To get best sound 
by Lu from So. California, September 2008
Music Background:  Pro Musician

Just an update on my review from last year - it is imperative that you play the XM-2 with the unit volume knob turned clockwise all the way to the right. This is necessary to get the richest Hammond organ sound possible from the unit. I discovered this by turning the volume knob to various positions, and then adjusting the volume on the amp to where desired. But turning the unit volume all the way up first, and then adjusting the amp volume after, gives you a far better, richer sound.

  XM-2 is perfect for those who want to use their own keyboard 
by lu from So. California, March 2007
Music Background:  Pro Musician

After thoroughly checking the XK-1 and XK-3, I decided this rack version was best for me because it allowed me to add this great Hammond sound to my keyboard rig. The sound is identical to the new B-3, as well as the XK-1 and 3. It can also be attached to a new Leslie, either directly or with an adapter. There are 120 pre-programmed patches plus 8 blank patches for your own creation. Any of them can be edited and saved to your own preferences. It has a fantastic digital leslie onboard that will amaze you with it's sound and accuracy. All parameters of the digital leslie is editable, incl. upper and lower rotor speeds, rise times, brake times etc. You can configure up to 8 different leslie combinations and assign them to any of the 128 patches. This is something you cannot do with a B-3. Overdrive, Reverb, Percussion, Key Click, etc. are all programmable and can be edited exactly to your specs.The percussion sounds are dead-on and wonderful. A tremendous feature is the manual bass which can be added to the lower octaves of your keyboard and is 1 octave lower than the keyboard notes, just like the pedal notes on the B-3 are. This allows you to play the pedal bass notes right on your keyboard using the the split option. There is also different bass options like string bass etc. A minor criticism, is that when you apply the percussion sound, you must start with the 2nd then go to the 3rd instead of directly to each like on the B-3. To get around this, you can program either the 2nd or 3rd percussion to any of the 128 patches of your choosing. Another plus is that the 2nd and 3rd can be played together (2nd+3rd) for a unique sound. You can't do this on a B-3. If you are using a 2 keyboard set-up like me, the available midi templates allow you to configure the unit so that you can play the percussion on the upper OR lower keyboard, whereas on the B-3, you can only play percussion on the upper keyboard. I could go on and on, but you get the picture - it's a fantastic unit, fully programmable, and the drawbars(on XM-2c)can be changed in real time just like on the B-3. It's the best and most cost-effective way to get the true Hammond sound.

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