GSi VB3-II - Virtual Tonewheel Organ

• 2003: First experiments - a free plugin was released under the name ORGANized trio;
  
• 2006: After important developments, the name was changed to VB3 (Virtual B3) and a first version was released as a shareware;
  
• 2007: The first major update of VB3 version 1 introduced some new features such as the virtual 9-key contacts and the Ambience and Cabinet parameters that gave a boost of realism to the rotary amp simulation;
  
• 2008: VB3 was adapted to be preinstalled on a hardware organ called Hamichord;
  
• 2009: A stripped-down version of VB3 was included in GSi's plugin Key Performer, specifically made for the V-Machine;
  
• 2010: That same version was adapted as a dedicated software for the 3rd version of the Hamichord called VB3 Hamichord Edition;
  
• 2011: The VB3 Hamichord Edition was released with a new editor interface with loads of new innovative parameters, including several tonewheel generators to choose from, the Drawbar Trims, and features such as the percussion Paradise Mod and the rotary effect Memphis Style;
  
• 2011: The whole VB3 HE was rewritten from the ground up with new detailed leakage and crosstalk algorithms, new rotary effect, new features such as Resistor Wires, rotary Front Stop, and so on... and was renamed to VB3 Crumar Edition 2
  
• 2014: VB3 became officially VB3-II but was only dedicated to hardware DSP-based Crumar and GSi instruments such as the GSi Gemini and the new Crumar Mojo line;
  
• 2017: VB3-II received major improvements such as a new overdrive, new parameters for the rotary effect, and a complex crosstalk algorithm;
  
• 2018: The same VB3-II that powered our hardware instruments was finally released as a plugin for Windows and Mac computers;
  
• 2019: VB3-II resulted as one of the most cracked plugins... This let us down a little bit, so we decided to take a pause from it and dedicate ourselves to new projects;
  
• 2020: VB3-II had its first 1:1 hardware counterpart, the Crumar Mojo Desktop;
  
• 2023: We've been quite busy with other projects but in the end we got to refresh the whole plugin, totally rebuilt once again from the ground up.

Features already present in the 2018 edition:

• Full polyphony (61 upper + 61 lower + 25 pedals = 147 notes)
• 91 modeled tonewheels with accurate phase synchronization
• Adjustable leakage noise and cross modulation between tonewheels
• A total of 22 different tonewheel generators to choose from
• Generator shaping for a total of 154 generator combinations
• Adjustable global tuning from 430 to 450 Hz
• Foldback on 16" deactivatable
• Complex wheels
• Resistor wiring with multiple options
• Realistic "run" motor wow and flutter
• Busbars and 9 key contact simulation
• Two separate sets of drawbars per manual
• Full "inverted octave" presets
• String Bass with adjustable release time
• Loudness "robbing" effect
• Single triggered percussion with natural capacitor discharge/recharge
• Adjustable Percussion Level and Decay
• Vibrato/Chorus virtual scanner
• Adjustable Vibrato Scanner depth and mix
• Separated Upper and Lower V/C tablets with smooth switching
• Dynamic tube overdrive simulation
• Spring Reverb (pre) and Digital stereo reverb (post)
• Rotary speaker simulation with virtual microphone positioning, tube overdrive, tube feedback
• Rotors "Front Stop" brake position with adjustable preferred position
• Very low CPU consumption
• Advanced MIDI Learn function with import/export of custom mappings
• Upper and Lower manuals SPLIT with adjustable split point
• Supports pedal sustain
• Custom programmer with import/export of Programs and Banks

VB3-II MAIN SCREEN

1. Top part: programmer and navigation buttons
2. Middle part: main organ console controls
3. Bottom part: drawbars

A Premise: difference between Programs and Drawbar Presets

TOP PART: PROGRAMMER AND NAVIGATION BUTTONS

• The GSi VB3-II Logo: click here to see the About Screen reporting the current version number and build date.
• WRITE button: click this button if you have modified or created a new program and want to save it. A new page opens where you can enter the Program Name. If you leave the name unchanged, the current Program will be overwritten; if you type a different name, a new Program will be added to the list.
• FILES button: click this button to access the Program Manager where you can perform actions on Program and Bank files.
• Program Browser: click the name of the Program to show the drop-down list from which you can select a different Program.
• Program Previous and Next buttons, to quickly scroll the Programs without opening the list.
• EDIT button: click to open the sound editing page.
• SETTINGS button: click to open the global settings and Midi Map page.
• HELP button: you've clicked it to show this Manual.

MIDDLE PART: ORGAN CONSOLE CONTROLS

1. The Volume knob works on top of everything, including the Volume tab and the Swell pedal;
2. The Volume can go down to zero while the Swell Pedal, which is an expression control, does not shut the volume completely off;
3. There's a middle band for the EQ in the EDIT EFFECTS page;
4. There are more Key Click parameters in the EDIT ORGAN page;
5. The overdrive is put between the organ and the rotary effect and is always active even when the rotary effect is bypassed. It can be deactivated only when this knob is set to zero;
6. The Reverb knob adjusts the level of the digital reverb that comes after the rotary effect; there are more parameters for it, and there's also a Spring Reverb before the rotary effect.

1. The Dice: click it to generate a random Program. This will affect all drawbars and tabs, but will exclude some controls and will not affect any editing parameter.
2. The Keyboard: click it to invoke the on-screen keyboards. You can then choose whether to show both full-sized keyboards or one single 3-octave keyboard.
3. The Cassette: click this to open the Session Recorder page.
4. The Audio Player: click this to open the Audio Player page.

BOTTOM PART: DRAWBARS

QUICK MIDI LEARN

THE PROGRAM MANAGER

THE FILE MENU

EDIT ORGAN

EDIT EFFECTS

PRE-ROTARY EFFECTS

ROTARY EFFECT

• Horn slow: 0,77 Hz = 46,2 RPM
• Horn fast: 6,9 Hz = 414 RPM
• Bass slow: 0,72 Hz = 43,2 RPM
• Bass fast: 6,4 Hz = 384 RPM
• Horn ramp up: 1 second
• Horn ramp down: 0,8 seconds
• Bass ramp up: 6 seconds
• Bass ramp down: 3,5 seconds

AMPLIFIER SELECTION

POST-ROTARY EFFECTS

• Level: this is a copy of the Reverb level knob found on the main page (thus the different color).
• Decay: adjusts the average reverb tail length.
• Damp: simulates various types of reflecting walls, from tiles to absorber panels.
• Diffusion: adjusts the diffusion of traveling waves across the reflecting surfaces.
• Pre-delay: adjusts the time between the direct sound and the early reflections.
• Room size: adjusts the size of the virtual room, from a small cabinet to a large tunnel.
• High / Low shelf: adjust the amount of treble or bass frequencies to be to cut off the sound before starting to reverberate.

SUB-PRESETS

REMOTE INPUT

REMOTE INPUT PLUGIN

• Click Allow Access. This will only be asked once. It's all local, so there's no actual risk for your computer.
• Load VB3-II in an instrument track of your favorite DAW application (Cubase, Logic, etc.).
• Create an Audio track that receives input from your audio device (microphone or line in) or contains pre-recorded sound material.
• Load VB3-II Remote Input plugin as an insert effect on this audio track.

• By enabling Audio Pass Thru, the audio coming from the track will go from the input to the output, otherwise is just muted.
• Enable Send Audio to send the audio track to VB3-II. It will be processed by the whole effect chain as described in the EDIT EFFECTS page.
• Enable Send MIDI if the track receives MIDI messages from an external source. This will be merged with VB3-II normal MIDI input.
• Enable Send VoMidiCoder to enable this function.

What is VoMidiCoder?

SESSION RECORDER

AUDIO PLAYER

Channel Solo

THE FREE CLOUD SERVICE

GLOBAL SETTINGS

• OFF (default): ignore the messages;
• Rotary Slow/Fast (Latch): use the sustain pedal to switch between rotary speeds (slow or fast) in latched mode, i.e. the speed changes each time the pedal is pushed and released;
• Rotary Slow/Fast (Momentary): use the sustain pedal to switch between rotary speeds (slow or fast) in momentary mode, i.e. hold the pedal down for slow, release for fast;
• Rotary Stop/Fast (Latch): like above, but the switching occurs between the stop position and the fast speed only;
• Rotary Stop/Fast (Momentary): like above, but the switching occurs between the stop position and the fast speed only;
• Sustain Upper, Lower, All: decide whether to use the sustain pedal to sustain notes on the upper manual only, or on the lower manual only, or on both manuals.

• Enable Background Audio: Only available for the Mobile version, keeps the audio engine running even when the App is in the background (Watch for battery consumption! Always kill unused Apps!)
• Manage License: If you're running VB3-II in Demo Mode on a Desktop Computer, click here to insert your license if you have one.
• Device Settings: Click here to select your Audio and Midi devices and related options.

MIDI MONITOR

MIDI MAP

1. Move a control on your control surface;
2. Double click on the Parameter name (first column) in the list for the parameter you wish to assign to that controller.

JAVASCRIPT MIDI PROCESSOR

JAVASCRIPT MIDI PROCESSOR

// Source event types
VB3.fromCC()    // intercepts a Midi CC message, the value must be integer between 0 and 127 (7 bits)
VB3.fromRPN()   // intercepts RPN or NRPN messages, the value must be integer between 0 and 16383 (14 bits)
VB3.fromSYX()   // intercepts a System Exclusive string, the value is the 0-index byte number taken as CC value
VB3.fromPB()    // intercepts a Pitch Bender message, the value is internally converted to the 7 bit range (0 to 127)
VB3.fromNote()  // intercepts a Note On or Off message, the value is 0 for note-off and 127 for note-on
VB3.fromAft()   // intercepts Channel Pressure (aftertouch)

// Destination event
VB3.toCC() // determines the destination CC number

// Channels
VB3.fromChan() // looks for events on a specific Midi Channel (1-16)
VB3.toChan()   // changes the event's Midi Channel

// Modifiers
VB3.withRange(min, max) // Scales the incoming value to the given range between min and max
VB3.withToggle(mode)    // Toggles a value between its min and max value 
// mode can be: 0 = disable, 1 = only when input=max, 2 = when input=max or input=min (see example below)

// Utilities
VB3.log(text) // prints text to the output window
VB3.get() // retrieves the last value

// Transforms incoming CC 7 to CC 11 on the same channel
VB3.fromCC(7).toCC(11);

// Same as above but applies the transformation only if the CC 7 comes on channel 4
VB3.fromCC(7).toCC(11).fromChan(4);

// Same as above but listens to channel 4 and sets channel 1
VB3.fromCC(7).toCC(11).fromChan(4).toChan(1);

// Transforms RPN (or NRPN) with MSB=20 and LSB=8 to CC n. 1
// You can either specify the 14-bit RPN number (in this case it's 2568) or use bitshift operators
VB3.fromRPN((20 << 7) + 8).toCC(1); // Same as VB3.fromRPN(2568).toCC(1);

// Transforms byte n. 4 of a SysEx string to CC 10 on channel 1
// If the SysEx string contains less than 4 bytes, this directive will be created but won't have any effect
VB3.fromSYX(4).toCC(10).toChan(1);

// Use aftertouch (channel pressure) to toggle Rotary Speeds between slow and fast
// PLEASE NOTE: this could conflict with the global option "Rotary Speed via Aftertouch", make sure it's turned off
VB3.fromAft().toCC(1).withToggle(1);

// Use a key switch mapped to note 36 (C) to toggle Rotary Speeds between stop and fast
VB3.fromNote(36).toCC(1).withToggle(1).withRange(64, 127);

VB3.fromPB().toCC(1).withToggle(2);

// Transform RPN 501 to 509 to CC numbers from 12 to 20:
for (cc = 12; cc <= 20; cc++)
{
    VB3.fromRPN(501 - 12 + cc).toCC(cc);
    VB3.log("NPN " + VB3.get() + " to CC: " + cc);
}

VB3.add("CC", 7, 11); // Transforms CC 7 to 11
VB3.add("CC", 7, 11, 4); // Transforms to 11 only CC 7 coming on channel 4, leaving channel unchanged
VB3.add("CC", 7, 11, 4, 1); // Transforms to 11 the CC 7 coming on channel 4 and sets channel 1
VB3.add("RPN", 2568, 1); // Transforms RPN MSB=20 LSB=8 to CC 1
VB3.add("SYX", 4, 1, 0, 3); // Transforms 4th byte of incoming sysex string to CC 1 and sets channel 3
VB3.add("PB", 0, 1); // Transforms the Pitch Bender value to CC 1 
VB3.add("NOTE", 40, 1); // Transforms the Note #40 on/off to CC 1 values 0 or 127
VB3.add("AFT", 40, 1); // Transforms the Aftertouch (channel pressure) to CC 1

License Activation on Desktop computer

1. the sound goes silent for 2 seconds every 30;
2. all file operations (import/export, load/save) aren't accessible;
3. the free Cloud service can't be used.

AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION

MANUAL ACTIVATION

• Take note of the Machine ID code that appears in the registration form, write it down on paper or copy/paste it in a text file and save it onto a USB memory.
  
• Go to the online computer, open the browser and navigate to www.GenuineSoundware.com/Activate then select the appropriate software name from the drop-down list, insert your License Code and click Search.
  
• Once there, paste (or type) your Machine ID into the appropriate field, and give a name to this Authorization then click CREATE NEW ACTIVATION.
  
• At this point you should see a Response Code that may also be quite long, so copy it (click on COPY) and paste it into the text file you created before, then save it onto the USB memory again.
  
• Return to the offline computer, back at the software's registration screen, paste your License Code, paste your Response Code and click REGISTER.
  
• If everything was done correctly, the software is now activated.

Activating a Desktop license on iPad

END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

1 - VB3-II License

1.2 LIMITATIONS

1.3 COPYRIGHT

1.4 BACKUP COPY

1.5 OWNERSHIP

2 - WARRANTIES

3 - LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

4 - DISPUTE