Making that Nord organ growl, stutter, scream

[BobbieG]

Hi all,
I know the Nord has great organ voices and settings, including drawbars, Leslie vibrato, etc. I play one (an NE 6D 73) with my band, but my sounds are pretty stock and I am still mastering the art of getting the settings just right.

It is enjoyable to watch and listen to those who have truly mastered the instrument. In a live setting, their showmanship and cool sounds delight the audience.

E.g. I saw the Ska band Slackers play in NY recently. Vic Ruggiero played a mean Nord. Here are some YouTubes of shows from the same tour, or at least from 2022, as well as the times when he is all over the keys making some sick sounds.

Check out 11:57-13:00

21:00-22:00

Obviously he's a great musician, would love to play like he can without the fireworks - but here I am interested in how to coax out some of those cool, distorted and funky sounds.

Appreciate any tips or pointers to resources. Thanks much

BobbyG

[Gambold]

My first impression is that he's not afraid to boost the volume on the rotor so that it distorts a wee bit. Not Jon Lord territory - I've always found that to be too much - but this is not a "clean" Hammond sound I'm hearing.

I would guess he's using standard Jimmy Smith settings, maybe with the fourth drawbar down a bit, maybe with the chorus switched off. For this kind of music that's pretty much all you need - you don't need to get clever with the drawbars unless you are playing jazz or lounge (or church!) music. You pull all the rest down for the big finishes, and then push them back up for the next song...

Other, better Hammond players than me may hear things totally differently of course!

[Spider]

Yes the drawbar settings are fairly standard, what can make the difference is equalization, amp simulation and drive.
Do not be afraid to use lots of EQ: the Nord organ tends to be quite shrill, most Hammonds (or better, Leslies) have a marked rolloff in the high frequencies. So a big cut on the high EQ and a boost to the mids usually warms up the sound a lot. I also always add a bit of drive, not so much that it distorts, maybe 0.5-1. You can also experiment by mixing the drive in the rotary simulation with the drive in the amp/eq section.
Finally, don't forget to dive into the menus and experiment with the various organ settings. In general, the default Nord organ is very clean, most B3s by now are dirty old beasts, so if you maximize all the settings for noise, keyclick etc you can get closer. Also experiment with the horn/rotor balance (another way to address the "shrillness" factor)

[analogika]

888808000 as a starting point (in that first video, he’s pulling the sixth drawbar to shrill up the sound for the solo, pushing it back for the accompaniment).

Add distortion.

I played very similar music back when I used the Electro 2. Man, that was fun.

[analogika]

888808000 as a starting point (in that first video, he’s pulling the sixth drawbar to shrill up the sound for the solo, pushing it back for the accompaniment).

Add distortion.

I played very similar music back when I used the Electro 2. Man, that was fun.

Analogika, isn't this you in the audience on the first video, at the very right at around 5:00?

[analogika]

Also, make sure to check out the link in @analogika’s signature. There are some really nice videos (with a Nord and a real B3) that should provide inspiration for both playing and authentic sounds.

https://thedrawbars.band/

[analogika]

Also, make sure to check out the link in @analogika’s signature. There are some really nice videos (with a Nord and a real B3) that should provide inspiration for both playing and authentic sounds.

https://thedrawbars.band/

Wow, thanks for the flowers!

Note that while there's a Nord in that first video (for "Jacked"), the actual recording for the first EP - Jacked, Slo Vibe, and Knock You Out - was made on a Hammond M3.

The other stuff is a B3.

If you search us out on YouTube, only the live debut 2018 and live video of Cat-Call are played on the Nord. After our second gig, we decided unanimously that The Drawbars would not gig without the B3 (Nord is always in the van as a backup, though).

[BobbieG]

Thanks all for the great tips!

[analogika]

Hah! This thread prompted me to go search out material from that band (I fell out with the singer before our first real album, and they re-recorded the whole thing, so there's no releases with me on them).

This is all I found, recorded on some potato-cam:





Hehe. Wild times.

Oh, and a Nord Electro 2. Still have it. Love it.

[PScooter63]

I toured with an original ska/reggae/world beat band for over a decade, mostly in the '90s. We do reunion shows a few times annually in our biggest markets these days. I've played a lot of ska organ over the years and have more advice to share if you like! The Nord organ can definitely do it well.

Here's a compilation video from a reunion show a few years ago. If you want to hear the more overt ska organ stuff, check 3:00-3:20, 5:53-6:20, 7:09-7:50, 8:32 etc.

https://

The main components for that distinctive sound is using a lot of the white drawbars such as 8084004005 for a really pure type of sound, add some C1 or C3 chorus if you like...then bring in the second drawbar to make it cut more with more of a rock sound. 84880080035 or something like that.

Hope this helps!
Eric