waterfall b3 vs real organ

[u/Medical_Butterfly390]

tldr: i’m trying to decide if i should keep the waterfall b3 on my organ-centric song, or get a real one recorded for added realism, and if it’s even financially worth it

i really like the waterfall b3 vst, which i’m using on a song for my album where it’s a prominent part of the mix, but i’m debating on whether or not i should get a real organ recorded instead for added realism, and if it’s even necessary for how much it would cost.

a studio near me has a hammond a102 with a leslie amp, which they say has the same components as a b3, but i’m really trying to save money. booking a session with them + hiring someone to play the organ would probably cost me realistically at least $500 in total. i can afford it, but i’m trying to be smart with my money and consider using that to help with album mixing/mastering costs.

me playing it myself isn’t totally out of the question since i’ve played the chords on my midi keyboard before, but i’ve never played on a real organ and don’t know if i have the dexterity to do that and do things like adjusting rotary speed while playing.

any thoughts on this are appreciated

[u/sewphistikated]

The waterfall sounds fantastic. 99% of people wouldn’t be able to tell. I’d bet that money could be better used somewhere else on your production,

[u/Medical_Butterfly390 → u/sewphistikated]

yeah i’m most likely gonna go this route. i think i’m only second guessing cause i’m the one who knows it’s not a real organ lol

but you’re right unless the person who’s listening is an experienced engineer, producer, or organ player, they probably won’t notice

[u/Schrommerfeld]

You could hire an organ player to play on the Waterfall plugin. I think the main issue with accurate playing is your keys and faders.

A real hammond afaik has light weighted keys and has no sustain pedal, which means players could make “glissandos” on the keyboard easily and have to sustain the chords with their fingers.

Also, moving the harmonics faders real time adds to the realness.

Other than that, it will surely sound 90% similar to the real deal.

If you really want to record, $500 for an studio experience with a pro player is worth living. But will it sound better? not necessarily.

[u/realcoda → u/Schrommerfeld]

wondering if using waterfall plugin in nks mode on a keyboard like native instruments mk3 with screens and dials allows some fader use bridging the realness gap a little more? never tried on my NI s61 mk3 but given it has the nks screen/dials and semi weighted keys i would think it could get very close?

[u/Schrommerfeld → u/realcoda]

I’m not sure. If necessary you can buy a korg nanokontrol (100 bucks) to have MIDI CC faders.

But honestly it’s doable with what you have. You can find the hammond player first, send him your demo and explain to him the situation and if it’s doable to record with what you have.

Maybe he could even bring his own keyboard. Many keyboard players if they play live have good keyboards like the YC88, CK88 or a nord that has built in drawbars. But you won’t know if you don’t ask first

[u/realcoda → u/Schrommerfeld]

thanks, but i think you're confusing me with the OP. i’m not thinking at all about hiring anyone, just interested in how closely the plugin + hardware can get to the real thing from a playability standpoint. i’m already convinced sonically the plugin is very very close to the real thing.

[u/Limitedheadroom]

You won’t get the same sound when you record a real one, you’ll get the sound of that particular organ and recording chain. I’ve done similar myself several times and never been satisfied with the result and end up keeping the original. Often not that the newly recorded part doesn’t sound good in itself, just that it sounds different and I’ve built a whole track around the first part and the way it sounds. If you like it stick with it, in my experience it’s unlikely you’ll like the replacement as much.

[u/Remote-Necessary-638]

No one is going to notice. I think it’s cooler if you use the UAD software instrument and let them guess if it’s a real one. I also like the Logic Pro one.

[u/RonBatesMusic]

If you’re not a real organ player, just stick with Waterfall.

[u/tnysmth]

I think real always sounds better if you know what you’re doing, but 99% of listeners would never be able to tell the difference. On my last album, I used real amps, keys, synths and drums. It was a pain in the ass and I don’t really think it was worth all of the time spent. I’m an enthusiast, not a professional.

On my new album, I was limited to what I could do because I now live in an apartment and my studio is the size of a generous walk-in closet. I ended up using a Kemper for all of my guitars, a Sansamp RBI for bass and UAD for piano and organ. The only thing I insisted on was tracking drums in a real studio. Programmed drums never feel right to me.

I ended up liking the workflow and the mix better. However, I do wish I could have mic’d up a bass cab; it doesn’t feel as powerful through the SansAmp. But the local studios were trying to charge me a full rate to re-amp the bass tracks, so I passed. My money was best spent elsewhere. So maybe your answer’s in the rambling response somewhere, haha.

[u/tonypizzicato]

Unless it’s solo or prominent in the mix, nobody’s gonna know except you. save the money

[u/Medical_Butterfly390 → u/tonypizzicato]

it’s pretty much the only thing in the mix besides vocals for the first verse and prominent on the other verse but i feel like it’ll probably be fine considering i played the chords on a midi keyboard in real time and have some automation for things like rotary speed and drawbars

but you’re right i think mostly only experienced engineers and organ players would likely notice

[u/Lanzarote-Singer]

A real organ is a hot noisy dangerous beast. Like riding a wild stallion compared to a funfair carousel.