From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Sat Jun 28 04:50:17 2003
Subject:Re: Questions as I ready new BX3 for gigging

Hi Bruce.

>I've just replaced my XK2-based gig rig with a brand spankin' new
>BX3, and so far I'm extremely pleased. Great tone, and as one member
>recently noted to my amusement, it actually fights back when you
>play - an unexpected benefit of its dual-manual heft. LUV - IN - IT!
>
>Some questions for the BX3 (and CX3) vets...
>
>I've decided not to put the included stand on the road. Too cool to
>trash. What solutions have other BX3 players found for gigging?

I use an Ultimate Support "A" stand; the shorter Dakota 2-tier, rather than the standard 3-tier. USS will sell you all kinds of standard and not-so-standard parts for it direct from the factory, so I added another tier to the front to as an "anti-sway bar." It works reasonably well to keep the beast from moving around during playing -- there is a tiny bit of side-to-side movement, but absolutely no up-and-down -- and is certainly lighter and easier to set up. On the down side, it looks a bit like a Crown Victoria (I said, "a whale") sitting on a porch swing! ;^) It looks better if the back leg of the stand is straight up, with the front (keyboard side) leg stretched out a bit; this setup also allows me to add another tier right above the BX-3 for my AN1x synth. I could probably have put the AN1x on the top of the BX-3, but there's just barely enough room for the rubber feet, so I was concerned about it falling down and dinging up the organ.

I've been debating on getting additional parts from USS to duplicate the basic shape of the BX-3's wooden stand. Four shorter bars with T-braces would duplicate each side leg nicely, and then three longer tubes could make the middle. The whole thing would weigh less than 10 lbs., and be up to road abuse. The total cost would probably be around $200-250 if you didn't have an old stand for parts; the alternative would be to buy a second road case for the wooden legs, which probably costs at least as much. (And no, none of Gator's cases will fit the legs; I already checked.)

The other approach -- which you alluded to in your email -- would be to make a second set of legs shaped like the old ones, then just paint them satin black. This way a) you wouldn't care if they got dinged up; and b) a little touch-up with black paint now and then would hide the really bad scuffs.

>Also, are there any helpful guidelines for programming Leslie spool
>up/down times for maximum musicality and realism? I'm trying to get
>the onboard Leslie to behave more like my beloved 147, which has a
>quicker response overall than most of the presets I've encountered.

As Joe Kasper mentioned, I have settings on my CloneWheel site --

www.ashbysolutions.com/clonewheel/

You may not find these to be exactly what you're looking for, but they are a start. I created them by hooking up my Leslie 251 to MIDI and comparing the two; the speed portion was tweaked by watching the Leslie while listening to the CX-3's simulator. I keep my Leslie well-oiled and services, and my lower belt at moderate tension. I've actually modified a couple of the parameters since I posted the note, but I haven't touched the speed settings. David Jacques posted his settings to clone one of his '60s vintage B-3s (or was it the '59?) in an email a while back; check the archives.

The website also provides a DIY suggestion for damping the vibrato select knob.

Regards,

-BW
--
Bruce Wahler
Ashby Solutions™ http://music.ashbysolutions.com
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com