Hammond Organ

snizzle · 08-14-2007, 03:39 PM

So I got a call from a bandmate last night and it seems that he was just given an old hammond organ. Very sweet. It's the real deal. Takes a few guys to carry it but it is portable.

Well, we want to use it in our shows. What gives a Hammond B3 it's unique sound? This Hammond is high and churchy and we're trying to get some skank out of it. A real funky, rock organ. He's been playing around with it for the last few hours seeing what could be done and he's gotten some pretty sweet sounds.

Our other options is running it through my effects loop and seeing what kind of sounds we could get.

Any ideas? Pointers? We're kind of in over our heads here but this seems like something pretty sweet that just fell in our laps.
-shane

**Rainer.** · 08-14-2007, 04:02 PM

Get a Leslie. Do it.

Shoot, I'm jealous.

snizzle · 08-14-2007, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainer.

Get a Leslie. Do it.

Shoot, I'm jealous.

Looking into it.

How much will a rotary cab change the tone of this organ? (I admit to knowing very little) Will a leslie give this churchy hammond the skank that i'm after?

Are there cheaper options that have a decent tone?
-shane

*EDIT*
Obviously quite a few. Line 6, Boss, etc. Anyone tried one?

Nate · 08-14-2007, 05:32 PM

Is it a drawbar organ or one with stops / switches? Does it have controls on board for a rotary speaker cab?

Really, though, what gives the Hammond its unique sound is the player. It's one of the most player-centric instruments that there is, I think. An organ can be ridiculously lame sounding or ridiculously awesome, depending on the skill and vibe of the player.

**Rainer.** · 08-14-2007, 05:55 PM

+1, Nate.

But IMO, a Leslie is a big part of what gives rock and blues organ it's unique tone. That and most let you dial in a bit of overdrive.

snizzle · 08-14-2007, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate

Is it a drawbar organ or one with stops / switches? Does it have controls on board for a rotary speaker cab?

Really, though, what gives the Hammond its unique sound is the player. It's one of the most player-centric instruments that there is, I think. An organ can be ridiculously lame sounding or ridiculously awesome, depending on the skill and vibe of the player.

I havent seen it yet but I'm pretty sure it's drawbar.
Bums about it being so player-centric...since i'm the player, haha.

-shane

Nate · 08-14-2007, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snizzle

I havent seen it yet but I'm pretty sure it's drawbar.

If it's a drawbar, then it certainly should have a hook-up for a Leslie (some of the more church-y organs probably don't have this hook-up; I think it's proprietary), and that's really the "correct" way to amplify the thing, as I'm sure you know. I'm sure that you can get a decent sound out of something else, but it just won't be quite right.

Try Craigslist in your area, you never know.

snizzle · 08-14-2007, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate

If it's a drawbar, then it certainly should have a hook-up for a Leslie (some of the more church-y organs probably don't have this hook-up; I think it's proprietary), and that's really the "correct" way to amplify the thing, as I'm sure you know. I'm sure that you can get a decent sound out of something else, but it just won't be quite right.

Try Craigslist in your area, you never know.

A leslie would be superb...

..however, our first attempt will likely be playing through the leslie simulator on the line 6 blue. We'll see how it goes but this will be something that will be played sparingly (if only I had FOUR HANDS!!). I'll keep you guys posted. I can't wait to see and hear this thing.
-shane

Nate · 08-14-2007, 07:56 PM

The organ has a dual manual, I presume? How about pedals?

snizzle · 08-14-2007, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate

The organ has a dual manual, I presume? How about pedals?

I'm assuming the same. It's got pedals. (i was referring to the fact that it would be nice to play guitar and organ at the same time)
Looking for a job?

-shane

LWatford · 08-16-2007, 09:53 AM

What's the model number? Depending on the model, some will sound more hammond-ish than others. The Leslie connection is round, and will have 5,6,9, or 11 pins. The different Hammond models also have different percussion and foldback settings. Also depending on the model, it may not have the same power section as a B/C3 model.

The Leslie is pretty crucial to the classic Hammond sound, most of the crunchyness is coming from the leslie, the big 3 (145, 147, and 122) have fairly small tube amps (40w or so).