> By John Novello

When bassist Billy Sheehan asked me to collaborate on a tune for a hard rock compilation CD (Smell the Fuzz, Metalblade Records), I jumped at the opportunity. We asked drummer Dennis Chambers to play with us, as he is one of the best musicians I have ever had the privilege to blow with. The results were so good, and it was so much fun, that we decided to keep the project going. It evolved into Niacin, a power-trio vehicle for Dennis, Billy, and me to create raw, energetic, B-3 music. (I find that there is enough unhealthy easy-listening music around, don't you?)

Two CDs and several international tours later, we're still having a blast. For me, there's nothing like playing my B-3. I always get off on holding a chord, grabbing a handful of those sensuous drawbars, and listening to the Leslie scream from zero to 60 and back.
I love playing even a simple blues riff with percussion - it sounds like the voice of God. I love doing glissandos that take your head off, configuring the drawbars in new ways, and putting the pedal to the floor and bringing everybody to their knees.

Although you'd get these results with a stock B-3 and a couple of Leslie speakers, my Niacon setup is a bit hot-rodded. Bill Beer of Keyboard Products in Los Angeles (10950 Tuxford St. # 24, Sun Valley, CA 91352. 818-504-6979) took my B-3's guts out of its wooden shell, cut the legs off, and repositioned the electronics in a more portable roadworthy configuration. Bill also replaced the tube preamp woth a more dependable but still warm-sounding A028 solid-state preamp with active 2-band EQ, beefed up the percussion with active volume control, and added three spring reverbs. He ran the direct output from the preamp so I can mix it with my two Leslies, one of which is a high-powered solid state 122 HP with 250W RMS, a JBL 2482 treble driver, and a JBL E-140 15" woofer; the other is a stock warm 122. The direct tone gives me some of that Keith Emerson/Brian Auger torque that I've always admired.

I also run the direct out through a Jim Dunlop GCB-95 Crybaby wah-wah pedal and then into my rack effects, which include digital delay, compression, and distortion from a Korg A3. I find that when I add these effects at kine level before they get to the Leslies, it gives me more control over the distortion, and saves wear and tear on the Leslie amps and speakers. Since I'm only affecting the direct out, I can get a wide range of mixes with the fat Leslie sound. I have a three position Leslie control that sets up slow rotation in center position, with fast to the right and momentary fast to the left, with a spring that returns the control to the slow position; a footswitch provides control of Leslie speeds when both hands are busy. I also have effects send/return inserts for each manual, and I sometimes add chorusing, phasing, envelope followers, or delay to the entire Hammond sound.

I use the following drawbar settings as a starting point, although I change them constantly as I play. On the top manual, the B-flat preset drawbar settings at 88 8888 888, and the B preset at 88 8000 000, with 3rd percussion on and vibrato off. On the bottom manual, the B-flat preset brings up a configuration of 00 6500 000, and the B preset calls up 82 8100 000, vibrato off. The pedals I keep at 80.

The B preset on the top manual is mainly for my lead playing, while the B-flat preset is for chord comping and pads, and that good old-fashioned full-Hammond glue. On the bottom manual, the B preset is for left-hand bass in the lower register and for comping that calls for a dark timbre. The B-flat preset is my normal left-hand setup for comping under right-hand melodies and solos.

The Hammond expression pedal has an exponential curve; as it gets closer to full volume, the volume increases more per unit of movement. Since the B-3 sound does not respond to key velocity, the expression pedal is crucial for dynamics. As I push drawbars in, I usually compensate with an increase in volume.

Equipment, though important, is secondary to writing and performing, and that's the way it always will be. Check out Examples 1, 2, and 3 below and on pages 76 and 78 , as well as their corresponding audio files on the Keyboard Web site to see how I apply all of this technical stuff. It's easy to catch up on erquipment; it's not so easy to learn to play and write. So, grab your drawbars and ramp up your Leslies. Long live the mighty B!

From Keyboard Magazine, July 1997
Body of article at left.