Wersi HD Series – New VB3-II Material

I’ve tried this and there are some great drawbars sounds. It is definitely worth taking a closer look at Jeff’s comments and demo’s below – Curt.

I’m pleased to announce that the OAX edition of the Wersi HD Series Upgrade Manual is now up to date with the inclusion of Chapter 7 – “Installing and Configuring VB3-II“. If you’re into your drawbar sounds, I can thoroughly recommend this new version for both quality and authenticity. If you missed my review of the software you can read it at:-

http://www.wersiclub-ukfocus.org.uk/Jeff%20Ormerod/VB3%20II%20Review.pdf

Unlike previous versions that had to be run exclusively within a VST/AU host, this new edition also includes a stand-alone version, making it much easier to install, configure and operate. And better still, whereas the VST/AU host versions required the VB3 presets to be set up in the host, in the stand-alone edition they can now be accessed directly from the OAX total presets.

Since software of this type is typically designed to run on a wide range of midi based systems, it’s necessary to construct a customised configuration to run on the Wersi. This is detailed in the Upgrade Manual. Once again I’m indebted to Curt from WersiClub USA for testing out this configuration on OAX, and for verifying that it works. You can find Chapter 7 of the OAX Upgrade Manual at:-

http://www.wersiorganshowcase.com/oaxmanualp2.html

I’ve also replaced the ‘VB3 Virtual Hammond Organ’ entry on the ‘Sample Sets and Demos’ section with information on the new VB3-II software. For the demos, I’ve retained the original VB3 recordings of ‘Wave’ and ‘Go West’. The reason for this is that I had for some time a late 1960s Hammond tonewheel organ, and both versions of this software can equally well replicate that sound. The difference however is that the VB3 version only has three different tonewheel models, and they all sound pretty similar, so a good deal of tweaking was necessary both in the software and in the AU host (Mainstage) to obtain an authentic sound. The VB3-II version has 22 completely different tonewheel models, so it was necessary only to select the appropriate model and this sounded just right without any further adjustment. But as the great Groucho Marx once said, “These are my principles, if you don’t like ’em, I’ve got others!”. With 22 different tonewheel models to choose from, and a much larger set of tonal controls than the VB3 version, you can get any sound you like.

For the demo of ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ by Procol Harum, I thought it would be fun to try something different. I have a note by note transcription of the Hammond Organ part played by the group’s organist, Mathew Fisher, on the original recording. It’s an extremely well-constructed arrangement that provides a perfect counterpoint to the vocal, but we don’t often get to hear this as the vocal takes precedence, so I decided to feature this for the VB3-II demo. The group always denied that the organ part was based on Bach’s ‘Air on the G String’, but it’s very Bach like in character so I thought it would be good to give the demo a classical flavour and use strings for the melody. As a taster of things to come then, we have the entire string section of the 109 piece orchestra playing for us from Spitfire Audio’s Albion One orchestral library. And as an extra treat, this is the extended version of the song with an extra verse and organ solo taken from the group’s “Live at the Union Chapel” performance in December 2003. The new VB3-II material and demos can be found at:-

http://www.wersiorganshowcase.com/vb3.html

Enjoy,

Jeff