Pricing and availability
* Product prices and availability are updated by Equipboard every 24hrs and are subject to change. Equipboard may receive compensation for purchases made at participating retailers linked on this site. This compensation does not affect what products or prices are displayed, or the order of prices listed. For more information, please refer to our affiliate disclosure.
Description
Unlock the soul-stirring sound of a legendary organ with the Native Instruments B4, a virtual instrument that faithfully captures the essence of the iconic B3. Designed for musicians who crave authenticity, the B4 offers a life-like experience with its meticulously emulated 91 tonewheels and rotary speaker. This VST plug-in allows you to dive deep into the rich, textured sounds that have defined music across genres for decades.
Whether you're playing jazz, rock, or gospel, the B4 provides you with a wide array of tonal possibilities. Adjustable drawbars, scanner vibrato/chorus, and a unique percussion feature ensure your sound is as dynamic and expressive as a real B3. Fine-tune your performance with adjustable keyclick and tube distortion, bringing warmth and depth to every note. Perfect for both studio recordings and live performances, the B4 is your gateway to a world of musical exploration.
Key Features:
- 91 tonewheels for authentic sound reproduction
- 9 drawbars per manual for versatile tonal control
- Dual manuals and pedal keyboard for comprehensive playability
- Scanner vibrato/chorus for added depth and texture
- Percussion on any harmonic for unique sound shaping
- Adjustable keyclick for customizable attack
- Tube distortion sound for warm, vintage tones
- Realistic rotary speaker emulation
- Extensive parameters for precise sound customization
Videos
gearwire
Native Instruments B4: MIDI Mapping On A Hammond Emulation
Reviews
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Native Instruments B4.
Comparisons
-
Users find the B4 software offers superior tone, control, and Leslie emulation compared to the Hammond XK3, despite the XK3's usability for live performances.
Source -
The XK5 is noted for its semi multi-contact keybed but deemed not worth the high price unless used in a dedicated organ combo setting.
Source
Mods and upgrades
-
A user enhanced their B-3X plugin setup with a $400 MIDI keyboard with 9 faders, adding plastic drawbar tops for an authentic drawbar feel.
Source
Use cases and applications
-
The XK3 is recommended as a MIDI controller for GSI's VB3 II software for improved sound, with specific mention of a custom midipipe map for Mac users.
Source
Critic Reviews
4.5 out of 5
Based on 2 Reviews and 11 Ratings
123
Now Completely Obsolete to Me....
I used to love PRO-53. It was one of my go-to plugins for years. NI discontinued the plugin several years ago with the policy of "If it continues to work on newer operating systems, we guess you're lucky". Well, Windows 10 is the nemesis of this old faithful standby. It simply will not work with Windows 10 64-bit. I'll miss it.
6150
Komplete 5 does it again.
Got this as a part of Komplete 5, It's really great organ emulation.
Artist usage
Add artist
“I use a lot of Native Instruments stuff, like the Pro-53, the B4 organ. I also love the GForce M-Tron,”
This article states that Jerry's studio includes "Native Instruments B4, Propellerhead Reason, Sony Acid, and Tascam GigaStudio 96. Sound library of Acid and Giga files."
Gareth Jones' software: "Logic Audio, ReCycle!, Metasynth, MESA, Peak, ReBirth, Pluggo, Hyperprism, SonicWorx – for their amazing Time Designer plug-in, SoundDiver, Reaktor, Mercury, PPG wave 2.V, Pro-52, B4, VB1, M-Tron and Waves Renaissance bundle. Netscape, Eudora, QuickKeys, Retrospect and Action Files are also in daily use, of course."
Yes, I was there from the start! I got really into Reaktor when it was called Generator in, I don’t know, 1997? Massive was a long way in the distance then. Back then, Generator was tremendously exciting; to have that complexity and configurability in the box was pretty unprecedented, and I’m really happy that 25 years later, Reaktor is still thriving and sitting there solidly underneath all the other great Native Instruments stuff. The Reaktor community is still a treasure trove of odd, imaginative, envelope-pushing goodness. It didn’t take long to meet some of the people involved in those early Native years, and I’ve enjoyed a wonderful friendship with the team and the product ever since.
The next thing that properly sold me was Absynth, which I was a fan of since I had it as a beta v0.1. I got to know Brian Clevinger, who invented it, and just loved the synth from the start. When Native Instruments picked it up – and didn’t mess it up – it was a sign of very good taste. I also used the B4 Organ II and the old FM7 all the time.
In this article, Kim mentions that he uses a laptop running B4 as his main Hammond clone.
"I'll tell you what I'm in love with — that Emagic Clavinet. It sounds so cool. I just got the OS X version and it's inspiring. Their electric piano is also very nice and I think the Native Instruments B4 is great. My great concern at the moment is that when I start piling up all these virtual instrument and plug-ins as well as the video, the computer is going to reach its limits. Hopefully they will let you chain up a bunch of those XServe rackmount Macs to get around this. I'd like the whole system to be scalable. OK, you have to learn how to use the software, but beyond that, the technology should just disappear — the technology should be transparent. I don't want to have to think about anything other than my musical ideas."
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Native Instruments B4, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
More Native Instruments Virtual Instrument
Accessories & Related Items
Community setups
Similar
Gear Guides
Most Popular Virtual Instrument
Most Popular Brands
-
Added to Equipboard on by
sonic_edwardsGear IQ 161
-