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For you Bass Pedal guys


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Just read a review of TOPs concert in England. They killed it of course but what I found interesting is the fact that their new bass player who replaced Rocco got Pneumonia and missed the shows, laid up in a hospital in Germany. The writer states that Roger Smith, the organist and a monster player himself, covered the bass on pedals. I really think he's mistaken and Rodger was doing LH bass and tapping pedals along with it. I did however see a video, long lost on the Internet of a guy doing Squib Cakes with two bare feet, no LH. Don't get me started on the bare foot thing. Videos of Chester doing it show him doing LH bass with tapping pedals also.

I used to play Bass Pedals in a trio on my modified B3 using a Nova IV bass unit into a big bass amp. We did top 40 so I did a lot of bass, left foot only. I did pretty well but I don't think I could of ever copped Rocco's lines with just pedals.

Anyone out there trying to do uptempo stuff on pedals ? Fun but a lost art.

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Rocco's lines are almost all staccoto playing. But his runs are fast enough that it would be easier with LH than with feet. Perhaps Roger is using Jimmy Smith's technique - Jimmy played LH bass and the pedals were played for accents.

 

...and then there is Barbara Dennerlein whose uses BOTH feet to play bebop bass lines. Awesome technique.

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I've had 17 years of piano lessons. I wish I have had organs lessons to learn to play bass pedals. It takes some serious practicing to get the feet on autopilot without looking down and without disrupting the parts on the hands, much less improv. Hats off to players who can pull it off.
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I took a semester of Classical Organ way back in College just to get better on the pedals. I thought Jimmy Smith did all the bass on pedals alone. Before I knew it I was practcing pieces with two feet on the pedals, simple music but the hardest thing I remember was keeping your balance on the bench. As far as learning just start doing scales and then 1 - 5 and 1-4 jumps.

Barbara Dennerlin is fantastic and one of the only ones i know of doing it pedal only.

Doing bass with your LF allows you to comp with your LH ( maybe a DP sound ) and solo with the RH.

Big fun and all you need is a drummer who can hold down a steady beat,

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There is a Dutch player, Carlo de Wijs, who also has incredible foot work. He as well thought all Jimmy Smith bass was played with feet, so he learned that when he was young (of course later found out that it was left hand and feet tapping along).

 

Carlo uses a special modified Hammond organ, where his bass sounds go thru a Moog Voyager. It also completely midied. He is quite experimental with his hammond sound, running it thru effects as well.

 

[video:youtube]

 

Rudy

 

 

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I guess I was lucky back in the 70's when I told my parents I wanted to play the organ (wanted to be Rick Wakeman back then!), and they went out and rented a Wurlitzer spinet with 13 note pedalboard! My organ teacher had me learning bass pedals from day 1, so it was never an issue. (The hardest part was learning to play bass/lower keyboard chords in an alternate pattern. I still remember the first "latin" song I learned, using the pedal/chord pattern P-C-C, P-C, P-C). That was a challenge, but once I "got it" I've never forgotten the technique.

 

Now when the bass player doesn't show up, I pull out the MIDI pedal board, plug it into my XK-3, and abracadabra, instant bass!

 

Lou

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There is a Dutch player, Carlo de Wijs, who also has incredible foot work. He as well thought all Jimmy Smith bass was played with feet, so he learned that when he was young (of course later found out that it was left hand and feet tapping along).

 

Carlo uses a special modified Hammond organ, where his bass sounds go thru a Moog Voyager. It also completely midied. He is quite experimental with his hammond sound, running it thru effects as well.

 

 

Interesting stuff he's doing. Are socks that expensive ??

 

[video:youtube]

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Been doing it all along. Heres an 8 year old version of My cover of Groove Holmes Halleliujah I Love Her So on my Nord C1 with my then brand new Nord Pedalkeys27.

 

[video:youtube]

 

Check my channel, its easier on a real B3. And Im also the dude that plays LH guitar bass while keyboarding with my RH.

 

They dont have any medicine for my affliction...... :facepalm:

 

Jake

1967 B-3 w/(2) 122's, Nord C1w/Leslie 2101 top, Nord PedalKeys 27, Nord Electro 4D, IK B3X, QSC K12.2, Yamaha reface YC+CS+CP

 

"It needs a Hammond"

 

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Jake

Nice going and I like your setup. I never saw those pedals before. Not too big but they allow heel toe playing.

Thank you. The serial number on those pedals is #2 - the second set sold in the U.S. they weren't cheap,IIRC around $2200.00 USD, but they travel well, reasonably light, and no problems in 8 years of hard use. Since tone wheel models have no sustain heel and toe technique is a must.

I have always been a bass freak and I style myself after Wild Bill Davis, who was the originator of the Hammond trio.

 

Jake

1967 B-3 w/(2) 122's, Nord C1w/Leslie 2101 top, Nord PedalKeys 27, Nord Electro 4D, IK B3X, QSC K12.2, Yamaha reface YC+CS+CP

 

"It needs a Hammond"

 

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