Hammond Organ Sample Library

[Jim_K]

OK folks, I have tried anything and everything to create Great sounding Hammond tracks. The software ones are OK but fall real short when it comes to LESLIE simulators (I have a ton of them, some better than others) but the tracks always sound fake.

 

I have an old AKAI sample CD of B3 samples and they sound GREAT in the mix but I only have a couple of useable clean patches for chord work and they are limited in that I only have about 3 useable programs.

 

My question, is there some type of SAMPLE EVERYTHING with a LESLIE hammond sample CD out there?

 

I even got hold of BIGGA GIGGAs SUNE L100 hammond samples but they were recorded without a LESLIE.

 

I can't be the only person looking for this type of sample CD or library of sounds, can I?

 

Thanks,

Jim

 

 

[The Real MC]

The reason there isn't a sample library of Hammond and Leslie together is because they won't sound right. If you played a chord, you would hear the Leslie animation out of sync with each note. Not to mention that Leslie animation is very very difficult to sample because the top and bottom rotors rotate independently in that you can't get a loop that isn't a short sample. Then doing a transition from slow to fast.... forget it. Go hardware, use a Dynacord CLS-222 leslie simulator.

[mate stubb]

The VB3 software doesn't fall short with its leslie sim for recording at all. If you insist that it still does, you can turn the sim off and mic the track back through a real leslie.

 

There is a lot more to making real sounding hammond tracks than just the sound. Are you an organ player, or do you play the instrument like a piano player? Are you playing chords an octave lower than you should be (common piano player mistake)?

 

Samples are the very WORST way to try to make an organ track.

[Sven Golly]

Samples are the very WORST way to try to make an organ track.

 

+1,000,000

[kanker.]

B3-er made a whole album using B3 samples

[JMcS]

B3-er made a whole album using B3 samples

 

Well yeah, but those were samples of great playing.

[Jim Alfredson]

Hehe. I used a real Leslie. A real Leslie is 75% of the sound, at least.

[kanker.]

Hehe. I used a real Leslie. A real Leslie is 75% of the sound, at least.

A real organist is the other 75%

[Joe Muscara]

Hehe. I used a real Leslie. A real Leslie is 75% of the sound, at least.

A real organist is the other 75%

Bwah ha ha! LOL

[mikeNZ1]

I think I only barely qualify as an unreal organist but here goes...

 

If you want to learn some basic hammond organ skills the book "Hammond Organ Complete" is a great starting point. You won't become a great hammond organ player with this alone (that takes years), but you will quickly gain a solid foundation and learn all the basic techniques. The CD has nice clean recordings which makes it much easier to hear what the organ is doing, and covers a range of styles.

 

There has been a rapid and large improvement in my organ playing since getting this book. When I use the proper organ playing techniques with appropriate drawbar and other settings the realism is hugely improved, even though my organ setup is only average.

 

Ditto on the chords in the lower register. LH bass lines or chords are usually played with a very sparse registration (e.g. 808, 0086), otherwise the strong harmonic content of the higher pitched drawbars (many of which are in octaves from the fundamental) conflicts with RH lines. Basically, you don't want 'color' from the LH accompaniment, leave that to the RH.

 

If you want THAT sound on your recordings, choosing appropriate LH registrations will go a long way. Chances are many sample libraries have few (or even no) useful LH or pedal bass samples.

 

FWIW, getting your playing style and technique right are far more important then trying to find the 'best' samples or 'best' leslie.

 

Michael