Ferrofish B4000+

[iandg]

Hallo, Composer Community


I have checked the Forum, and there's no hit for Ferrofish, but still, it's worth raising the question......


I'm just into my second month of using a Ferrofish B4000+, which is a bit of midi-capable hardware, very reasonably priced for what it does, which is: it is a digital clone of the Hammond B3, with a few additional capabilities.


In programming/control terms, it's a pretty 'big' set of controls and possibilities. Easy to make horrid sounds very quickly, making musical ones takes a bit longer. At this stage I've done enough of the latter to be impressed and hopeful.


So - anyone else using one ? And if you are, would you be interested to compare notes and wrinkles from time to time ?


Sincerely


Ian Graham

Wales UK.
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[dj]

Hi, Ian:


First time I've been made aware of the Ferrofish module.


I see mixed reviews about it online, but if it works for your music, then that's the tool you should have.


I just got a Behringer Model D (Moog Minimoog clone) early in the summer, so my wife would have a few objections to adding another module to the lineup.


She says the three Hammonds in the house already should be enough.


My wife doesn't understand me.


All the best.


David

[iandg]

Hallo, David.


Let's convene a men's shed for a moment.......My equivalent formulation is that I am continually striving for tones that 'my wife won't blench at'...!


The B4000+ is at the cheap end of its particular market, I think, and it's not perfect. But the more I get to know it, the more I suspect that a lot of the negative comment which I too have seen on a couple of forums in particular is either actually second-hand, or from people who haven't been prepared to put in the hard yards.



Probably the thing I'm finding most difficult to manage/suit is the actual amplification and speaking. In the nature of things, one tends to want to use some sounds that in terms of pitch and harmonic are fairly demanding of whatever you speak it through. I suspect that if I could take it into a public performance space and play it out through the house PA, the sound might be rather splendid.



3 Hammonds in one house ! Do you have mates round to play trios !


Regards


Ian G

[Sherry C]

Hi Ian,

Originally Posted by iandg

Probably the thing I'm finding most difficult to manage/suit is the actual amplification and speaking. In the nature of things, one tends to want to use some sounds that in terms of pitch and harmonic are fairly demanding of whatever you speak it through. I suspect that if I could take it into a public performance space and play it out through the house PA, the sound might be rather splendid.

Yes, the equipment is a HUGE factor. I play bass at our church, and have always used my personal rig there for just that reason. The monitor system that we have works great for vocals and guitar, and part of the piano But when trying to hear the bass through those puny monitors, let's just say I can't.



There's also a huge range of speaker types that work great for certain types of music, but not for others. When I was trying out different speaker cabs (using the same amp and settings) for guitar and bass, it was astounding to me to hear the differences between the speaker types (eg. neodynium vs. "conventional" magnets). Then using the same cab but different amps does the same thing only of course because of different factors. You put that in a matrix where you mix the amps and the cabs, and the timbre of the sounds you can get is almost limitless. I know some guys who have different amps and cabs depending on the gig they're playing.



So yes, equipment makes a huge difference in the quality of the sound you get! I hope you have or get some that makes your sound glorious


ttfn,
Sherry

[iandg]

Yes, thanks, Sherry - very interesting to have such circumstantial confirmation of my own rather uninformed impressions.

Paul Schellbecher at http://www.theatreorgans.com/hammond/paul.htm has some interesting anecdotal detail about amplifying an actual B3 in a large building, and inter alia suggests that actually a not-too-integrated use of more than one set of out-puts may improve the overall sound, in his opinion. For the moment, I am (when I have everything 'up and on', which is, for obvious domestic reasons, not always) using two unrelated pairs of speakers through a fairly decent amp, plus a pair of active speakers, and that seems to me to confirm his claim.But I think at some point it will probably be worth taking advice and investing in some new system or systems.


Just to leave a further note for anyone who may happen on this thread in the future. Two months into my use of the B4000+, I am making some sounds that I am at ease with, both in the obvious Hammond territory, and in the playing the best of C18th English organ music, and in arranging e.g. pieces from Bach's French Suites.

As a piece of kit, it is not perfect. Perhaps the most intrusive 'fault' is that there is some uneven speaking on specific notes which is probably a plus in a fairly 'heavy' registration, but less welcome in lighter ones. There are more expensive alternatives which a newcomer might want to listen to if they have the finance, but I'm getting a lot of pleasure out of this, and expect to continue to do so.