NI B4D Drawbar Controller

Feel The Legend...

With the B4D drawbar controller Native Instruments offers a perfect hardware controller for the NI B4 II Organ, allowing musicians to control the sound with an authentic drawbar feel, just like the original. The sturdy B4D drawbar controller offers 9 mechanical drawbars, 22 buttons, and 2 knobs for intuitive control over the most important B4 sound parameters.

(Click image to enlarge)

The controller’s nine drawbars can access any of the three B4 drawbar groups. With the buttons and knobs you can control the rotary speaker, vibrato/chorus, percussion, recall presets on the fly, and change the volume and overdrive. Playing the B4 is more dynamic and authentic than ever before!

The NI B4D controller’s sturdy housing is made of high-quality metal and wood. The handy drawbars, precise buttons, and stable knobs provide a direct and intuitive playing feel for controlling the B4's most important parameters: sound character, presets, rotator, percussion, vibrato/chorus, volume, and overdrive.

B4Ds 22 buttons (Click image to enlarge)

Drawbars

Each of the B4’s drawbar groups can be accessed fast using the switches for Upper, Lower, and Bass. LED lights indicate the current position of the buttons, letting you switch quickly between the different groups when playing live.


Perfect integration

NI B4D is connected to the computer via MIDI. When you alter settings on the B4D or directly in the software, the changes are immediately communicated between program and controller via MIDI. This guarantees a perfect match between hardware and software. On the back of the B4D there you'll find MIDI in and out, plus additional connections for a sustain pedal, two foot switches, and other B4D units.

In order to be able to control all the drawbars simultaneously, it is possible to connect multiple NI B4D controllers via the Link inputs and outputs.

(Click image to enlarge)

Bundle with the B4

Native instruments B4D is now available as an attractive bundle with the NI B4 II Organ software. Users of B4 version 1 may purchase an upgrade to B4 II bundled with B4D from our Online Shop. In combination with the B4D drawbar controller the B4 II Organ offers maximum playability and smoothest operation on stage, at home, or in the studio.

Technical Notes:

The B4D works with every B4 (Mac OS 9, OS X and Win XP), however on Mac OS 9 there is no feedback loop, which is used to display the position of the switches. For feedback on the switch positions (LED display) between the B4 and B4D, the B4D must be connected to the MIDI input of the computer and the computer’s MIDI output with the B4D. (To avoid having to route the keyboard through the B4D, which would block the B4D input, a MIDI interface with at least 2 inputs and 1 output is recommended.)

The B4D can be used as a MIDI controller with other MIDI compatible programs and hardware units.