Organists that don't do bass pedals

[under13]

What do you do to get your pedal tone to project? To me,the pedal tone just isn't as clear as it should be,A friend of mine was telling me that's why it's best to have a tone cabinet and leslie,or an A100 +leslie.Some of the post on here REALLY don't like that idea.

Maybe you leslie needs servicing and a new woofer. You dont need a tone cab to get good bass. IT could also be the acoustics of your room

What kinda leslie do you have? the shorter ones will have less bass than the 122s and 147s. I've also found that the brand new ones have a lot more low end

[GSM]

I started on organ, it was a small church just with organ and drums, and young musicians were taught you should be able to play everything with your weak hand, that you could with your dominant, and that the pedals were there for use...so even as a primary player I could use pedals.  Now at our local church, I primarily play piano(piano patches anyway)...so for the past two years when doing services for others ,concerts, or in the studio is the only time I actually play organ.  So because I dont play organ regularly anymore, I have to schedule time to practice, just to keep my self fluent, and I notice that the bulk of the stumble comes from pedals....now mind you, up until 2 years ago I was an organist, so I've always been strong in pedals...even in fast rejoicing music, I would not left hand the bass, but I guess like other things, when you don't continue at it.....

Like most of you ,my chord structure and phrasing is different on organ than piano...so I spend dedicated time practicing both.  I'm fluent in all keys, but I've gained fluency in D,G, and A just in the past years that I've been primarily on piano.....So I have to still practice those keys on organ, my chording and handwork is fine,but my feet don't automatically go to the correct pedal (without thinking)...and I HATE having to look at the pedals when I play(reminds me of my starting days, could never watch the choir director, because I had to watch and make sure my hands and feet were in proper position)

The other hinderance is that I'm 6'8, which was great for playing ball, but not so good for running pedals comfortably.

[themidiroom]

Then you need bigger and better speakers

Get some Cerwin Vega speakers like Under13 has.   

[RMS2003]

What do you do to get your pedal tone to project? To me,the pedal tone just isn't as clear as it should be,A friend of mine was telling me that's why it's best to have a tone cabinet and leslie,or an A100 +leslie.Some of the post on here REALLY don't like that idea.

Location can make or break the sound. The Leslie should be against the wall and on the floor. I've experimented with different locations and by far the best location was right beside me. If I would move it directly behind me or behind me to the left or right, the bass would drop out. If you can, experiment a little and see what sounds best to you when you're sitting at the organ.

[themidiroom]

Maybe you leslie needs servicing and a new woofer. You dont need a tone cab to get good bass. IT could also be the acoustics of your room

What kinda leslie do you have? the shorter ones will have less bass than the 122s and 147s. I've also found that the brand new ones have a lot more low end

The new Leslies seem to be missing a lot of the upper bass tone.  The deep bass is there but they make the cabinets out of MDF now and they don't resonate like the older cabs do.

[under13]

Get some Cerwin Vega speakers like Under13 has.  

SPEAKER. singular. I blew one, the first day I got em

I'm glad they both wouldnt fit in my car, or else I probaly woulda killed both of them. But it still rocks.

[themidiroom]

SPEAKER. singular. I blew one, the first day I got em

I'm glad they both wouldnt fit in my car, or else I probaly woulda killed both of them. But it still rocks.

That's unbelieveable.  In all the years I've been doing music and having had dozens of speakers, I've never blown a woofer before.  I did manage to blow a couple tweeters but that's it.  How much power were you feeding them?

[under13]

That's unbelieveable.  In all the years I've been doing music and having had dozens of speakers, I've never blown a woofer before.  I did manage to blow a couple tweeters but that's it.  How much power were you feeding them?

When I first hooked it up, I wasnt thinking, and I had the faders on my mixer all the way up, Put a song on, heard a horrible loud sound, and then heard nothing else from it since then. I changed the fuse, and it still doesent work. The one that works is sufficient for my small apartment.  I might look into getting it repaired, but I could probaly get another used pair  for the amount it would cost to fix.

[1achord]

Location can make or break the sound. The Leslie should be against the wall and on the floor. I've experimented with different locations and by far the best location was right beside me. If I would move it directly behind me or behind me to the left or right, the bass would drop out. If you can, experiment a little and see what sounds best to you when you're sitting at the organ.

I agree! I played at a church yesterday and they had their Leslie elevated on a wall above and behind the organ.

[under13]

I agree! I played at a church yesterday and they had their Leslie elevated on a wall above and behind the organ.

I've been too a church that had two leslies on the wall, and I think one near the organist, and it sounded good.

[themidiroom]

I agree! I played at a church yesterday and they had their Leslie elevated on a wall above and behind the organ.

That's really old school.  I can only imagine the trouble you have to go through to do maintenance on the Leslie that's up on the wall.

[under13]

That's really old school.  I can only imagine the trouble you have to go through to do maintenance on the Leslie that's up on the wall.

Most  techs wont even atempt to service it. They say it has to be on ground level for them to work on it

[themidiroom]

Most  techs wont even atempt to service it. They say it has to be on ground level for them to work on it

I would be nearly impossible to work on them in the air unless it was on a platform large enough to spin it around.  I did a recording once and they refused to take the Leslie down so it had to be miced with the stands fully extended.  I'm surpised they didn't fall over.  At the time, I didn't have the commercial grade stands that will go about 15 feet in the air.

[Queendavid]

I'm currently learning to play the organ more than playing the piano, which I am used to playing, my question is do you play only with your right hand if your church has a bass player?, I tried playing the pedal and my left hand, but sometimes we clash on certian songs.


Thank you

[themidiroom]

I'm currently learning to play the organ more than playing the piano, which I am used to playing, my question is do you play only with your right hand if your church has a bass player?, I tried playing the pedal and my left hand, but sometimes we clash on certian songs.


Thank you

When I play organ, it's instinctive for me to use the pedal so when a playing with a bassist, I turn down the pedal volume so it doesn't interfere with what the bass is doing.

[Ramar]

The Hammond organ without pedals is like eating fries without salt and ketchup, man.

[under13]

The Hammond organ without pedals is like eating fries without salt and ketchup, man.

Healthy?

[X-66]

I confess,my big feet aren't that graceful;but got the pedals out today and gonna give it a shot.One thing;like the depth of the pedals,but necessarily the sound.Would rather hear a fat acoustic or slap;what do you do to sculpt your pedal tone.(more like a string bass)

You might try the heel and toe technique for a smoother, more legato string-bass type line.  Also; play the same note on the pedals that you`re playing with the left hand to get used to playing the pedals if you`re rusty, or new at them.  Some like to play the legato bass in the left hand, while accenting each note with a little shot of bass pedal, to get a plucked-string effect.  That`s why you "ride" a Hammond instead of just "playing" it standing-up!

[B3Wannabe]

When I first started I rarely played bass pedals--that was back in 1993. I didn't get comfortable with them until about 1995.

Now, pedals are the first thing I reach for. I play a lot better if I have pedals. I can do OK with a bass player; but sometimes, they don't play the way I'm thinking, so my playing is a little restricted.

If I have to use my left hand for bass, I start to suck like a vacuum. My organ playing then starts to sound almost like I'm on a piano.

[Ken-Ken24]

Do you all know of any organ repair techs in the East Texas area that I can shadow? I have been playing to organ for quite some time and do not know how to repair one yet. I play one at church and I have one of my own, but the one at church has a blown fuse. We replaced it (in the leslie) and I was able to play one song on it. After that song, it went out. My organ's pedals don't function. When I first got it they worked, then I moved from Dls to East Texas and the pedals would make a humming noise, now they don't work at all. I would really like to know what to check for so that I can repair it myself.