Nord User Forum

I recently purchased an Electro 6D, as I was keen to emulate a Hammond organ and believed the E6 was one of the best keyboards for this purpose. However, I occasionally struggle to recreate a sound that bears any resemblance to the Hammond in a particular song I am trying to play. One of the current songs I am learning is 'Everybody Hurts' by 'REM'. A Hammond kicks-in around 3.27 on the following video, but I cannot get my Nord to sound remotely like it. I appreciate, the organ used for the track was most probably a genuine Hammond, and I will never be able to recreate that sound perfectly, but I cannot get mine to sound anything like it. I'd be extremely grateful for any help you can offer.

Link to Everybody Hurts by REM - starting around 3.27



Thank you.

I'm not sitting in front of a Nord or Hammond right now, though I can check later to give you a more accurate representation. Here's what I'm hearing off the top of my head. It's all in the drawbars.

This is a pretty common rock organ setting that is likely using the bottom 3-4 drawbars as the main fundamental of the sound, with some of the higher drawbars adding some sparkle. It sounds almost like the drawbars get a bit more mellow at the end of the chorus section. There's also some medium overdrive happening, which you can dial in from the rotary effect on your Nord.

I'd experiment with drawbar settings like these, using rotary drive set around 10:00-12:00 to taste.

888443223
868644224
(you get the idea)

To make it more mellow, push in the second drawbar such as 808644224. The second drawbar is often referred to as the "rock and roll" drawbar, as it will make the sound thicker. I play a number of songs where the verse has the second drawbar on 0 and then I pull it out to between 5 and 8 during the chorus.

You can try adding a C1 chorus/vibrato, though I'm not really hearing too much of that shimmery type sound. The fun thing about playing organ is you can make changes all the time and each time it could be a little different. Good luck!

EricL: thank you so very much for taking the time to post such a helpful reply. I've tried the settings you suggested and it sounds great. How you worked-out the drawbar setting out in your head without setting foot near a keyboard, is beyond my comprehension. Just shows, I still have a hell of a lot to learn!

markythesparky wrote: ↑01 Aug 2024, 16:37 EricL: thank you so very much for taking the time to post such a helpful reply. I've tried the settings you suggested and it sounds great. How you worked-out the drawbar setting out in your head without setting foot near a keyboard, is beyond my comprehension. Just shows, I still have a hell of a lot to learn!

You're very welcome! My pleasure. I taught myself Hammond drawbars starting in the '80s when I got my first Hammond, an A101 console with Leslie 122 that I still have today. I started using clonewheels in the late '80s with the analog Korg CX-3 and then Hammond XB-2, among others along the way, until I started using Nords in the '00s and beyond.

Once you get familiar with how the drawbars influence the sound, along with effects, you can do almost anything! I believe there are some drawbar tutorials online where you could learn even more. Have fun!

markythesparky wrote: ↑01 Aug 2024, 16:37 EricL: thank you so very much for taking the time to post such a helpful reply. I've tried the settings you suggested and it sounds great. How you worked-out the drawbar setting out in your head without setting foot near a keyboard, is beyond my comprehension. Just shows, I still have a hell of a lot to learn!

It's pretty simple — think of the drawbars as a sort of graphic equaliser. You want the sound to be a bit darker? Those are the drawbars on the left. Brighter? Drawbars on the right.
With a little more experience, you can hear the individual drawbars having a very specific effect on the sound, but the basic idea is just that. The exact settings will vary from setup to setup — the same drawbar settings would work rather differently on my old A100 with its Leslie 145 than on the B3 with a 760, nevermind any of the clones I've used. They may also need to be adjusted for the room or the band, or just your basic mood, of the day. There's a lot of intuition involved.

Next, does it go "plunk" or "plink" at the beginning of a sound that's not played legato? Percussion.

Then, it's a question of how static the sound is. The Leslie speaker rotation is a broad effect, and the quick shimmer is the Chorus/Vibrato. How exactly these sound will vary even across identical models of the same organ. Shimmer? Chorus. Wobble? Vibrato. Whether 1, 2, or 3 is a matter of trying out.

I got my electro 6 a couple of years ago. Like you I was not happy with the “Hammond” sound. Since then I have spent a lot of time with my 6. It is not a Hammond, it is a beast all its own. I love it. Take time and go through the programs. There is a lot of great organ settings in there. I use a lot of them, and you can edit them on the fly if needed, or change them, save it, and dial it up later.
I use a setting of 888866663 Percussion soft/fast 3rd C1 OD 5/6 Rotary slow Reverb on Room,
for Hush, Gimme Some Lovin, Magic Carpet Ride (throw some phaser in for a real trippy sound).

Okay - just for the books - "markythesparky" just wrote "Electro6".
This does not clearly mean, that he uses a Waterfall-keybed.
It just makes a big difference to the HP-keys, when it come to Hammond-alike-Feeling,
what correspond in the Hammond-alike-Sound to...