Recommendations for Tube distortion/leslie with Nord 6

[raffkey]

Hey there everyone,

 

I'm trying to find a preamp or pedal that will add tube-like distortion to the organ programs while using the rotary effect.

 

For example - that sound that is present in Steve Winwoods riff in Gimme Some Lovin'...You know, the sound that seems like the leslie tubes are about to explode? Back in the day, my 147 could be wonderfully overdriven and made any clone sound awesome.

 

Currently not using a Vent, although I had one, but even with the Vent I wasn't able to get what I 'm looking for.

 

Any suggestions?

[Doerfler]

Lounsberry Organ Grinder

 

https://www.lounsberrypedals.com/organ-grinder

[AnotherScott]

I don't think any solid state piece will do a better job than the Vent. If that wasn't good enough for you, I think your best shot might be an actual tube-based device. But a couple of things to be aware of:

 

...On the real thing, all the tube grind exists before the rotary effect, so you'll probably still end up wanting a Vent or something similar to put after whatever else you get, otherwise you'd be putting the tube drive after the Nord's rotary effect which is not going to give you exactly what you're after (i.e. it will be adding to distortion to the post-spinning sound rather than the pre-spinning sound).

 

...The real thing has tubes in the preamp AND power amp sections of the Hammond/Leslie combo, so I'm not sure how close you can get to that with a "preamp only" implementation.

 

I suspect you might find some conbination to work best. Possibly a tube pedal/preamp going into the Vent where you use the Vent not just for its rotary effect but also for its additional overdrive...?

[mate stubb]

 

Also note - sticking an overdrive box AFTER the leslie sim is unnatural. It can cause the sound to pump weirdly. If you can manage it, stick the overdrive before the leslie sim.

 

Example: Here's a Mojo with internal sim off into an AMA for the tube distortion into a Vent. It's the best non spinning sound I've been able to get. CLICK!

 

Edit: Scott beat me to it!

[AnotherScott]

Oh yes, picking up from Doerfler's post, I forgot, people have spoken highly of the Organ Grinder and/or the Tall and Fat, where the Grinder is the more fierce sounding. Again, you'd still probably want to put them before a rotary effect.

 

Also, see the threads at:

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3041787/tall-fat-overdrive-vs-vent-ii

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2908429/need-advice-warm-tube-distortion-for-my-clonewheel

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2849136/lounsberry-pedals

 

Full of information I'd forgotten. ;-) Between those three threads, I think you'll find all the collective wisdom of everyone on this forum about this particular topic.

[KuruPrionz]

Tech 21 Sansamp Para or Bass Driver DI version 2 on both.

 

Both very low noise, well equipped for live or studio work and by far one of the most popular analog SS emulations of tube tones.

 

Small, light, versatile and affordable. I have them both in the studio and use them all the time on just about anything/everything.

 

Either one should do the trick, they are different in profound ways but also essentially similar. I agree with putting the distortion into the signal chain earlier rather than later.

Later would be only if you had a tube amplifier that provides euphonic output tube/transformer distortion running the into your speakers. Bigger, heavier, less reliable and more expensive. Great sound though...

[TommyS]

I get excellent results with my T&F going into my Vent,,,

[Noah DC]

For what it's worth, there is a Speakeasy AMA up on reverb at the moment.

 

Speakeasy RoadBox 3

[raffkey]

Wow, thanks guys! A lot of good information here. ..hadn't realized that placing something after the rotary wouldn't sound so hot...good to know...

[ElmerJFudd]

$2300+ and not able to add tube-like distortion to the organ programs while using the rotary effect?

 

Ignore me. That was a joke.

[cphollis]

I haven't tried the drive/rotary combination on the NE6. It seems to require a swell pedal according to the manual.

 

On my NS3C, there's one drive knob for the rotary effect, and a second drive knob as part of the general effects section. That second drive turns out to be far more usable, and appears to be before the rotary in the signal chain.

 

Even though I probably could get a somewhat better tone with an external Organ Grinder into my Vent, there's no beating the simplicity of a built-in approach if it works for you -- less gear, and everything is stored as part of your preset.

 

If you've been eyeing a NS3C, maybe this will push you over the edge ...

[AnotherScott]

$2300+ and not able to add tube-like distortion to the organ programs while using the rotary effect?

 

Ignore me. That was a joke.

though really, the drive on the Nord isn't bad (a lot better than on numerous other boards, including Hammond SK). But just like the rotary effect itself, it wouldn't be good enough for everyone.

 

I haven't tried the drive/rotary combination on the NE6. It seems to require a swell pedal according to the manual.

Any proper implementation of Hammond/Leslie overdrive will increase or decrease depending on the position of the expression pedal.

 

On my NS3C, there's one drive knob for the rotary effect, and a second drive knob as part of the general effects section. That second drive turns out to be far more usable, and appears to be before the rotary in the signal chain.

Yes, I believe all effects happen before the rotary. Some people have complained that even the reverb is before the rotary effect (unlike on the previous Nord Stage... and you can make arguments for both approaches). Anyway, the second drive--not being tied to the organ expression function--presumably does not vary with the position of your volume pedal, so you could use that to dial in a fixed about of overdrive that would not vary with volume.

[cphollis]

@anotherscott, that seems to be right. The second (and more useful) drive knob works as expected, and is also fun as part of a morph, e.g. get a crunchier drive sound using aftertouch AND kicking the leslie AND boosting the volume a bit. That sort of trick would harder to do using an external signal chain.

[stillearning]

I have an NS3 and use the second drive as well. Very happy with it for live use in a 10 pc horn band. I"ve been able to get serious grind. Not the same as tube, but I want to carry the least I can get away with.

[Baldwin Funster]

I haven't heard anything that sounds more like distorted 6550s than the vent. Vent v1 to be exact. If you want more try a limiter after the vent.

[raffkey]

-That's where this all started for me. I had the first version of the Vent with a Roland VR 09 and it sounded great. Long story short, got rid of both, bought the Nord 6 and after a while, I wasn't exactly happy with the onboard rotary, so I bought the Vent V 2. It still doesn't seem as good to me as my VR 09/ Vent 1 compo...the distortion in either the Nord alone or the Vent 2, or in combination seems to be lacking what I had before... But I'm getting old, ears are probably gone