The ear is such a non-linear organ (hah!) that trying to exactly reproduce the real thing’s sound at a much reduced volume is always an uphill battle.

To be honest, I’m not sure that even a 100% accurate emulation would sound right at half volume or less. Frequencies ‘mask’ each other at different levels depending on overall volume, and so much of the Beast’s sound depended on how the organ interacted with the preamps in the Leslie, and how the cabinet ‘spoke’ as more and more volume made it resonate. And then how the room it was in started to act as volume started to rise.

It’s a very complex sound, for me it seldom starts to feel like the real thing until I play it at the real thing’s volume. I always made sure if I was cutting a Hammond track in the studio that it was full bore, and the hell with bleed! Even if I was using a clone… I don’t feel or play like a Hammond player until I’m playing at real club level!