KEYBOARDPARTNER HX3 Drawbar Controller User manual

KEYBOARDPARTNER UG
HX3 Drawbar Expander Version 4.25
HX3 Drawbar Expander is a tonewheel
organ emulation in a compact box –an
organ just without the keys. 32 drawbar
presets, many parameters tweakable by
simple menus –like key contact flex and
damping for key click response, more or
less percussion punch etc. And, of
course, it yields the legendary
unmatched HX3 sound.
Features
Compact organ emulator with two sets of drawbars plus pedal
Authentic reproduction of generator, tapering, key contacts, percussion and
vibrato by FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and physical modelling
Tunable in range of A = 433 through 447 Hz
Extremely low internal latency of 50 microseconds Key-to-Audio. However,
MIDI transmission delays are about 1 ms per note played.
Natural key click by "rattling" contacts
Accurate Rotary simulation with separate 122 amp output
Dual MIDI IN for 2 separate keyboards or bass pedal
MIDI OUT sends NI B4® compatible control codes
LED buttons show vibrato and percussion setting
LCD display and menu system with 2x16 presets and parameter tuning
Swell (expression) pedal and footswitch jacks
Separate outputs for amp and rotary simulation as well as plain organ
Connector for 11-pin Leslie® Speakers
USB for firmware updates and parameter editor
Built-in reverb DSP with 3 levels
Hand-crafted in Germany
Default MIDI setting is channels 1/2/3 for upper/lower/bass, MIDI CC NI B4 with
Sustain on CC #64.
DC input 9 to 12V, 500 mA min., 5.5/2.1 mm plug, plus on center.
Trademarks Hammond®, B3® and Leslie® belong to Hammond Suzuki Corporation (Japan).
Trademark NI B4 belongs to Native Intrumens GmbH, Germany. Product and company names used in
this document apply for illustration and example purposes only.
Keyboardpartner is not related to these trade marks in any way.

Please read this manual carefully before using the HX3 Drawbar
Expander.
Only clean with damp soft cloth. Using detergents or solvents may
deteriorate finish and lettering.
Wood parts are unique, so deviations in colour and texture may
occur. Maintain finish by using medium dark wood wax or wood oil.
Do not allow water spills to stain into wood.
Keep packaging in case of service shipment.
Only use appropriate power supply as advised. Input voltages
exceeding 15V may damage the device.
Designed for indoor use only. Do not use HX3 Drawbar Expander
in moist places. Do not spill liquids or solvents into unit.
No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer to qualified technician or
service representative if problems occur.
All information given herein is given to describe certain
components and shall not be considered as a guarantee of
characteristics. Rights to technical changes reserved.
EU conformity declaration
This device conforms to EU regulations
EMV-Richtlinie 2004/108/EG
Niederspannungsrichtlinie 2006/95 EG
RoHS-Richtlinie 2011/65/EU
Made in Germany by
KEYBOARDPARTNER UG
Entwicklung elektronischer Musikinstrumente
Carsten Meyer Ithweg 37 D-30851 Langenhagen
Web: www.keyboardpartner.de Instructions: wiki.keyboardpartner.de
EMail: [email protected]

1.0 Jack Connections
HX3 Drawbar Expander connectors on back panel, left to right:
SWELL PEDAL ¼” stereo jack. Expression pedal input is compatible with
Yamaha FC-7 and similar expression pedals (direct connection preferred for
speed/accuracy, but may also be remote controlled by MIDI control change,
controller 11). Plug connection: Sleeve = ground / potentiometer start, ring =
potentiometer tap, tip = potentiometer end.
FOOT SWITCH ¼” stereo jack. Single or double footswitch controls simulated
rotary speed: SLOW/FAST on plug tip, RUN/STOP on plug ring. Please use
latching foot switches; momentary (button type) switches are not supported. If
single footswitch used, Rotary is always on RUN (no plug ring, input grounded
by plug sleeve).
MIDI IN 1 Accepts MIDI data from master keyboard 1 or bass pedal
MIDI IN 2 Accepts MIDI data from master keyboard 2 or bass pedal
9V DC Use stabilized DC wall wart 9 to 12V with at least 500mA current
output, inner/outer plug diameter 2.1/5.5 mm on DC input jack. Polarity: Plus
on inner tip.
BASS Separate audio output for bass pedal sound
MAIN Organ output, either plain or with tube amp simulation, configurable
ROTARY SIM L Audio output left channel of internal rotary simulation
ROTARY SIM R Audio output right channel of internal rotary simulation
USB CONFIG Mini USB connector for updates and configuration by HX3
Remote or HX3 Flash application. Not suitable for MIDI over USB.
MIDI OUT Sends MIDI data of Drawbar Expander’s own controllers
HEADPHONE Stereo output of internal rotary simulation, headphone amplifier
ROTARY STATUS 3 LEDs indicate status of external Leslie ®, green = on,
red = slow, yellow = fast
EXTERNAL ROTARY Standard 11-pin Leslie® speaker connector
1.1 Volume Control
Output level of all output channels is controlled by VOLUME knob on front or MIDI
CC #7 “Volume”, whichever occurs last. Maximum output level of Leslie® connector
is factory adjusted. It may be adjusted by service representative to your needs by two
internal potentiometers.
Organ's swell pedal position is controlled by an expression pedal or MIDI CC #11
“Expression”, whichever occurs last. HX3 resembles a loudness curve similar to the
swell pedal of a classic tonewheel organ, so volume will not reach zero. We
recommend connecting an expression pedal Yamaha FC-7 or similar (1/4" jack, 10k
to 47k total resistance) directly to the HX3 module.
Press menu panel encoder knob briefly to switch to Rotary Tube Amp Gain control
and back. If gain is set to high levels, the simulated tube amplifier will
distort/overdrive on full swell.
MIDI CC #11 and #7 may be changed by menu to any other valid MIDI CC number.

2. Panel Buttons
2.1 Tab Buttons
HX3 drawbar expander has two sets of drawbars for upper and lower manual as well
as pedal and pedal sustain drawbars, and a set of 16 buttons. LED-illuminated
buttons control main organ functions as found on a real B3:
PERCUSSION ON toggles percussion on/off. When on, drawbar 1’ is
cancelled (see No DB1 @Perc parameter below to change cancelling
behaviour)
PERCUSSION SOFT toggles normal/soft percussion. Drawbar volume is
muted in “normal” position
PERCUSSION FAST toggles slow/fast percussion decay
PERCUSSION THIRD toggles 2nd and 3rd percussion harmonic
Similar to Hammond® console organs, drawbar volume is muted in “normal” position
to emphasize percussion effect. Muting level in “normal” position may be changed by
menu.
VIBRATO UPPER toggles vibrato on upper manual on/off
VIBRATO LOWER toggles vibrato on lower manual on/off
Rotary buttons control both internal rotary simulation as well as a Leslie® speaker
connected to 11-pin socket simultaneously. Rotary simulation may be controlled by
footswitch or panel buttons alternatively. A flashing LED indicates rotary speed.
ROTARY RUN toggles rotary motors on/off
ROTARY SPEED toggles slow/fast rotary speed
Six vibrato/chorus variations are set by 4 buttons:
VIBRATO V1 sets vibrato/chorus depth 1 (shallow)
VIBRATO V2 sets vibrato/chorus depth 2 (medium)
VIBRATO V3 sets vibrato/chorus depth 3 (deep)
VIBRATO CHORUS toggles between vibrato and chorus mode
Vibrato setting does not have any effect if VIBRATO UPPER and VIBRATO LOWER
are both off.

2.2 Effect/Configuration Buttons
Additionally, HX3 drawbar expander has buttons to control reverb, output
configuration and manual split.
REVERB I and REVERB II select 3 different reverb settings and reverb off.
Press I and II simultaneously to select reverb III.
CONFIG A/B selects one of the two pre-defined output configurations A or B.
See section Output Configuration Group in section Menu Panel for details.
CONFIG SPLIT sets keyboard split mode on or off.
Keyboard split default is pedal mapped to lower manual on first 25 keys (console
organ pedal range, two octaves). Split mode may be changed by menu or by one of
the following procedures:
Pedal to Lower: Press and hold desired lower manual key while switching
SPLIT on to obtain a custom split point (useful for playing pedal bass lines on
dual manual keyboards without bass pedals).
Lower to Upper: Press a single key on upper manual while switching SPLIT
on to map lower to upper manual up to this key (useful for playing 16’ bass
lines or 4’ accompaniment chords on single manual keyboards).
Pedal to Upper: Press two keys simultaneously on upper manual while
switching SPLIT on to map pedal to upper manual up to highest of both keys
pressed (useful for playing pedal bass lines on single manual keyboards
without bass pedal).
Lower to Upper +1: Press three keys simultaneously on upper manual while
switching SPLIT on to map lower to upper manual up to highest of all keys
pressed. Lower notes range is transposed one octave up (useful for left-hand
8’ accompaniment chords on single manual keyboards).
Lower to Upper +2: Press four keys simultaneously on upper manual while
switching SPLIT on to map lower to upper manual up to highest of all keys
pressed. Lower notes range is transposed two octaves up (useful for left-hand
16’ accompaniment chords on single manual keyboards).
To save split mode and split point to power-on default, go to menu entry “Split Mode”
and press encoder knob for 2 seconds. See Menu Panel section for details.

3.0 Menu Panel
The Menu Panel knob Data Entry (incremental encoder) will change drawbar preset
numbers from 0 to 15, parameters in other menu entries or rotary TubeAmp Gain,
depending on menu mode.
On power on, the presets/drawbar menu is present. Press knob briefly to switch to
Rotary Tube Amp Gain control and back. Rotary Volume acts like the potentiometer
found on classic Leslie™ cabinets: If set to high levels, the simulated tube amplifier
will distort/overdrive on full swell.
Each manual yields 16 presets (0..15). An arrow indicates if upper or lower manual
preset change is active. Use Up/Down buttons to switch from upper to lower and vice
versa. LED buttons will show current percussion and vibrato setting.
Press Up/Down buttons several times to reach other menu entries (press and hold for
auto-repeat). For faster access, upper drawbar settings are located on top of preset
menu, lower drawbar settings and default settings are located below of preset menu.
Use Up/Down buttons to scroll through menu items.
Use the incremental encoder knob Data Entry to change parameter values.
Changes are temporary; to make them permanent, press incremental encoder
knob for 2 seconds until a “Saved” message appears in display. Changed
parameters which have not yet been saved are marked with an "*" asterisk in
upper display line.
In main menu (presets/drawbar display), turning the knob changes preset
numbers for upper or lower manual.
The menu system consists of about 50 entries. A "<" arrow will direct to the
parameter to be changed. Vertical arrows indicate if parameter is at limits or not.
3.1 Main Display Upper/Lower
DrbUXXXXXXXXX - default main menu, shows upper drawbar settings as
numbers 0 to 8 (here represented as "X"). Incremental knob recalls UPR
(upper preset) number. Preset 0 is a “live” setting UDB (upper drawbars).
Returning from any preset UPR to drawbars UDB restores last drawbar
setting.
PXXLXXXXXXXXX- same for pedal (P) and lower (L) drawbars, incremental
knob recalls preset.

3.2 Defaults Group
Step downwards to reach lower manual settings; change to desired value by turning
incremental encoder knob. Save changes to current preset by pressing knob for more
than 2 seconds. On “live” drawbar preset 0 (DrbL) any changes are always saved
temporarily and restored when returning from preset to “live” in main menu.
TubeAmp Gain, sets volume of internal rotary tube amp simulation from 0 to
full (overdriven tube amp). This menu entry may be reached directly from main
menu by pressing encoder knob briefly.
ToneTrimPot mimics TONE pot on simulated AO28 amp; well, a little bit more
on high values.
Reverb Prgm selects one of 3 different reverb programs. For each program,
amount of reverb may be adjusted.
oReverb Lvl 1 reverb amount of reverb program 1
oReverb Lvl 2 reverb amount of reverb program 2
oReverb Lvl 3 reverb amount of reverb program 3
These parameters are saved to power-on defaults when encoder knob is pressed
more than 2 seconds.
3.2.1 Split Configuration
Keyboard split default is pedal mapped to lower manual on first 25 keys (console
organ pedal range, two octaves). To save split mode and split point to power-on
default, go to menu entry “Split Mode” and press encoder knob for 2 seconds. Default
split modes may be changed by menu:
Split Manual switches split mode on or off.
Split Mode default split setting on power-up, engaged when split set to ON.
o'PedalToLower', map pedal to lower manual up to split point
o'LowerToUpper', map lower to upper manual up to split point
o'PedalToUpper', map pedal to upper manual up to split point
o'LowerToU +1', map lower to upper manual up to split point, transpose
lower +1 octave
o'LowerToU +2' map lower to upper manual up to split point, transpose
lower +2 octave
Split Point sets split point (when split is on) as key number (24 is second „C“
on manual).
All these parameters are saved to power-on defaults if encoder knob is pressed more
than 2 seconds (message will appear). Split mode may also be changed as
described in chapter 2.2 Effect/Configuration Buttons.

3.2.2 Output Configuration
HX3 generates five output signals: rotary stereo simulation left/right, plain organ,
bass pedal, and organ with rotary tube amp simulation. All output signals may be
routed to any output jack. Two configurations are available, so you may set these for
your own needs and toggle between them simply by "Audio Jacks" menu. Factory
default is set to match rear panel jack lettering.
Audio Jacks - Switches between two output configurations Config A or
Config B which may be configured separately.
AudioJ Conf A sets audio jack configuration A and
AudioJ Conf B sets audio jack configuration B according to table below.
There are 32 entries total on each configuration: 16 with no bass pedal added, and
same 16 with bass pedal added to organ, amp and rotary simulation signals
(marked by +B in display). Please note: It is not possible to route the same signal to
more than one output.
Configuration
Audio 1
Audio 2
Extension 3
Extension 4
ORG/PD - L/R
Organ Plain
Pedal
Rotary Left
Rotary Right
PD/ORG - R/L
Pedal
Organ Plain
Rotary Right
Rotary Left
L/R - ORG/PD
Rotary Left
Rotary Right
Organ Plain
Pedal
R/L - PD/ORG
Rotary Right
Rotary Left
Pedal
Organ Plain
ORG/L - PD/R
Organ
Rotary Left
Pedal
Rotary Right
L/ORG - R/PD
Rotary Left
Organ Plain
Rotary Right
Pedal
PD/R - ORG/L
Pedal
Rotary Right
Organ Plain
Rotary Left
R/PD - L/ORG
Rotary Right
Pedal
Rotary Left
Organ Plain
AMP/PD - L/R
Organ AmpSim
Pedal
Rotary Left
Rotary Right
PD/AMP - R/L
Pedal
Organ AmpSim
Rotary Right
Rotary Left
L/R - AMP/PD
Rotary Left
Rotary Right
Organ AmpSim
Pedal
R/L - PD/AMP
Rotary Right
Rotary Left
Pedal
Organ AmpSim
AMP/L - PD/R
Organ AmpSim
Rotary Left
Pedal
Rotary Right
L/AMP - R/PD
Rotary Left
Organ AmpSim
Rotary Right
Pedal
PD/R - AMP/L
Pedal
Rotary Right
Organ AmpSim
Rotary Left
R/PD - L/AMP
Rotary Right
Pedal
Rotary Left
Organ AmpSim
Description: Land R= rotary cabinet sim left/right channel, ORG = plain organ signal
like G-G output on B3®, AMP = organ signal with Leslie® tube amp simulation and
overdrive (controlled by Rotary volume), PD = bass pedals.

3.2.3 Commons Group
Transpose all manuals and pedal from -6 to +7 semitones. Notes beyond 5
octave limits of console organ will not produce any sound due to accuracy of
physical model.
MIDI Channel sets MIDI base receive channel 1 to 10 (upper manual, lower
manual is on +1, pedals on +2).
MIDI Option <RcvSendMerge> - sets MIDI routing behaviour to
o'ReceiveThru' (MIDI OUT is THRU),
o'ReceiveSend' (MIDI received, only own MIDI key events to MIDI OUT),
o'RcvSendMerge'(MIDI received, own MIDI key events and incoming
MIDI events merged to MIDI OUT) and
o'RcvSndMgNoCC' (as before, but MIDI CC commands discarded).
MIDI CC Set sets recognized MIDI CC set to
o'NI B4' Native Instruments B4 (default),
o'Voce' MIDI drawbars,
o'Hamichord' (compatible with Mojo),
o'KeyB Duo',
o'Hammond XK',
o'Hammond SK' (Note: Hammond® changed MIDI CC set between XK
and SK series, so try out which will fit), or
o'Custom CC' (must be configured with HX3 Remote App).
o‘NI B4 .’ to 'Custom CC .': Sostenuto enabled CC sets are marked with
a full stop (dot). Per default, HX3 recognizes MIDI CC #64 as “Sustain”.
Same sets as above with dot will recognize MIDI CC #64 as
“Sostenuto”, so only notes played while Sustain pedal is pressed
down are sustained.
MIDI Swell CC sets accepted swell/expression CC number (default #11).
MIDI VolumeCC sets accepted overall volume CC number (default #7).

3.2.4 Vibrato Group
Detailed modelling of scanner vibrato yields lots of adjustable parameters. Avoid to
randomly change parameters as they are intended for real organ enthusiasts –you
should know what you’re doing.
Scanner Gears adjusts scanner drive gearing and therefore vibrato
frequency.
Scanner Leak adjuste leakage of higher notes in scanner compartment due to
parasitic capacitances.
VibCh AmplMod adjusts amplitude modulation caused by delay line on all
vibrato/chorus knob settings.
VibCh PreEmph adjusts treble increase when vibrato/chorus is switched on.
Effect on chorus is obvious, while increase on Vibrato is more subtile.
VibCh Reflect sets amount of reflected signal on LC linebox due to aged
caps. Higher values will lead to a ‚celeste’-like effect as found on model M100.
VibCh Response sets upper frequency response of LC linebox.
Ch LineboxLvl adjusts ‚wet’ modulated amount when in chorus mode.
Ch BypassLvl adusts ‚dry’ unmodulated amount when in chorus mode.
V1..C3 ModAmount sets modulation amount for each vibrato knob setting (6
menus)
3.2.5 Percussion Group
PercNormLvl adjusts percussion level in PERC ON, NORMAL tab setting.
PercSoftLvl adjusts percussion level in PERC ON, SOFT tab setting.
PercLongTm adjusts percussion decay rate in PERC ON, SLOW tab setting
(higher value = faster).
PercShortTm adjusts percussion decay rate in PERC ON, FAST tab setting
(higher value = faster).
PercMuteDB sets drawbar muting amount while in Perc NORM. No mute will
happen if value set to 250.

3.2.6 Generator Group
TG Gears Tune sets organ generator tuning in range from A = 433 through
447 Hz
TG Flutter adjusts tone generator "sloppyness" (spring clutch tension, bearing
precision).
TG Leakage sets tone generator leakage to
o'OFF' (never seen that)
o'New Organ' (recapped/new generator),
o'Old Organ' (higher leakage on several notes) or
o'Sleazy Organ' (lots of beer inside).
TG CapSet sets tone generator age to vintage
o1955 (very aged caps, mellow sound)
o1961 (aged wax caps, jazz-type sound)
o1972 (new “red” caps, rock-type sound)
oRecapped (more aggressive).
No DB1 @Perc enables drawbar 1 cancel when percussion ON (as original
B3®)
DB16 1st Oct controls Foldback on 16' lowest octave. Foldback is configurable
in 4 settings:
ofoldback with full level,
ofoldback with muted level (original B3 behaviour),
ono foldback ("all way down") with full level (like H-100®) or
ono foldback ("all way down") withmuted level.
3.2.7 Preamp Group and Misc.
Along with ToneTrimPot (see above), adjusts behaviour and response of the famous
AO28 preamp chassis including transformer/tube saturation.
SwellTrimCap adjusts organ oputput volume like the trim cap in B3 swell
pedal control. Higher values add more punch and output transformer
saturation effects.
AO28 TubeAge controls simulated AO28 preamp tube aging (higher triode
distortion k2 in 12BH7 output stage).
ContSpringFlx adjusts key contact spring flex, affects click frequency
ContSpringDmp adjusts key contact spring damping, affects click length

3.3 Rotary Group
A few common parameters for rotary sim are available on menu. HX3 imlements a 4-
beam direct/reflection model along with 512-pole FIR filter for horn simulation and a
separate 2-beam direct/reflection model for rotor simulation. Most of parameters are
editable through HX3 Remote application; avoid to randomly change parameters in
HX3 Remote as they are intended for developers and OEMs –you should know what
you’re doing.
HornSlowTm Rotary simulation horn revolution timer when set to SLOW
RotorSlowTm Rotary simulation rotor revolution timer when set to SLOW
HornFastTm Rotary simulation horn revolution timer when set to FAST
RotorFastTm Rotary simulation rotor revolution timer when set to FAST
HornRampUp Rotary simulation horn accelleration from SLOW to FAST.
RotorRampUp Rotary simulation rotor accelleration from SLOW to FAST.
HornRampDown Rotary simulation horn brake time from FAST to SLOW.
RotorRampDown Rotary simulation rotor brake time from FAST to SLOW.
Rotary Throb Rotary simulation "throb" modulation factor
Rotary Spread Rotary simulation stereo spread (width).
Rotary Balnce Rotary simulation volume balance horn/rotor.
3.4 Factory Reset
All parameter changes are saved permanently by pressing the MenuPanel knob for
more than 2 seconds. To retrieve the factory defaults, press the MenuPanel encoder
knob when powering on until “Factory Reset” prompt appears, then confirm by
pressing “up” button.
3.5 Serial Numbers and Licences
HX3 is protected agains forging by licence numbers. If not set appropriately after
firmware update, HX3 will refuse to word after 2 minutes. Licences may be re-
installed at any time. Please contact KeyboardPartner to obtain a valid licence key.
We need your serial number (issued on startup and by HX3 Remote application) to
generate new licences for you.

4.0 MIDI Control
HX3 expander accepts MIDI key on/off events (default: channel 1 to upper manual, 2
to lower manual, channel 3 to bass pedals) as well as various MIDI CCs with
selectable compatibility sets. MIDI dynamics slightly influences key click noise. SysEx
data is always ignored. HX3 drawbar expander has 2 independent MIDI inputs for
connection of two master keyboards or keyboard and bass pedal. MIDI OUT on
Extension board (optional) transmits all MIDI CC controller data according to NI B4
standard, independent of selected MIDI receive CC set.
HX3 expander may be remote-controlled via given MIDI CC set, but some settings
are available via menu system only. If a valid MIDI CC command is received (despite
expression/volume changes) for current MIDI CC set, MenuPanel will briefly show the
changed parameter.
General
Connect MIDI out of your MIDI controller or master keyboard to HX3 MIDI input. HX3
does not introduce any audio latency, so delays are only due to MIDI transmission.
Since MIDI is a one-way interface, HX3 cannot determine the setting of any MIDI
controller value until you touch/use it once. As default, all HX3 controllers are OFF.
Do not use any controller button or drawbar unless HX3 is ready to accept its data; it
is a good idea to power up HX3 first and later your MIDI master keyboard or master
controller.
A valid MIDI CC received will override HX3's own analog controllers and switches
until they are touched again. If you use your HX3-attached swell pedal, any MIDI
expression message will be overwritten. Otherwise, by not using the directly attached
swell pedal, MIDI expression messages are accepted.
Note: Some MIDI controllers as well as organ keyboards (like Hammond® XK and
SK series) allow 2nd and 3rd harmonic percussion ON at same time. HX3
implementation regards "2nd ON" as "Percussion ON" tab in this case.
4.1 Loudness and Volume Control
Organ's loudness is controlled by expression pedal or MIDI CC #11 (may also be
another CC number on various MIDI CC sets to retain compatibility). HX3 resembles
a loudness curve exact of Hammond® B3's swell pedal, so volume will not reach
zero. MIDI CC #7 controls the master volume which affects all 4 output jacks and
headphone output as well as Leslie® speaker connected to 11-pin socket.

5. HX3 Apps
HX3 Remote for Windows application is a convenient way to update or maintain your
HX3 drawbar expander. It allows for firmware and sound engine updates, parameter
tweaking and preset setup for experienced users.
HX3 Update for Windows application is a "one click solution" to update your HX3
mk2/mk3/mk4 board or expander.
Both programs and complete documentation are available through our wiki pages on
http://wiki.keyboardpartner.de
Join the HX3 community at http://forum.keyboardpartner.de!
KEYBOARDPARTNER UG
Entwicklung elektronischer Musikinstrumente
Carsten Meyer Ithweg 37 D-30851 Langenhagen
Web: www.keyboardpartner.de Instructions: wiki.keyboardpartner.de
EMail: [email protected]
All information given herein is given to describe certain components and shall not be
considered as a guarantee of characteristics. Rights to technical changes reserved.