Native Instruments B4

The Native Instruments B4 is a software plug-in that emulates the look and sounds of the classic Hammond B3 tonewheel organ and rotating speaker. With an authentic looking B3 complete with drawbars, dual manuals (keyboards) and a pedal keyboard, the plug-in is very visual and intuitive to use. It even features a nifty rear-view for tweaking more adjustment parameters, kind of like the real thing! Unlike the old B3's however, the new plug-in adds flexibility in sound generation and seamless integration into the studio that the original never had.. and at a fraction of the cost.
The B4 can create all the classic B3 type sounds with stunning clarity and detail while emulating the effects of rotating speakers, tube circuitry and other electro-mechanical functions that made the B3 a legend. The sounds are physically modeled and Native Instruments has included such B3 nuances as harmonic foldback, drawbar crosstalk and loudness robbing for an authentic recreation.The B4 plug-in should be part of any VST set-up. Sure it could be used to make church music or take you out to the ball game. But it is also capable of sounds used by such legendary artists as Pink Floyd to Herbie Hancock to Air to Portishead. For use on Macintosh or Windows, by itself or as a plug-in with any VST 2.0, Audio Units, or RTAS compatible music apps. Demo sounds and Plug-In demos and updates are available at Native Instruments and their B4 Page.

NEWS: The new DXi B4 update is now available and can be downloaded. It adds full DXi support to the B4 Organ and allows the perfect integration into Cakewalk's digital multitrack recording system Sonar. You can now use the B4 as a Sonar plug-in and benefit from all DXi features, such as seamless control and automation via MIDI track, routing to audio tracks and auxiliary sends, and much more.

Available as of November, 2001 comes the NATIVE INSTRUMENTS Studio Collection Pro Tools Edition. This is a bundle of RTAS plug-ins for Pro Tools which include the B4, Pro-52 vintage synth, and Battery drum sampler. For $999 (list) these synths and sampler can be used seamlessly within Pro Tools (TDM/LE/Free).
Specifications
Polyphony - Unlimited (depending on CPU power)
Oscillators - 91 modeled tonewheels
Keyboard - 2 manuals and pedal keyboard; 9 drawbars per manual
Speaker - Emulated rotary speaker
Effects - scanner vibrato/chorus; tube distortion sound
Memory - Save Patches directly to your hard disk or as part of a VST sequence/MIDI file.
Macintosh - Mac OS 8.6 or higher, PPC 604, 233 MHz, 64 MB RAM
VST 2, Audio Units, RTAS, Core Audio, Core MIDI, ASIO
Windows/PC - Windows 98/2000/ME/XP, Pentium 233 MHz, 64 MB RAM.
VST 2, DXi, RTAS (XP only), ASIO, MME
Date Produced - 2000
Est. Value - $199
$999 for Native Instruments Studio Collection For Pro Tools Edition (includes: Pro-52, B4, Battery)