Lee Moses: Reach Out/Day Tripper - Hammond advice please

[Kawai James]

Hello folks,

 

The band that I play with is planning to take-on these two Lee Moses covers:

 

 

 

The organ parts in both tunes are not so complicated (I think our drummer will have a much harder time...), however I'd like to nail the sound as closely as possible.
My assumption is that both were performed on a B3.  I think "Reach Out" uses a stopped Leslie, while "Day Tripper" does not use a Leslie at all.

 

Any other suggestions for how I can reproduce the organ sounds in these tracks on my Electro, please?

 

Thanks in advance for any comments!

 

Cheers,

James

x

[CHarrell]

I don't know if it's the recording or if I have crummy ears, but that second tune sounds to me more like a Farfisa or Vox organ.

 

https://youtu.be/3V-saYmzUyg?si=K3Bil-o92LDyNCG6

 

https://youtu.be/IrBJoUcE2d0?si=z76PlPhG6Fi8ZqBa

[Kawai James]

Thanks for your reply!

 

Yes, you could well be right...that's why I thought it might be a stopped/braked Leslie, but it may not be a Hammond at all.

 

Cheers,

James

x

[CHarrell]

13 minutes ago, Kawai James said:

Thanks for your reply!

 

Yes, you could well be right...that's why I thought it might be a stopped/braked Leslie, but it may not be a Hammond at all.

 

Cheers,

James

x

 

Consider it returning the favor for all the forum lurking I've done on your posts that have helped lead me to eagerly expect an ES120 in the mail tomorrow. 😉

 

Looks like Nord has a special library for these two organs!

 

https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/product-libraries/stage-pianos/nord-electro-3/voxfarfisa-library

[Kawai James]

Thank you for deciding to purchase the ES120 - I hope you enjoy the instrument!

 

Quote

Looks like Nord has a special library for these two organs!

Yes, I believe so, however I don't think I've ever had a reason to use them in a song.  When I use the Electro, it's either Hammond, upright piano, or one of the EPs.

 

Cheers,

James

x

[niacin]

Unless the fuzz has been EQed out of it I reckon Day Tripper is a Farfisa, it sounds less like a polyphonic kazoo than a Vox.

 

Reach out might be a Farfisa too, possibly through a Leslie, imo it doesn't have the body of a B3, though a B3 can do a pretty credible combo organ emulation and it might be a B3 with vibrato on and some EQ.

[lsj]

4 hours ago, niacin said:

Unless the fuzz has been EQed out of it I reckon Day Tripper is a Farfisa, it sounds less like a polyphonic kazoo than a Vox.

 

Reach out might be a Farfisa too, possibly through a Leslie, imo it doesn't have the body of a B3, though a B3 can do a pretty credible combo organ emulation and it might be a B3 with vibrato on and some EQ.

definitely not a hammond, transistor organ.

[Threadslayer]

Both of these tracks would be great examples of "let's not do it like the record"

What a clam fest!

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Agreed with all of the above re: Day Tripper and the transistor organ.

 

Reach Out sounds like it could be a Hammond with the vibrato on and a really shouty drawbar setting, can't tell if there's any spin on the Leslie or not. It seems a bit fuller than the organ on the other track, but it definitely sounds like what I do when I'm trying to get my Hammond to sound more like a transistor organ, if we're doing a Doors cover or something like that.

 

There are definitely some sharper ears for that sort of thing than me on the forum, though, just wanted to make sure we addressed the first part of your question.

[Delaware Dave]

First, I've never even heard of Lee Moses before; 2nd if anyone in the crowd is over 50 YO they also probably have not heard of Lee Moses; third, I would highly doubt that anyone is going to say "hey, they're doing the Lee Moses version of Day Tripper, how come the keyboard player used a hammond rather than a Vox organ?".  Capiche?

[SamuelBLupowitz]

4 minutes ago, Delaware Dave said:

 I would highly doubt that anyone is going to say "hey, they're doing the Lee Moses version of Day Tripper, how come the keyboard player used a hammond rather than a Vox organ?". 

Sure, of course not. I don't see trying to nail a specific recorded sound as something you do for the audience at all; it's something you do for the development of your ear, and your own personal satisfaction. I see it as the same reason @Josh Paxton advocates for learning to play "Superstition" as close to how Stevie did it as possible. Sure, you can just sort of fake it, or adapt the part to your own style, and people will still recognize and dig it. But getting inside of another musician's approach leads to discovery and additional tools in your toolbox, even if what you take away from it is "wow, I hate it and definitely would never play it that way myself."

 

TL;DR: Knowledge is Good.

[time4jazz]

Although bands often cover old songs for a variety of reasons, it’s not often (I assume) that a band does covers of such dated covers of such well known songs. I’d be concerned that the audience would just assume that what the band is playing is the band’s take on these songs. 

[Delaware Dave]

3 hours ago, time4jazz said:

Although bands often cover old songs for a variety of reasons, it’s not often (I assume) that a band does covers of such dated covers of such well known songs. I’d be concerned that the audience would just assume that what the band is playing is the band’s take on these songs. 

EXACTLY my 'read between the lines' comment above that apparently, so far, you're the only one that got it.  Most of the audience will think it's the bands take on the original, not the Lee Moses rendition. And the topic is "Hammond advice" rather than "what keyboard instrument is being used on this song".

[MathOfInsects]

First, shout out to the fat shirtless guy in the reflection of the spindle on that first youtube link.

Second, I would say these are both recorded on the same transistor organ, and even if they weren't, playing them on a transistor organ should get you closer, faster, than trying to nail it on the B3.

Third...even if you're doing "this" version of those tunes, I don't see any real reason you can't play it on whatever organ sounds you can make sound best, as you, rather than playing "as him." Some tunes need a certain sound; these would only seem to need the feel and the parts, to call it a win.

[Kawai James]

Thanks very much for all your replies and comments guys!

 

As to whether it really matters if I reproduce the sound of the organ used in these recordings...

 

Well, the artist Lee Moses did not achieve mainstream success (although his song "Bad Girl" did receive attention after being used in a film a few years ago), so it's doubtful that anyone in the audience who listens to us performing these songs will recognise that they are covers of his particular covers (although some of our funk/soul DJ friends may appreciate the rarity of tunes on our set-list).  Therefore, ultimately it probably does not matter if I use a Vox, Farfisa, Hammond for these songs.

 

However, on a personal level, I do derive a sense of musical satisfaction in trying to reproduce the vintage sound of the instruments used in these original recordings.  For me, nailing the sound is almost as important as playing the right notes!

 

Thanks again guys!

 

Cheers,

James

x

 

ps. Here's the "Bad Girl" song mentioned above.  Honestly, how this song along didn't make Lee Moses a star is a mystery...

 

 

[Threadslayer]

16 hours ago, Kawai James said:

... For me, nailing the sound is almost as important as playing the right notes!

 

 

Per my previous comment, that will involve not copying the original too closely - particularly the iconic guitar riff in Day Tripper

[El Lobo]

10 minutes ago, Threadslayer said:

Per my previous comment, that will involve not copying the original too closely - particularly the iconic guitar riff in Day Tripper

I wuz gonna say - they don't even get the signature riff right in Day Tripper.

[El Lobo]

I use the Vox voice on my Electro for that vintage cheezy organ sound. There's a Farfisa voice but it doesn't sound right. When I use the Vox sound, my band members call it the Farfisa sound. 

[Threadslayer]

Getting OT now, but I kinda dig the Bad Girl record. Particularly the slightly erratic and out of tune horn section. This is a sound/effect I have always tried to recreate live on a keyboard without much success. It might be an effective use of AI. "Set up a horn section playing together for the first time from sketchy charts where the alto player is drunk, and the trumpet player is making eyes with a girl on the dance floor."

[MathOfInsects]

I love that sound too. I used to love the original sample beds made by the first hip-hoppers, with all those sources recorded in slightly different tunings, or with the speed of the records not quite matching. I miss that.

Yeah, the riff in Day Tripper--that's a huge decision point, because if you play it correctly to this unknown cover, you're playing it wrong for how everyone knows it. I think you have to play it wrong to this record and right to the original. At that point...you might as well play the organ your way too.