Roland U.S.

VK-8M: Organ Sound Module

Putting the Right “Spin” on Your Keyboard

by Corey Fournier

One of the most common questions I hear from worship keyboardists is, “How do I get good organ sounds on my keyboard?”

It’s a great question, because these days, the classic drawbar organ or “B3” sound has become as essential as guitar in modern worship music. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see keyboardists with a synth keyboard on top of their B3 in a lot of popular worship bands. You might have noticed that in our last issue, Third Days’ Scotty Wilbanks had a Fantom-X8 on top of his.

That’s all well and good, but what if you want that sound without breaking your back or your bank? Well, there’s a great solution—the VK-8M. This little module has all the sound and glory of a classic tone-wheel organ, complete with drawbars and a rotary speaker simulator. Best of all, it can be played from ANY keyboard. All you need is a simple MIDI cable.

With the VK-8M you get all the character and realism of a true tone-wheel organ. Here’s how: unlike the organ sounds in your keyboard, the VK-8M doesn’t use sampling technology to create the sound. Instead it uses Virtual Tonewheel Modeling, so its truly interactive. It’s like the difference between a still picture and a video.

Another reason the VK is so authentic, is that it has a great rotary speaker simulator. So, you can spin the speaker up and down and control the speed—just like a Leslie TM cabinet—which is really what gives the B3 its signature sound.

Bottom line–it’s never been easier to have legit organ sounds—whatever keyboard you have, wherever you play it. For more information on the VK-8M, click here.