A Whiter Shade of Pale - in search of the sound

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Hi, everyone.

This might be a less technical topic, given the latest posts here on the forum, and I’m definitely feeling a bit nostalgic as I post a somewhat lighthearted topic about certain styles that have had a profound impact on my musical journey. I like ’70s music because…

When I first heard “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum, it took my breath away. I was still just a kid taking my first steps in music. I remember I’d only just started playing with some friends back then—in fact, I was the worst of the bunch; I had a toy keyboard, the kind you give to kids…

Then, little by little, I managed to convince my parents to buy me my first keyboard—a simple but electronic one—which allowed me to feel on par with my friends and start playing together!

“A Whiter Shade of Pale,” in my opinion, marked a historic turning point, successfully blending classical music and soft rock. Many musicians later adopted this approach to interpreting this kind of music, which has the power to stir emotions and awaken consciences! At least, that’s how I interpreted it deep down, on an inner level!

I’ve always tried to reproduce A Whiter as best I could. Some music stores had the Hammond B3, and whenever I could, I’d try my hand at mimicking A Whiter—it was fabulous! But it was out of reach for me, too, given the high cost of both the instrument and the Leslie speaker!

That was until VSTs were “invented”—and that’s when everything changed for me! I went in search of software that could make the best use of these VSTs, until I discovered Cantabile: thanks, @Brad!!!

To make a long story short, I started looking for the best sound reproduction of “A Whiter.” I learned how to use Cantabile to get as close as possible to the sounds set up by Gary Brooker (and also by Matthew Fisher). Obviously, what you hear isn’t just the B3 and the Leslie—you have to keep in mind that there’s a recording studio involved!! This is where the magic happens—the final touch that creates the sound we ultimately hear!

So, this is where I focused my efforts: I imagined myself in that recording studio to reproduce that sound, which consists not only of the Hammond B3 (or even an A100) and the Leslie, but also of effects like EQ, flanger, chorus, reverb, and so on.

I’ve tried it and I’m still trying; sometimes I succeed, sometimes not so much, but I always give it a shot. This led to an idea I’d like to propose here in the forum. I’d love for everyone to try creating their own song featuring a VST organ of their choice. My favorite is the B-3X, though the various VB3, Blue3, Waterfall, B5v3, etc., are also excellent options. The effects I’ve set up on the output are reverb (Cathedral or Big Room), a slight EQ (to better manage my amplification), and a subtle flanger that gives me a sound which, together with the Leslie set to “Slow,” seems to float through the air.

For reverb, I used the Sanford VST; for EQ, the Overtone GEQ VST; and for the flanger, the old but still reliable Sonitus FX Modulator. The B-3X drawbars are set to 876500000 for Upper and 000402001.

What do you think? I hope you enjoy this post and find it useful.

Sergio

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I taught you well… :rofl:

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I found a few short MP3 files where I had tried recording some sounds with the B-3X.
These are just quick tests, recorded last year, and obviously they’re just for reference.
Keep in mind that they were saved on my laptop, not on the keyboards themselves, and are just meant to give you an idea of how the sound plays back.
You might find them a bit overloaded with effects when I set up the song, but they’re from quite a while ago—just to give you an idea of how I tweak the B-3X’s basic sound.

Recordings Sergio.zip (3.2 MB)

Sergio

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I made my patch from existing patches I found online and I looked at all of @Corky 's patches too which are excellent for some of the other work I do. I am grateful for his sharing spirit. It can’t be overstated IMO that Matthew Fisher’s Organ work made the song famous then. It was the Hammond hook that drew you in and helped make it one of the top pop singles of the past 100 years. Gary Brooker & Matthew Fisher wrote the progression after it was determined in court that Fisher deserved the writing credit. Keith Reid provided lyrics.

This song got me my largest tip I ever got at a gig we played. It still is loved by the silver hairs here for sure.

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If I had hair, it would probably silver, but we will never know. :older_person:

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When I first started out, I was trying to figure out how to adjust the B-3X settings, and I have to thank @Corky for his work—that’s when I began to understand how I could achieve what I wanted. Corky posted a great series of songs that used the B-3X as their base VST, which I was able to draw on to understand how to modify any of the B-3X’s settings.
So, thank you so much, Corky!

Sergio

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I have been playing this song for more than 40 years in bands, starting on an Elka X-5, and at varying times a real Hammond C-3 with Leslie 122, Nord Electro 3 and 4 with Neo Instruments Ventilator, and Korg BX-3 ('2000s digital one) with Leslie. Today, I still play the song using a Nord Stage 3 and UA Waterfall Rotary Speaker VST.

The prevailing thought has always been that the upper manual on the recording was set to 68860000 with soft, fast, 2nd harmonic percussion. On some organs/clones I have changed this to 78860000 or even 78870000 to add a little body to the sound. The lower manual settings have never really been agreed upon; I use 776000000 most of the time. Be aware that the bass notes are mostly played on the upper manual during the chorus and the last 4 bars of the intro/riff. Partial chords (mostly triads) are played on the lower manual during the verses while the right hand plays counterpoint melodies to the main vocals.

The Leslie sound needs a moderate amount of overdrive: not full-on growl, but there has to be a little low-end sizzle. A generous dose of dark, medium-decay reverb helps a lot.

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Hi Drawbars,
In your final comment, where you mentioned a moderate amount of overdrive, another classic Procol Harum song came to mind. It’s “Repent of Walpurgis” (“Fortuna” in Italian), which features that moderate amount of overdrive at the end of the song.
I loved that song, too—I won a band competition with it, playing it with A Whiter. In particular, “Fortuna” was known by very few people, and at the end of our performance, we received a standing ovation!
Good old days… but I still play it!!
Thanks, drawbars!

Sergio

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I’ve been playing, and repairing Hammonds since 1966. Many years hauling the monsters, and setting up my particular sounds on Hammonds owned by the venues. I hauled a PortaB for several years, just to somewhat lesson the load. Then the clones came around, and used them until the software Hammonds arrived.
One thing I new early on, NO two Hammonds are alike. Difference in drawbars, tone wheels, age, and how they are treated.
I pulled my hair out many times trying to setup my favorite sounds and feel. The feel of the instrument is the most important part. It determines how well you perform.
The same applies to the software Hammonds. VB3 and B3-X are two different instruments and are cloned as such.
This is why I started the Hammond thread. I, and others, tried to enlighten “Hammondites” about the difference between software Organs, at that time.

I took on the challenge to find a way to make all the soft clones to match certain songs. Such as I learned between venue Hammonds, the same applies to the VST Organs.
Drawbar settings are a guide to get started on a particular song. The rest is in the ears of the performer, and the listener. It takes work to get what you are looking for.

I am moving this to the Organ thread