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In addition to its historical role as bedfellow to the B-3 and C-3 organs, the Leslie cabinet also gets coupled with other instruments such as guitar, vocals, harmonica, other organs and keyboards, or anything that strikes the player’s or producer’s fancy. Likewise, there are 101 ways to record a Leslie, depending on the application and your creative bent. Variables include the usual suspects: number of mics (and tracks), mic selection, mic placement, and ambient sound.
As for mic selection, Leslies don’t put out much high-frequency content above 12 kHz, so you can obtain good results with almost any decent microphone, whether dynamic or condenser. Indeed, many classic B-3/Leslie tracks have been recorded using just a couple of Shure SM 57s up top with perhaps a Sennheiser MD 421 positioned at the bottom of the cabinet to capture the low end.
Some positioning issues come up no matter how many mics you use. A primary question is whether to aim the mic(s) directly at the source(s) through the Leslie cabinet’s open back (with the upper and lower panels removed) or through the louvers on the cabinet’s front or sides. Miking from the open back gives a slightly brighter, more open sound but is prone to capturing more extraneous noise, including wind from the spinning horn or drum and mechanical noise from the rotors. For that reason pop filters or foam windscreens may be advisable when miking from the back, especially when using condenser mics. Miking through the louvers provides a mellower sound and cuts down significantly on wind noise from the rotating elements. As usual, the best approach is to try several miking arrangements, compare the results, and choose the setup that sounds best for the song.
One for the Money
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FIG. 2: These diagrams illustrate three different ways to position a pair of mics to capture a stereo image of the Leslie’s rotating treble horn. |
The trick here is to record in a great-sounding, reverberant room with the mic positioned far enough away from the cabinet to capture a natural sound. Simply move around the space and use your ears to determine where to put the mic while bearing in mind that you are listening for a blend of ambient and direct sound. A small tiled bathroom makes an excellent Leslie chamber, especially for capturing a huge sound on a single track. In that case, I would probably use a large-diaphragm condenser set to the omnidirectional polar pattern or a single-point omni such as the Earthworks QTC1.
Two for the Throw
There are two approaches to miking a Leslie with two mics: put one mic on top to capture the treble and a second one on the bottom to record the bass, or use a matching pair positioned to capture a stereo image of the rotating treble horn. Obviously, the first is the better option if you have a B-3 player kicking bass (assuming no other bass instrument is in the mix). In that case, a mic with a good low-end response—for example, a ribbon microphone or a large-diaphragm mic—is the best choice for the bottom. Try panning the bass track dead center and the treble track to one side or the other, say, at ten or two o’clock.
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Reprinted with permission from
Magazine, March, 2001© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved
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