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organ (specifically jon lord's organ solo section from “highway star” by deep purple | ToneDB

highway star

deep purple

organ (specifically jon lord's organ solo section

95% ai confidence

Tone Profile

A searing, aggressive, and iconic rock organ sound, characterized by heavy valve distortion from a Marshall amplifier combined with the swirling effect of a Leslie speaker. The tone is powerful, cutting, and defined the sound of rock organ for generations.

Signal Chain

Instrument: Hammond C3 Organ

Amp: Marshall JMP 100W Super Lead (or similar 1959SLP model) driving a Leslie 122 speaker cabinet

Microphone: Shure SM57 (pair for Leslie horns, often panned for stereo or summed), Electro-Voice RE20 (or similar dynamic mic like AKG D112/D12 for Leslie bass rotor)

Processing: Hammond C3 Chorus/Vibrato (typically C3 setting)

Other: Leslie speed set to fast (tremolo). The Marshall amplifier is heavily overdriven, acting as the primary distortion source. The Hammond's internal preamp may have been modified or an external preamp/DI box used to provide a hotter signal to effectively drive the Marshall's input stage.

Recording Notes

  • Recorded in December 1971 at the Grand Hotel in Montreux, Switzerland, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio for the album "Machine Head."
  • Jon Lord's innovative setup involved feeding his Hammond organ into a Marshall guitar amplifier for its characteristic distortion before the signal went to a Leslie speaker cabinet.
  • The Leslie cabinet was typically mic'd with multiple microphones: two for the rotating treble horns (e.g., Shure SM57s or Sennheiser MD421s) to capture the stereo movement and Doppler effect, and one for the bass rotor (e.g., Neumann U87, AKG D12/D112, or Electro-Voice RE20) to capture the low frequencies.
  • The specific Marshall amplifier was usually a 100-watt model, such as a JMP Super Lead, pushed into heavy saturation.
  • Considerable effort was made to isolate the powerful sound of the organ rig during recording to manage bleed into other microphones.

Recreation Tips

  • Use classic rock Hammond drawbar settings like 888000000 (fundamental and first two harmonics full), or 888800000 for a slightly thicker sound. For maximum drive, 888888888 can be used.
  • Engage the Hammond's C3 chorus/Vibrato setting for the characteristic shimmer.
  • Set the Leslie speaker (or simulator) to the 'fast' (tremolo) speed for the solo's intense swirling effect.
  • The core of the sound is achieving significant tube overdrive from a Marshall Plexi-style amplifier or a high-quality emulation. Experiment with the organ's volume output (expression pedal) and the amp's gain settings to find the sweet spot.
  • If using virtual instruments, a good Hammond B3 emulation (e.g., Arturia B-3 V, IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X, Native Instruments Vintage Organs) should be routed into a Marshall amp simulator (e.g., Universal Audio Marshall Plexi Classic, Neural DSP Archetype: Plini for Marshall tones, Softube Marshall Plexi Super Lead 1959) and then into a Leslie simulator (e.g., IK Multimedia Leslie, MeldaProduction MVintageRotary, Universal Audio Waterfall Rotary Speaker).
  • Pay attention to the gain staging: the Hammond's output needs to be hot enough to drive the Marshall model into distortion, but not so much that it becomes overly compressed or fizzy before the amp stage.
  • Don't underestimate the impact of the expression pedal for dynamics, even with a heavily distorted sound.

Sources