jfarey

Hi guys and gals. Thought I'd share my experiences with these two amps. Also I have a few questions for the techies out there. In the last year I've had an increase of demand for organ from my various bands/gigs so I thought I'd take the plunge into a rotary horn amp. (I also got a Nord Stage 88 so as to have a decent B3 simulation). I'm basically a piano player and I've traditionally used synth organ settings and fake Leslie sounds with Kurzweil, Roland etc. etc. keyboards. I started with the Motion Sound KBR-3D. I would describe this a fun and interesting unit but hardly adequate for a serious player. Not enough power or high end, it's screechy, the built in mics suck, the "low rotor" out carries the entire frequency range (!!), the craftsmanship is shoddy. The 2nd channel (which directs the output to a stationary speaker instead of the rotor) sounds brittle and is really weak and unusable even in the lowest volume performance environment. The foot pedal is the worst thing I've ever seen, with a battery holder that is held in place with velcro. It's just not road worthy. I have to carry it around on a pillow! I haven't yet been able to jury rig another pedal to work (the pedal thing is an entire saga unto itself). I just bought the 3300 which costs a bit more but is obviously light years above the KBR-3D. It's bigger and heavier, but is a much more serious device and my initial impressions are really positive. It's clear, loud, expressive, has all the right gain and tube distortion adjustments, and pretty much sounds like a classic Leslie (at least to my untrained ear). And, joy oh joy, a Boss foot switch magically works with it! (the Leslie foot switch is back ordered). So, now for the techies: Any suggestions for improvements, tube upgrades or other tweaks for either of these units? I'll keep the KBR-3D for low volume situations (e.g. rehearsals and piano bars!) (plus I hate selling useful gear anyway). Also, my deepest thanks to Jim for all he has done to promote and educate us about playing and configuring the Hammond organ.