Overdrive pedal for B3. ?

[rb4u1]

I have owned a few Leslie clones but I am still looking for more controllable
Overdrive. The Nord OD sounds good to me until you turn it up.
So has anyone had any success with an outboard overdrive in a pedal
Or rack format ? Tube or SS ?
Thanks,

[kagamul]

Overdrive after the Leslie effect doesn't really work, so you won't be able to use the Nord Leslie sim with an overdrive pedal - if you're after the classic Leslie sound, that is.

If you use an external Leslie sim or a real Leslie then you can take a look at various guitar effect pedals. There are some nice options!

Tell us what you have in mind regarding the effects chain, then I'm sure we'll be in a better position to help!

[rb4u1]

I would normally use the E3 to Qsc K10 w/out a mixer. I also have the option of using a ventilator which although a great sim doesnt really provide an over the top sound. I would like to achieve something in between a Jimmy Smith and a Jon Lord.
I have tried using a Speakeasy pre but if my memory serves me it didnt really help the vent and would not have been useful in a quick setup.
Pedals are sort of what I'm interested in at this point. Although having tried 1 or 2 I realize they aren't
setup to receive a line level signal.
Strymon Lex sounded good on demo.

[kagamul]

Well if it's the distortion you don't like you could set the Vent to be clean and add the drive with another pedal.

The Hughes & Kettner Tubeman is a great pedal and can often be found used on eBay. I own the first version.
Also try their Tube Rotosphere Leslie pedal which I also own and like. Both have a real tube inside and the distortion is very nice!

The Strymon Lex looks nice. I haven't heard it yet, but a friend of mine has their El Capistan delay pedal and it is outstanding.
Tech 21 have a Leslie pedal too.

And there is the Organ & Groove pedal by Thomas Reussenzehn in Germany. He's still not done translating his homepage to English though...

[rb4u1]

I had a H&K Rotosphere for years and it got far more use than any pedal or rack unit that I've ever had, although it was a little noisy and not as realistic as some of the current crop. The German unit looks interesting and the Google translator works pretty good. Are there any youtube's of his product(s) ?

[kagamul]

I have not yet been able to find a video review of the Organ & Groove pedal. I would be interested myself.

I own several Reussenzehn products (not the Organ & Groove though) and they are all hand-wired and sound gorgeous.

Also, you might try:
Tech 21 Sansamp pedal.
BK Butler Tube Driver

Btw, I found that most of the time, driving a pedal with a line level signal is no problem as long as you keep your level low enough.

[rb4u1]

Thanks for the input. Would really like to hear Reussenzehn's products.

[designx]

I had the Tube Rotosphere and used this with a Roland Vk7 and Roland Vk1000 with an original first generation TLA EQ1 inbetween the two which had several valves onboard to fatten the sound when driven by pumping the input level. Now the Vk7 is a fat sounding clone and much deeper and tonal than the Electro 2 I am running with and testing now, but it lacks other features that the Nord Electro 2 has which is a more immediate effects section with an effects amount knob to dial in a precise value which I believe the new Electro 3 has lost . The VK7 has reverb. The Electro 2 has a great electric piano sound / keyboard feel and I am very happy with it. The VK7 has a horrible electric piano sound and is completely out of it's league compared to the Nord. The VK7 has an output connection for a real Leslie. For Hard Rock Hammond the VK7 has more sonic potential. It sounds darker. The Nord on the other hand sounds sweeter. However back to the topic of overdrive, I was very dissapointed with the Tube Rotosphere as I was underwhelmed by its leslie effect that to me sounded like a pumping motorboat engine for want of a better expression. The valve overdrive effect on it had no clout unlike the grind from the TLA EQ1 driven hard. I have two EQ1's, where one is for back up. My main one has a different sound to the backup and this may due to different valves inside but I never checked. I have read some people do not care for this valve eq whilst others won't part with them. Everyone uses equipment for different situations and so their mileage differs when assesing the equipment and it's midas factor. But don't be fooled by "valves onboard" running on low voltages inside stomp boxes. My TLA EQ1's midas factor in my rig is that it adds grind, body and thickness, bass pump if required and mid, top boost or cut with overall tonal shaping but it's not perfect as it's a rack unit and may be too much for a quick gig but if on a tour you may be using rack units offstage in any case and this unit will simply beef up and turn a modern digital clone into a vintage sounding board with or without a leslie sim on the end. However I also use a Korg G4 leslie simulator that has a great woody cabinet sound and perfectly separates the upper horn and lower bass with a dip in the frequencies inbetween and is way beyond the sound of the Rotosphere in every sense and you can hear the speed of the bass cabinet rotor rotating clearly in relation to the spinning horn sound. It has incredible separation and authenticity. The Rotosphere I would say is over hyped and has a mushy sound in comparison. The Korg G4 cuts out some very high frequencies which Hammonds never had in any case but just about every clone has an over emphasised top end. Guitarists hate organists in any case that try to share the same frequencies. You want your sound to have balls but not bells. Power, grit and soul is preferable to a high pitched drill unless you are specifically using your clones sound to get a screaming drill sound. Compared to a real C3 / B3 and Leslie, nothing comes close as it chucks and throws sound all around, spitting and snarling, groaning and purring and bursting in and out of life. It's a very vital sound. Every C3/ B3 Leslie combination sounds different just like every fender guitar and amp, gibson guitar and amp has a different feel, quality, and similarly a good pair and a bad pair of Hammond / Leslies are a huge risk to the buyer of vintage equipment as you may end up with a dud. With clones it's easier to mix and match and know if it does not work for you. It will never work. You need road crew to get a Hammond about and you can't sneak it into your home without the girlfriend noticing.

[rb4u1]

Thanks for the straight up insight. Although I had a Rotosphere. I no longer have one. They serve a purpose and everyone has to find what works for him. I used the Rotosphere at a time when I did a lot of bar gigs. I thought it was effective but was a tad noisy and not really accurate as to what a Leslie sounded like.

[designx]

That hiss on the Rotosphere is very apparent and what makes me wonder is why in these high profile reviews in music magazines they fail to mention this fact. My guess is that the reviewers have to give a higher rating than they would have liked as magazines need to have the manufacturer of that said device pay for advertising and without this advertising the magazine would shoot itself in the foot with an honest review and then go out of business. Therefore treat magazines reviews with the simple fact that they are "economic" with the truth.
I bought the Rotosphere secondhand at a near new price as several local stores had none in stock. Made me think they were selling like hot cakes ! The guy that sold it to me was a Gospel keyboard player hmmm, not good enough for him..he's not holding on to it....alarm bells should have rung but they didn't.

The Rotosphere I believe is better suited to guitarists as a suedo leslie effect to add to their ever expandiing footpedals. They will most likely have a noise gate to cut out any unwanted hiss.