Whats that pad sound in brown eyed girl (van morrison)? The pad sound plays near the intro and at various other parts during the song...Is it a harmonica playing really quietly?

I know its not a synth or an organ.....Any ideas? The pad sounds in that song opens up a new dimension in that song....which make it infinitely more interesting.

Sounds like an organ to me, with the leslie turned off, except in the intro, where it sounds like the vibrato (not the leslie) is on.
I saw Van Morrison doing a gig with Them back in the late 60's. In the middle of Gloria, he threw his tamborine at the drummer and stomped off the stage. But it was one of those triple bills, so the next band came on - probably Jefferson Airplane, or Quicksilver Messenger Service. Funny thing, back then, Sons of Champlain were big in the Bay Area. They wore outfits like Paul Reviere and the Raiders. And who were the Sons of Champlain? Bill Champlain, keyboard player/writer/singer who's been working with Chicago for the last 10 years or so. It's nice to see at least a few musicians survived the 60's.

Forgive me for my ignorance, but what does the leslie sound like when it is turned on? Is the leslie similar to an effect pedal for guitars? How does the leslie swtich change sound of an organ? Is the leslie an effect?

Also, do you remember if the organ was a Hammon B3 or...something else?


Thanks man!

A leslie is an amplifer/speaker cabinet that has roating speakers. One large bass horn and a high horn. These can be run at different speeds with different acceleration/deceleration curves to achieve different levels of dopplar effect. The effect is similar to chorusing, but... different... it's a sound that's pretty unique to a B3, and you'll really miss it hearing one without a leslie (except perhaps in this case, as it may seem)

Leslie--One of the most bizarre and cool things in RocknRoll.

Here you go.

the pad is an organ, AFAIK.

Ok so if the Leslie is a speaker.......when you turn it off..........would you just turn off the speaker? Hence no sound?

Or to "Turn off a leslie" would that just mean to turn off the rotating speakers?? Is there a switch for this?

yep... leslie.... real 3d... about the size of a small refrigerator... (weighs a lot too) awesome sound....

there's a control to turn it off and change speed.
there are two speeds fast and slow
. the rotating speaker take time do accelerate de-accelerate so you can hear it speeding up or slowing down when you change speeds. this is a very important characteristic...

some people even use them on vocals... bass, guitars, etc...
i would love to have one, but it would fit the room... so i use one of the many simulations available...

if you want to get a feel of what it does get something like the Native Instruments B4
or find a real one...

you can turn the rotation effect off... of course you can turn the whole thing off but it isn't that helpful that way...heh

leslie on guitars thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup

and vocals

Think George Harrison melodic guitar on 'Something'. The sweet sound of a Leslie speaker in slow motion.

I saw an opening band called Celebration use a leslie cab for their guitars...made me want to get one until they used it on EVERY SINGLE SONG....then it started to get old, but yeah i love the leslie effect...might just pick up the hughes & ketner pedal instead of a goofy old cab.

Here you are...

The leslie has a horn(see pic) and a rotor at the bottom (with a 15 inch Jensen)
They rotate in opposite directions creating the so-called doppler effect.
Tube version 147 and 225 are the desirable ones. Normally used with a B3 or C3 Hammond.
But you can use m for anything :GTRS , Vcls, you name it. You need a "combo" preamp to use it with guitar as the leslie doesnt have a preamp. It uses the preamp of the organ. Combo preamps are difficult to get.....

The rotating speed can be modified with a sewing machine foot treadle (basically a heavy rheostat). In the 60s, the psychedelic bands did it. The normal Leslie speds were 3Hz (Vibrato) and 12Hz (Chorale). With a variable speed, the psychedelic bands would get it down to 1/2Hz. Think Pig Pen at an Acid Test in San Francisco.

There actually was a Leslie preamp that would allow you to plug in a guitar or electric piano into a 122 or 147. They were rare and expensive when they came out, and are even more so now.

later model touring Leslie systems had internal preamps, such as the Model 760.

Fender and Leslie also made a rotating speaker that did not have an amp. You would use a regular amp to power them. They were sold as the Leslie Model 16 or the Fender Vibratone. They are covered in Tolex and had the regular Fender grille cloth. I believe Boz Scaggs used to use one in the 70s.

There are modern versions made by Motion Sound.

i think mesa boogie ha sone out too...

just to continue on the leslie... the top rotor used horns like you see in the picture, the bottom has a revolving wooden drum that would rotate around the speaker, while the speaker remained still.....

A friend of mine, the late Kenny Craddock was his keyboard player for a while and his MD for a couple of years (I think) and he was reknown for his hammond playing.

I haven't got a copy of the track to hand at the moment, but I suspect it was a hammond, Van has used organ on many of his tracks.

Regards



Roland

I always read stories like this about Morrison. And the same thought always comes to mind. As much as I love his music and incredible voice, why has not anyone beat the crap out of the little short bastard.heh

In real life they need the gig, besides it wouldn't be good for business to punch out your boss, even if he is an arse, the industry is small and peoples raps follow them around and haunt them. I was led to believe that Van had a habit of blowing hot and cold, perhaps that is part of what makes him a great artist?

regards


Roland

There is a company that makes them still here somewhere... if anyone REALLY wants to know more I could try to find info- otherwise spend a few minutes with google!!

We had a 760 when I was a kid through my teen years. And a Hammond C3. The footpedal for the 760 had 1/4" jacks right on it. I plugged guitars into it. And through an MXR distortion plus. heh And had a lot of fun singing through it as well.

How would I search to find out more info on these, searching for leslies just comes up with nothing related, and hammond leslies just come up with hammond stuff.

Google: "leslie speaker cabinets"

The drummer probably deserved it. Ray Charles was known for getting down on the drummie.

I used to gig with a player who had a B3 and leslie. Nothing like the sound of it.

And nothing like the pain in the ass of moving it. It's right up there with the Ampeg 8/ 10s bass rig.

Check out Jimmie Vaughns cd "Strange Pleasure". Lots of B3/leslie. No bass player--all done on the organ.

After checking the net quite a bit; as I had the same question; I found details of the recording session. Van and 4 studio musicians. The keyboard player used a Vox Continental.

The Net says the studio used a Vox Continental.

Studio info says it was a Vox Continental.

Now and again I go into some very old working men's and social clubs (N/W UK) where there is still a "house" Leslie to avoid the necessity, they were so ubiquitous, often even painted to fit the decor.

Nothing like a good thick coat of crimson gloss. I might try it on my Takamine.