Along with its innovative writing tools, Toontrack’s EZKeys 2 (reviewed here in SOS August 2023) can be kitted out with a huge collection of piano and organ sounds courtesy of the company’s range of EKX expansion packs. The latest arrival, Session Organ EKX, captures Hammond’s iconic B-3 organ using a mixture of sampling and modelling, and offers three sets of user-controllable drawbars, a 25-note bass pedal console, a modelled Leslie speaker cabinet and much more.
To create the latest expansion, Toontrack say that they obtained the best example of a B-3 that they could find, and set about carefully sampling all 91 of its spinning tonewheels. The resulting samples have been merged with the company’s modelling techniques, allowing the final expansion to emulate the sound of the original instrument as closely as possible whilst also recreating traits such as key clicks and offering realistic vibrato and chorus effects. In addition to the instrument itself, Toontrack also sourced a Leslie 122 rotary cabinet and captured over 120 impulse responses, ensuring that Session Organ EKX is capable of delivering an authentic emulation of the classic combination.
There’s plenty of control on offer thanks to fully adjustable upper, lower and pedal drawbars, as well as Dynamics, Scanner Vibrato, Percussion and Key Click sections equipped with parameters that make it possible to fine-tune the instrument’s sound. The Leslie emulation is equipped with Slow, Fast and Brake switches, and also features a set of controls that offer adjustment of the seven microphones used to capture the cabinet. All of the controls can be adjusted from within the software or assigned to a MIDI controller, and a collection of mix-ready presets are provided, covering a wide range of musical styles.
As you’d expect, the expansion benefits from all of the innovative features and functions of EZKeys 2 such as the built-in grid editor and Bandmate feature, and comes supplied with a collection of approximately 600 MIDI files that are unique to this release.
Compatibility
Session Organ EKX requires a copy of Toontrack’s EZKeys 2 virtual instrument, which is supported on PCs running Windows 7 and above, and Macs running macOS 10.10 or higher. VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available, along with a standalone application.
Pricing & Availability
Session Organ EKX is available now, priced at €89.
