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Question for all the GREAT Hammond Organ ears out there


motomike1961

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The song You Made Me So Very Happy by Blood, Sweat and Tears.

 

What is the drawbar registration for that beautiful first chord he plays when the verse starts? It also sounds like he starts the chord with the Leslie on slow and then switches to fast rather quickly.

 

Thanks in advance. Mike

My Rig: Stage Piano: Korg Grandstage 73 - Organ: Hammond SKx - Amps: Motion Sound KP-500s - Mixer: Yamaha MGU10
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I have to tell you ................ I've never owned a Hammond Console but owned the SK1, SK2 and currently I have a Viscount Legend. All fabulous instruments in their own rite.

 

I have NEVER been able to get a chord sound out of any clone that sounds like the Hammond on that specific recording of the song.

My Rig: Stage Piano: Korg Grandstage 73 - Organ: Hammond SKx - Amps: Motion Sound KP-500s - Mixer: Yamaha MGU10
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I have NEVER been able to get a chord sound out of any clone that sounds like the Hammond on that specific recording of the song.

 

most likely much of the tone you are hearing has to do with the leslie speaker being used, not just the organ

:nopity:
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I have NEVER been able to get a chord sound out of any clone that sounds like the Hammond on that specific recording of the song.

 

most likely much of the tone you are hearing has to do with the leslie speaker being used, not just the organ

 

Once you get into registrations other than the usual 888000000, the organ can have an impact. Calibrations of the tonewheel generator varied between organs, and the variations were even greater over the 20+ year production era of the B3 and its derivatives. No two organs sounded the same.

 

I'm a drawbar artist on Hammond and have learned many useful registrations on my favorite tonewheel organ (Porta-B). But when I tried those registrations on other Hammonds and clonewheels they didn't sound the same. It wasn't until I exploited the custom tonewheel calibrations on the XK3/XK3c that I was finally able to replicate my favorite tonewheel organ.

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... my favorite tonewheel organ (Porta-B).

Now that's interesting. I've never heard anyone say that before. Can you describe what it is you prefer about the Porta-B vs other tonewheels?

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

-Mark Twain

 

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... my favorite tonewheel organ (Porta-B).

Now that's interesting. I've never heard anyone say that before. Can you describe what it is you prefer about the Porta-B vs other tonewheels?

 

What's not to like?

 

[video:youtube]

 

To actually provide an opinion for the OP, I'm not near an organ right now but I'd say it's pretty full, but with the fundamental and octave harmonics de-emphasized. Try 68 6686 884. No vibrato and Leslie *stopped* are fairly crucial too.

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... my favorite tonewheel organ (Porta-B).

Now that's interesting. I've never heard anyone say that before. Can you describe what it is you prefer about the Porta-B vs other tonewheels?

 

I bought this Porta-B and Leslie 760 from my piano teacher in 1981 when I first started gigging.

 

Lacking a scanner vibrato, the Porta-B isn't an organ for jazz or prog.

 

But for rock/blues... my Porta-B just screams. It can slice through thick rock guitars. Many organs have to be turned up in the mix to be heard; my Porta-B has a presence that can be heard even if it isn't prominent in the mix. When I pull out 888800000 and sweep up to high C, you can't miss that scream. I have trouble getting that same effect out of clonewheels.

 

When playing funk/R&B, I developed other registrations to free up "space" in the sonic spectrum (funk is all about the space), and the Porta-B has a way of sounding "juicy" that I have to struggle with from other organs. The Porta-B got a lot of love in that funk/R&B band.

 

There are musicians who know me as far back as 1981 and when I run into them years later they always remember that Porta-B and ask if I still have it. B-3 "snobs" have played my Porta-B and really liked it.

 

I don't have any audio examples online of the Porta-B in action, will have to put some up later.

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...But for rock/blues... my Porta-B just screams. It can slice through thick rock guitars... B-3 "snobs" have played my Porta-B and really liked it.

 

I've never thought of myself as a B3 snob exactly, but the only times I've played a Porta-B was at two concerts where it was backlined and I was Dying for my B. I just couldn't get the sounds I was accustomed to - which doesn't mean it wasn't doing its job, it just wasn't cloning the B3. I get what you're saying about cutting through the on stage mix. I wonder how much of the 'scream' is from the 760 Leslie in addition to the organ.

 

Speaking of which, there's another entry for the musician's lingo thread. "Dude, you made that thing SCREAM!"

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

-Mark Twain

 

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Thanks Jim and all who took a stab at the registration.

 

I will try each one of these registrations on my Legend and post some videos.

 

Thanks all. Mike

My Rig: Stage Piano: Korg Grandstage 73 - Organ: Hammond SKx - Amps: Motion Sound KP-500s - Mixer: Yamaha MGU10
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Love that song.... and the Hammond work on it. The end melody line is an homage to Al Kooper.

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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What is the drawbar registration for that beautiful first chord he plays when the verse starts?...

 

I don't have a keyboard here just now, but try something like 86 8866 336 and tweak to taste.

 

I have a keyboard here now, and a shape like 67 8678 678 (vibrato off, percussion off) sounds closer. NB: With a bright tone like this, the high drawbars will need tweaking depending on the organ and speaker.

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It sounds like the FULL SWELL hard-wired preset on the upper manual (the reverse key A) through a Leslie driven hard. The registration for that is:

 

32 7645 222

Charts of the original Hammond registrations are handy to keep around. Quite often, the sound someone used was one of them.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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It sounds like the FULL SWELL hard-wired preset on the upper manual (the reverse key A) through a Leslie driven hard. The registration for that is:

 

32 7645 222

Charts of the original Hammond registrations are handy to keep around. Quite often, the sound someone used was one of them.

 

Lots of guys just used the presets, like Tony Banks.

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Top heavy 5 1/4 drawbars are my favorite.

They tend to enhance higher harmonics better for blending with horns.

Nice to always have so many well schooled Hammond efficiandos conversing.

Ive been teaching my son how to swell while switching Leslie speeds, when to use Vibrato, etc.

Im thinking EDM and Hip Hop artists are looking for new sounds.

Odd that the Hammond Leslie is new to them...

 

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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I read Tony Banks didn't like organ but used it back when there wasn't much else.

 

That is also true of his ProSoloist, RMI piano, and Mellotron. He had ambitious plans but the proper touring tools didn't exist yet. He wanted to play piano but for touring there was nothing better than the RMI, and they couldn't afford to drag a real piano around. He wanted to emulate choirs and orchestra but there was nothing better than the Mellotron. The ProSoloist was used because it could change sound instantaneously during a performance, programmable synths did not yet exist.

 

Tony was never the atypical Hammond player - he used a T series spinet that didn't even have a tonewheel generator, when he bought it he was unaware of the B-3 that everyone else was using, and his organ technique had its roots in classical music rather than blues/jazz. Not that it was a bad thing.

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Back on the subject of the song at hand, here's an authentic live version...

 

 

and a bad one...

 

 

Of course BST has the right to rearrange the song any way they like, but to me this just sounds like a bad attempt to cover the original. Where's the opening brass trill? The organ is an octave off (or maybe gives that effect due to the drawbar registration). The main chords are basically changed from 7ths to 9ths. Eh.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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