One Headlight by the Wallflowers

[forabba]

I saw this topic surface in a sub back in 2012, but just curious if anyone has ever cracked the organ sound on One Headlight by the wallflowers.

0:20 mark. Best as I can tell the closest match is a B3 sound with just the flute drawbars

[JWalkey]

Hey forabba!

I just recently switched from a Nord Stage 2 to a Nord Stage 4 and am still trying to get my bearings, but thought I’d take a crack at One Headlight cuz I play a regular Sunday jam and our bandleader likes to throw it in every so often.

Whenever I want that flutey organ sound (often used in country music) I know that’s probably a B3, no V/C, and just the fundamental (Flute8) all the way out. For this song it also sounds likes it’s coupled with a decent amount of Drive on the Leslie (maybe 3.0, between 3 & 4?) That will give you some of those really cool overdriven harmonics. That should give you your basic sound for much of the song (Verses and interludes.)

As for the Choruses and ending vamp, I’d say it’s actually Str8 you want to add to the fundamental. If you need a bit more oomph, try adding the first drawbar (Bass16) as well.

Hope this helps!

[Spider]

that’s probably a B3 ... Flute8 ... Str8 ... Bass16

You mean B3 or Farfisa? The One Headlight organ is most definitely a Hammond, but the registers you mention are the ones for the Farfisa model (printed on the top row above the Stage drawbars).
The Hammond model only uses footing labels (16', 8' etc) without "flute, strings" etc, and is printed on the bottom row below the drawbars.

Apart from this minor clarification, one of the main things to get the One Headlight sound right is the Leslie speed: note how it changes all the time and how it gives movement and "breath" to a very simple and soft organ sound.

[ericL]

I played this song in my last band - it didn't last long. Even though it is a GREAT song for listening, it completely cleared the dance floor every time we played it. Which was a bummer!

In terms of the organ sounds used by Rami Jaffee, it's very important to dial in the right Hammond drawbar settings. There's not one perfect setting for it, though the primary flutey tone is something like 008000000 or perhaps add a little bit extra such as 008300002 to make it cut a little more. During the chorus when the organ sound gets bigger, pull out the bottom two drawbars to get that rock organ sound, such as 888000000 or 888300002. Add a touch of overdrive and reverb along with the Leslie simulator and you'll have it pretty close.

Good luck!

[cphollis]

I played this song in my last band - it didn't last long. Even though it is a GREAT song for listening, it completely cleared the dance floor every time we played it. Which was a bummer!

In terms of the organ sounds used by Rami Jaffee, it's very important to dial in the right Hammond drawbar settings. There's not one perfect setting for it, though the primary flutey tone is something like 008000000 or perhaps add a little bit extra such as 008300002 to make it cut a little more. During the chorus when the organ sound gets bigger, pull out the bottom two drawbars to get that rock organ sound, such as 888000000 or 888300002. Add a touch of overdrive and reverb along with the Leslie simulator and you'll have it pretty close.

Good luck!

Exact same experience in my band -- we had high hopes, but our audience had other thoughts

Agree on the registration and FX. It was one of those songs where I put a wheel morph on the leslie speed -- the same works nicely for gospel.

[My Keys To Music]

HI! I just read this and wanted to share my work over the weekend for this song. I'm unsure if this is an appropriate post, seeing how it doesn't point to a "free video." But considering I have over 200 free videos and constantly tell people back to head to the forum for this and that, maybe I'll get a pass for posting this? The demo was on a Nord Electro 6 but could apply to any Nord board with an Organ engine: Wallflowers Drawbar Strategies