From dsurkin@optonline.net Fri Jun 30 09:38:00 2006
Subject:Re: Volume control of pedal/manual bass

On a vintage Hammond, the same volume pedal controls the swell, great
and pedals. Scott Hawthorne has written extensively about tapping on
the pedals to add a percusive effect to a left hand bass line; Scott
also mentions that using a held pedal tone, using a short tap, and
even choosing a different note to tap will all add different timbres,
which the ear will interpret as different dynamics.

When I used to gig in the 60s, 70s and early 80s, I used a separate
line out for my pedals and ran them at constant volume (in order,
those were Farfisa organ pedals, Hammond pedals and Crumar
Orchestrator pedals (factory modified to add percussion and sustain
controls). I found that the constant level worked well with rock and
pop, but was not as effective in jazz. And on an amusing note: I never
understood how to play LH/pedal tap bass, and I practiced until I
could do all bass lines on the pedals--and they never sounded as good
as the LH/tapping technique.

--Dean L. Surkin

>[snip]Right now the expression pedal controls the volume of
> the bass as well as the upper manual. [snip]