IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X IK Multimedia

The first real Hammond organ for Mac/PC

Hammond B-3X is the next-level organ virtual instrument that delivers an unprecedented new degree of realism and detail to give musicians full immersion into the electro-mechanical Hammond organ experience with all its soul, passion and vibe. Created in close collaboration with both the Hammond Organ Company, of Chicago, Illinois, and Suzuki Musical Instruments Mfg. of Hamamatsu, Japan, the Hammond B-3X instrument captures the authentic sound and vibe of the legendary Hammond B-3, with a comprehensive, wholistic approach. The end result delivers the full sonic impact that this legendary organ has made on generations of musicians and modern music as we know it.

IK has combined this groundbreaking sound with a full rig FX chain including stomp effects, a full Leslie™ rotary cabinet with multiple microphones, a variety of mix-and-match power amp and cabinet models, a parallel guitar amp with 4×12 cabinet, a full mixer and even post-mixer effects, to completely recreate the entire signal path and character of these instruments, as used across the history of modern music.

It’s all about the details

In true IK style, Hammond B-3X approaches the instrument the way the original hardware organ works. B-3X starts with 91 free-running tonewheels, based on several meticulously-maintained Hammond organs, and mixes those in real-time based on the note and the drawbar levels for absolute realism.

IK’s industry-leading modeling then faithfully recreates tonal filtering, independent key click, and the iconic Hammond percussion and chorus-vibrato circuits to recreate the massive, organic feel of the real instrument. All the settings, controls and circuits were modeled to IK’s exacting standards and every detail checked and re-checked with the team at the Hammond Organ Company.

You can even simulate the effects of “aging” components, controlling tonal balance, generator leakage and crosstalk, and even the presence boost of the chorus circuit. See how deep it goes.

True tone and real feel

The controls of Hammond B-3X are designed to recreate the exact experience of playing a classic hardware B-3 organ, but with a bit of modern convenience. Every element, from the order of chorus/vibrato settings to the placement of the percussion switches, is exactly how it should be. The drawbars even update in real-time when you select the inverted drawbar settings keys, allowing you the ability to also save 24 custom drawbar settings per preset. For live use, a “Controls” view hides the keyboard and enlarges the drawbars and switches for less distraction while playing. And there’s even included MIDI assignments for modern Hammond digital organs, making it plug-and-play easy to perform with everything right at your fingertips.

Classic organ effects

The organ feeds a 5-unit pedalboard in the STOMPS section with overdrive, graphic EQ, stomp box-style chorus-vibrato, wah wah and spring reverb. Derived from IK’s award-winning AmpliTube and T-RackS software, these effects are carefully chosen and arranged to make it easy to recreate the widest range of iconic tonewheel organ sounds, and can be assigned
to MIDI control for on-stage use.