Mild Leslie Nightmare with condensors and SM57's

[Paj]

I recently had occasion to record some hot Hammond B3 (and Diversi) players at a dealership studio. I used 3 different pairs of condensers on the Leslie treble rotors, 3 different condensers for the Leslie bass speaker, and a trio of SM57 mics placed for the particular Leslies.*

I just recorded the tracks; I didn't mix them. The mic tracks were eventually blended to give the best sound on each cut. The owner was VERY happy with the end product and that made me feel really good, because they have a high-powered clientele (name somebody that plays Hammond on the East Coast) and are frequently in Englewood Cliffs for sessions.

The studio was a condenser mic nightmare: small, glass enclosed, and the performers/organs were only about 2-3 ft away from any mic. With the exception of the SP B1 pair, the condensers all performed great. A stereo pair is really all you need---the bass condensers were used in some mixes but the treble rotor condensers picked up all the bass needed when moved away from the cabinet. I'll say this about the SP B1, though: Leslies in reflective environments do not provide it with shining moments.**

Oh, yeah, the point of the posting: If you want to quickly get a Hammond/Leslie combination to sound like virtually every organ track you ever heard, use three SM57s.* You don't even need esoteric preamps. They provided great, fail-safe, fallback tracks for the session. Credit where credit is due.

Later
Paj
8^)


* I've learned that the most widely used studio configuration for the Leslie is three SM57s: two SM57s at the treble rotor, opposite each other (180 degrees). The third is placed at the bass speaker (bottom of the Leslie). There are some Leslies that require that the rotor SM57s be placed at a right angle (90 degrees) to each other. This is to avoid picking up hum from the rotor motor on these models. The model and side of the cabinet to avoid will be obvious to you because of the hum. The right-angle trick works like magic with these models. Feel free to substitute a bass drum mic (D112, e602, D6, etc.) for the bass SM57, as placement of this mic can be tedious to get fat response and minimum motor noise. I even prefer a SM58 for the bass speaker.

**Please---no hate mail. I own a pair of SP B1 mics, like 'em, and use 'em a lot. Leslies in a close, reflective environment are not their forte.

 

[Rev E]

I've recorded a few leslies also. I agree with you if you're close micing... that SM57s will do you fine. 57s seem to be made for close micing amplifiers, including leslie boxes. I've found ribbons to work great also. When I do use condensers, I use them a bit set back from the leslie (minimum 4 to 5 feet). Using condensers, you can get away with a nice stereo configuration (MS for ultra mono compatability, spaced pair, XY, whatever works). Plus, the sound of leslies (that many of us have in our heads) is the sound of a leslie interacting with the room... so backing off the mic is probably the best way to go. But, I can see from your situation with all that glass that this was not very possible.

I was recording B3 and drums a couple weeks ago and didn't have enough channels to do a stereo config. I just put up the U195 right in front-center of the leslie about 4 to 5 feet back and ... gold! Sounded great with the U195 into a tube preamp. When I can I usually don't do much close micing of the leslie, preferring instead to do a stereo pair of condensers 4 to 5 feet from the leslie and perhaps a kick drum mic like a Beyer M88 or AT 25 down low maybe 2 feet from the bottom center of the leslie.

 

[Ronan]

Great testament to the power of the mighty B3!! A great source and its almost a challenge to mess up the sound.

I usually use 2 Neuman U87s on top and a 421 on the bottom, but many times will just throw up one 87. The 57 is a great approach to because it will help accentuate the thick midrange of the instrument and handle the SPL up close.

Lots of home recordists will obviously not own a great B3, but if you live near a studio with one, its well worth booking an hour or two to overdub a real B3 onto your tracks. Its such an amazing learning experience. You push up the fader and the track sounds great and sits in the mix. Its a world of difference to even the best of sample based immitations.

 

[Rev E]

I couldn't agree with you more Ronan... It's pretty difficult to mess up recording a leslie. You'd have to be trying really hard.