criticism. Whatever...
Not as good for sequencing as the DMI64 (MIDI control of volume and Leslie simulator), but I seem to play with this one a lot more, probably because of the knob factor (tm). Pair this module with a good Leslie simulator (Korg G4, Voce Spin, or a Motion Sound [drool......]) and you *will* be loving life. a 4 pound B3-like sound, but not in the same league (and much older) than the V3, OB3(squared), Hammond XM1, etc but good for plug and play B3 sounds.