[HAM] Dr. Lonnie sound

[OF]

At 08:25 AM 2/1/2007, Bruce Murphy wrote:

>Just got Lonnie's album of covers of Beck tunes. Weird. However, he has 
>the sweetest B3 sound I've ever heard on record. Strident, heavy bass, 
>hint of grind, nice top end sizzle. Made me pee my pants.
>
>   Anyone have any insight into how this album was recorded? Leslie, mic 
> setup, board? Probably just about impossible for me to reproduce (I sure 
> ain't Lonnie), but the sound is magical.

I don't know any details about how the record was recorded, but as someone 
who has heard Lonnie play and record under all kinds of different 
conditions, I would posit the unpopular view: that it's the player, not the 
machine.

First, the "strident, heavy bass." Lonnie uses much more pedal than the 
other major players. Forget about the "pedal taps" I'm always harping 
about-- he does them, but, at least half the time, he's playing full pedals 
along with his left hand or alone. He's a fearless and deadly-accurate 
pedal player. And, of course, this affects the tone of the whole organ.

The other important thing is that he has mastered the expression pedal and 
his ears always know exactly where his sound is sitting in relation to the 
other instruments. I think this subtlety is highly under-valued: the 
position of the expression pedal directly affects the tone of the organ. 
When Lonnie plays, no matter what box he's playing, it always sounds good, 
and that's why, IMO. And Lonnie is never afraid to play softly, leaving 
plenty of dynamic range available when he wants to goose it suddenly.

We were jamming one afternoon at Jazz Alley, doing a sound check for an 
organ summit. Lonnie, Reuben Wilson, and I were onstage, because McGriff 
hadn't arrived yet. I came up with JOS's "Alfredo," a Cm blues, and we 
played it out. At the end, Lonnie's voice came sharp (very uncharacteristic 
of him), "Scott! THIS is how it's SUPPOSED to be played!" He demonstrated 
exactly the same notes I had played on the head, only it was quiet and 
subtle, not loud and shouting as I had played it. A priceless lesson. I was 
embarrassed but wiser.