WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

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Here you will find a series of music videos capturing some of the finest organ music from the worlds greatest players, past and present. Each music video is (approx) 20 minutes in length.
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WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

Postby VAL7JEAN » 29 Aug 2018 14:45

It seems most if not all Hammond recordings have a Leslie attached.
Are there any Hammond (and others) that do not?
It might be good to hear such organs without the Leslie
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Re: WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

Postby Mike Bracchi » 29 Aug 2018 20:30

Otto Weiss played the Hammond without a Leslie - he relied solely on the vibrato and vibrato chorus of the Hammond to get his unique sound - a sound I have long admired from the Hammond. There are one or two tracks where a Leslie has been used - but generally he doesn't use them.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab
http://tierce-de-picardie.co.uk/viewtop ... 313&t=1074

Klaus Wunderlich was also a performer who used the Hammond without the aid of a Leslie.

Mike
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Re: WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

Postby Hugh-AR » 29 Aug 2018 22:07

The sound created by a Leslie Speaker

From Wikipedia:
The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided by a rotating system of horns in front of the treble driver. It is most commonly associated with the Hammond organ, though it was later used for the guitar and other instruments. A typical Leslie speaker contains an amplifier, a treble horn and a bass speaker—though specific components depend upon the model. A musician controls the Leslie speaker by either an external switch or pedal that alternates between a slow and fast speed setting, known as "chorale" and "tremolo".

The speaker is named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, who began working in the late 1930s to get a speaker for a Hammond organ that better emulated a pipe or theatre organ, and discovered that baffles rotating along the axis of the speaker cone gave the best sound effect. Hammond was not interested in marketing or selling the speakers, so Leslie sold them himself as an add-on, targeting other organs as well as Hammond. Leslie made the first speaker in 1941. The sound of the organ being played through his speakers received national radio exposure across the US, and it became a commercial and critical success. It soon became an essential tool for most jazz organists. In 1965, Leslie sold his business to CBS who, in 1980, sold it to Hammond. Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation subsequently acquired the Hammond and Leslie brands.

There is nothing like listening to an organ being played through a Leslie speaker "live", and I don't reckon you can get the true effect of how the sound is thrown round the room by listening to a recording.

The Leslie 122



I had a Leslie speaker attached to my Farfisa organ, which had two channels. Drums, piano and all instruments were routed through 'fixed' speakers, and the flute organ sounds went through the Leslie. My organ engineer used to come up annually to 'oil' all the moving parts of my Leslie.

I once accompanied a friend who played a keyboard in a Pub. He had a Leslie speaker and took that with him. His keyboard was 'single channel' so everything went through the Leslie. Drums, piano etc. You can't imagine what that sounded like! But I don't think the punters even noticed! Maybe they had had one too many by the time he started playing.

Hugh

PS. Not to be confused with 'Vibrato', which changes the 'pitch' of the note, and gives a completely different 'pulsating' sound.
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Re: WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

Postby Hugh-AR » 29 Aug 2018 22:25

More on the Leslie, for anyone who is interested (from Wikipedia).

Leslie never advertised his speakers. After demonstrating a prototype with Bob Mitchell, an organist with radio station KFI in Los Angeles, a contract was made to install another prototype in the station's studios, where Mitchell would be the only organist authorised to use it. Mitchell was so impressed that he tried to patent the speaker, but discovered that he could not. Soon afterwards, Mitchell became an organist with the Mutual Broadcasting System, and played a Hammond with the Leslie on its shows, ensuring national exposure for the sound. The Leslie was subsequently a standard component of several notable jazz organists, including Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Shirley Scott. Graham Bond was the first notable British organist to play a Hammond through a Leslie.

In 1965, Buddy Guy's guitar amplifier stopped working while he was recording Junior Wells' album Hoodoo Man Blues. Recording engineer Stu Black rewired the Leslie speaker in the studio to work with Guy's guitar, which became a significant use of the guitar with the speaker.

The Beatles first recorded with a Leslie in June 1965 when George Harrison was overdubbing one of his lead guitar parts on "It's Only Love". Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys first recorded a Leslie in 1965 and used one for the title track of Pet Sounds, released the following year. The Beatles used a Leslie throughout the sessions for Revolver in 1966. After John Lennon had asked for his voice to sound "as though I'm the Dalai Lama singing from the highest mountain top", Abbey Road engineer Geoff Emerick rewired the input of the studio's Leslie so a vocal microphone could be attached to it. Emerick used this setup to record Lennon's vocal on the track "Tomorrow Never Knows" and claims the Beatles subsequently wanted to record everything through a Leslie. Harrison played his guitar through a Leslie on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "You Never Give Me Your Money". The Beatles subsequently inspired other guitarists to use the speaker. Harrison played through a Leslie in his guest appearance on Cream's song "Badge", and David Gilmour used a similar setup when recording with Pink Floyd. Floyd's Richard Wright played a grand piano through a Leslie for the introduction of Echoes on 1971's Meddle. Guitarist Joe Walsh used the Leslie early in his career with the James Gang.

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Re: WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

Postby Mike Bracchi » 30 Aug 2018 07:45

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Re: WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

Postby Mike Bracchi » 30 Aug 2018 08:00

A wonderful example of how the Hammond sounds without the Leslie speaker ...
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Re: WITH/WITHOUT A LESLIE

Postby Hugh-AR » 30 Aug 2018 11:00

Mike,

That Leslie Speaker Demo Record - Side 2 video is brilliant!. What a gem! I always associate Moonlight Serenade with a 'Glen Miller' sound and am always disappointed when I play this on my AR as I cannot get anywhere near this sound (keyboards do a far better job). Hearing this has given me inspiration to try playing it with a Hammond Organ setting with Tremolo.

Really enjoyed 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree' too. Another favourite of mine, which never seems to come off quite right when I play it. Again, a Hammond setup would be something to try.

Hugh
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