Organ Grinder pedal - any good?

[pint6x]

Hi All,

I have been reading up about the Organ Grinder pedal. I have an NE3, and the standard Compressor/Drive control offers an impressive amount of dirt over the top of the B3 sounds.

I'm wondering what the OG pedal offers over and above this effect - anyone hooked up this pedal to an Electro?

Thanks - Philip

[pint6x]

Here's a video demoing the Organ Grinder (along with other pedal/effects): The Stage 3's B3 engine's obviously superior to the Electro 3's but you can get an idea of how much of an improvement it may prove to be.

In my opinion, the Organ Grinder is a great pedal for older clonewheels. Still, it's far from cheap, and since Nord's overdrive has always been fairly good, I'm not sure it's totally worth it. If you don't plan on buying a new Electro anytime soon, buy it, it's still an improvement to your Hammond sound: but in that case, you might be better off buying a Ventilator, which not only includes a decent overdrive but also vastly improves the Electro 3's Leslie effect (bringing it on par with Nord's latest simulation, Leslie and distortion-wise); there also the Mini Vent, which is cheaper, especially if you pick up a used one.

[pint6x]

Hi,

I checked it for my Nord Stage 3 in combination with a Neo Vent II, compared it to the Tall&Fat and found the Tall&Fat sounding better to my taste, but the Organ Grinder also adds well to the overall sound

[pint6x]

The Tall & Fat is my main pedal for tube overdrive. When I want to get really dirty, I'll shut off the T&F and kick in the Organ Grinder. The organ grinder is on a whole another level of drive. Use it sparingly or when you want to make your guitar player start crying.

[anotherscott]

While sounds can be useful for all kinds of reasons, if your goal is authenticity, keep in mind that, on a real B3, overdrive can only occur before the rotary, whereas if you put an overdrive pedal on a Nord, it will be after the rotary (unless you don't use Nord's rotary effect), which will be different, and unnatural compared to the way it would sound on the real thing. So for example, an overdrive pedal responds differently based on the level of what's driving it. When before the rotary, the level driving it is constant. When after the rotary effect, the level driving it is varying/pulsating.