From c_schonberger@yahoo.com Wed Sep 09 09:41:05 2009
Subject:Re: No more Leslie challenged clonewheels? Ventilator nails it.


--- On Wed, 9/9/09, goffmac747@aol.com wrote:
 
>Unless you are an organ artist, you can get by with almost any clone. [snip]
.............
 
Please allow me to politely disagree. Seems like most people have forgotten the 1970s where pop(ular) album bands included great recordings of Hammond organ in their music befor polyphonic synths took over.
Even if you just hold a simple chord and change the leslie speed within a band context, quality and authenticity matter. Some people think that the sound of an instrument becomes less important within a context. I know from experience (I am a musician/producer) that some sounds can become worse in a mix, because the "body" is masked by the vocals, gutars, drums etc. But the upper harmonics cut through the mix. A muddy clone (or organ patch on an older MIDI module) with harmonic beating certainly wouldn't even sound like a Hammond in some musical contexts.
A good clone and leslie sim (and of course the real deal) have that typical quality from warm/breathy to that combination of upper harmonic shine and the throaty, bell like leslie.
 
I think an organ artist (especially solo,) as long as he/she has the mechanical interface equal or similar to a console Hammond, can still come up with great music, even on older clones or "organs" from the analog times, because the playing technique makes up for the lack of authenticity. I am positive that Joey D. sounds way better on a 1985 Elka X-15 than I would....  and I crtainly sound better on an impeccable vintage B3/122 than on a Roland sound canvas with the Rock Organ patch.
It's like guitar players: even strumming simple chords sounds better on a hand made top notch guitar than on a guitar for 50 bucks.
 
Bottom line: it ain't that simple.
 
....just my 2c...  ... just my humble input....
Christian
 



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