Advice on favorite box to replicate an organ sound.

jsaine · Post by **jsaine** » 2 Jul 2009 2:59 pm

I'm looking for a stomp box that can be used to replicate an organ sound. Something on the order of a Leslie simulator or a Boss Vibrato maybe. I'm not so hot on choruses. I saw Jon Graboff use something that sounded interesting but don't know what it was. Any ideas would be great.
Thanks

Doug Palmer · Post by **Doug Palmer** » 2 Jul 2009 3:52 pm

Jsaine, I have a Leslie that I have used for years. Got tired of hauling it around and got a Boss RT-20. Doesn't have the 3-D sound up close, but put it in the mix and it sounds pretty close.

If you are not careful it will sound like a cheap chorus. Tweak it just right and adjust your playing style. It works for me.

Doug

Ron Wright · Post by **Ron Wright** » 2 Jul 2009 8:48 pm

I use a behringer RM600 rotary box works great

Lynn Oliver · Post by **Lynn Oliver** » 2 Jul 2009 10:04 pm

How about an Electro Harmonix HOG?

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 3 Jul 2009 1:14 am

The Electro harmonix POG does a great job. You can push it to get some overdrive and detune the overtones. Its pretty amazing. Its not a leslie sim though. Its way more and quite different.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 3 Jul 2009 6:31 am

Bob is right.
I also use the POG for a very authentic organ sound.
If you really want to get carried away, follow that up with an H & K Rotosphere to add a Leslie effect to the POG's organ sound.

jsaine · Post by **jsaine** » 3 Jul 2009 5:43 pm

Thanks for all the responses. EH makes a couple of POGS. Has anyone had experience with the Micro Pog?

Lynn Oliver · Post by **Lynn Oliver** » 3 Jul 2009 7:19 pm

Some earlier discussion of POGs:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=132051

And I see that the POG2 is available.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 4 Jul 2009 5:42 am

You can get a good organ sound out of the micro POG but not as good as the full blown POG.
With the big POG, the sound is reproduced one octave below and one and two octaves above. There is also a "detuning" feature on the big POG. On the micro POG, there is no detuning feature and no two octaves above reproduction.

Jon Graboff · Post by **Jon Graboff** » 20 Jul 2009 10:42 am

jsaine, the leslie sound I'd dial up while I was touring with Ryan Adams was with a Line 6 Modulation box. I also have a Voce Spin ll but even after having it modded, it just doesn't sound voiced right for the pedal steel (a problem I've experienced with a lot to stomp boxes), so I tend to not use it (sounds great with a regular electric guitar by the way).

I've recently picked up the Eventide versions of the Line 6 stuff which sounds better but can get very complicated with all it's banks and finding presets, etc.

IMHO, nothing is ever truly satisfying compared to the real thing, but who's gonna carry around a real leslie? JG

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 20 Jul 2009 10:59 am

Do a search on the internet for the "Dynacord CLS 222 Leslie simulator".
This unit was built in Germany a few years ago and is still one of the highest rated simulators in existance.

Jonathan Mitguard · Post by **Jonathan Mitguard** » 20 Jul 2009 11:58 am

Jon Graboff wrote:jsaine, the leslie sound I'd dial up while I was touring with Ryan Adams was with a Line 6 Modulation box.

I also use the Line 6 and it works pretty well, always turns heads looking for the organ. By it's self there is no confusing it for a B3 but in a mix of music it is a useful simulator tool.

What ever you get though must have the ability to simulate the speed up and slowdown of the spinning horn, not just fast and slow. That is where it's at for the leslie sound.

jsaine · Post by **jsaine** » 20 Jul 2009 3:03 pm

Thanks Jon and everyone for your responses. It would be great to be able to try out some of these but it's a bit difficult. I'll have to pick one and go for it.
Thanks
-Jeff

Dave Beaty · Post by **Dave Beaty** » 20 Jul 2009 6:56 pm

Jsaine, I had a project a few months ago to research the very same thing. After MUCH work and many comparisons, I too finally settled on the "Dynacord CLS 222 Leslie simulator". There are a number of minor model variations, and like old amps, there is a "black face" unit, a "white face" unit and others, but you will not go wrong with any of the related models. I ended up buying three of them from eBay and they really did the job - they are head and shoulders above anything else we could find - like anything else that offers quality, reliability and performance, they cost a bit more, but its worth it. I heartily recommend that unit if you are serious about achieving the best rotary sound. If you need any related information, just shoot me an email.
Best of luck with your project.
Dave

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 6 Aug 2010 2:33 am

Any new organ simulators available since this thread was started? I've been reading good things about the Neo Ventilator, anyone have experience with it?

Scott Swartz · Post by **Scott Swartz** » 6 Aug 2010 5:56 am

I use the "organ sound" quite a bit in one band I work with, and to get the closest to the B3 sound you need harmonization to simulate the thickness of all the octave drawbars, some way to get the percussion part of the the B3 tone, rotary simulation of some sort, and a bit of overdrive for sustain and the grit common in B3 sounds.

The POGs are excellent for harmonization, but the HOG is even better since it can do a reasonably facsimile of the percussion.

I use a RT20 for the rotary, it sounds pretty realistic, although any rotary effect in mono through an amp is going to be a compromise compared to a leslie.

Don McGregor · Post by **Don McGregor** » 6 Aug 2010 6:22 am

Roto-vibe pedal

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 6 Aug 2010 6:32 am

John,
I've been wondering the same thing.
I read a lot of good things about the Neo Instruments "Ventilator". It is made in Germany and seems to be in short supply in the US. I guess if I could get my hands on one, I'd like to give it a try. It's not cheap, though!

Lynn Oliver · Post by **Lynn Oliver** » 6 Aug 2010 8:31 am

Scott Swartz wrote:...The POGs are excellent for harmonization, but the HOG is even better since it can do a reasonably facsimile of the percussion...

Scott, how do you set the HOG to emulate the percussion?

Remember that the Neo Ventilator is a Leslie sim and will not do anything to simulate the stops, the clicks, or the percussive effects.

FWIW, here are the stops for the upper bank on a Hammond B3 drawbar organ:

Code: Select all

Stops		Cents
16'				-12
8'				   0
5 1/3'			 +7
4'				 +12
2 2/3'			+19
2'				 +24
1 3/5'			+28
1 1/3'			+31
1'				 +36

The 5 1/3' drawbar actually is placed betwen the 16' and the 8'. I have no idea why.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 6 Aug 2010 12:51 pm

I have a Korg G4 which is pretty good.

Scott Swartz · Post by **Scott Swartz** » 6 Aug 2010 8:34 pm

Lynn,

Its a little complicated to explain without having a HOG to work with, but basically the octaves are split 5 and 5 and you can tweak the attack and decay of each set of 5 seperately. So, you set the upper octaves to decay quickly, giving a chirp like the B3 percussion.

The other important part is the Spectral Gate button, which greatly emphasizes the fundamental of the steel signal, or another way to look at it is it turns the steel signal into a sine wave. The octaves are then added to this fundamental only signal which mimics the way drawbars work, ie adding sine waves. Since the octaves are being generated off the fundamental, the volume of all the voices stay constant relative to one another like on a B3. With the sustain of steel you can get a very long unchanging note like holding down a key on an organ. A little overdrive helps with this also.

Check out

http://www.ehx.com/products/hog

http://www.ehx.com/blog/effectology-hammond-b3-organ

Gerry Simon · Post by **Gerry Simon** » 6 Aug 2010 10:30 pm

John and Erv..After reading up on as much as I could find, I decided to order the NEO unit last month...I expect it in the next week or so...I am getting it with the stereo mod so when in bypass it stays stereo. Will let ya know how I like if your still interested...Gerry

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 7 Aug 2010 6:15 am

Gerry,
I am very much interested in hearing how you like the unit. Chances are, if I get one it will be the stereo model also. I am presently running an H & K Rotosphere through the effects loop in my rack in stereo.
Are you getting yours from Ashby?

Lynn Oliver · Post by **Lynn Oliver** » 7 Aug 2010 11:18 am

Looking at the prices on units like the HOG and the NEO I'm starting to think that the AXE-FX is not so expensive after all.

Gerry Simon · Post by **Gerry Simon** » 7 Aug 2010 12:40 pm

Erv, Yes, from Ashby..I had not heard of them before my search for a Leslie but I am happy with them thus far. I assume you have listened to some of the samples of organ and guitar on their site. Perhaps someone should send them a few steel samples as well!! ?

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Advice on favorite box to replicate an organ sound.

Advice on favorite box to replicate an organ sound.

jsaine

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