Hammond organ

Hammond organ, concert model RT-2. Manufactured between 1949-1955 by Hammond Instrument Co.

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard instrument for jazz (specifically, the organ trio), blues, rock, church and gospel music.

The original Hammond organ used additive synthesis of waveforms from harmonic series made by mechanical tonewheels that rotate in front of electromagnetic pickups. The component waveform ratios are mixed by sliding drawbars mounted above the two keyboards. Although many different models of Hammond organs were produced, the Hammond B-3 organ is most well known. In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s the distinctive sound of the B-3 organ (often played through a Leslie speaker) was widely used in blues, progressive rock bands and blues-rock groups. The last electromechanical Hammond organ came off the assembly line in the mid-1970s.

History

Hammond B3 organ, and Leslie speaker cabinet.

In 1897 Thaddeus Cahill patented an instrument called the Telharmonium (or Teleharmonium, also known as the Dynamaphone). Using tonewheels to generate musical sounds as electrical signals by additive synthesis, it was capable of producing any combination of notes and overtones, at any dynamic level. This technology was later used to design the Hammond organ.

About 30 years later American engineer and inventor Laurens Hammond filed U.S. Patent 1,956,350 for a new type of "electrical musical instrument" that could recreate a pipe organ-type sound. He got the idea for the tonewheel or "phonic wheel" by listening to the moving gears of his electric clocks and the tones produced by them. He understood the fact that every instrument sounds the way it does because of its many harmonic overtones and their varied intensities. The invention was unveiled to the public in April 1935 and the first model, the Model A, was made available in June of that year. The organ was first used for popular music by Milt Herth, who played it live on WIND (AM) soon after it was invented. Radio shows of the 1930s and 1940s used the Hammond for not only mood music but for sound effects. The Hammond organ was used in US military chapels and post theaters during the Second World War.

Hammond intended his invention as an affordable substitute for pipe organs, as a replacement for the piano in middle-class homes, and as an instrument for radio broadcasting. However, by the 1950s, jazz musicians such as Jimmy Smith began to use the organ's distinctive sound. By the 1960s, the Hammond became popular with pop groups and was used on the British pirate station Radio 390. In Britain the organ became associated with elevator music and ice rinks music. However, the overdriven sound of the Hammond gained a new image when it became part of 1960s and 1970s.

The Hammond organ has seen a decline in popularity in the 2000s, in part due to the rise of low-cost electronic organs and synthesizers that can effectively emulate the desired sound of an organ while also having the versatility to emulate other instruments (especially pianos). The addition of contemporary Christian music to church repertoires has also de-emphasized the need for organs, and fewer people play the instrument. It is not uncommon to find extremely low-cost, or even free, models from smaller churches and institutions who no longer use their Hammond organs.^{[citation needed]}

Originally located at 4200 West Diversey Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, but now at 7430 Annoreno Drive in Addison, Illinois. Hammond is now owned by Suzuki Musical Inst. Mfg. Co., Ltd., and distributed by Hammond Suzuki Co., Ltd. Today, Hammond builds electronic organs that closely replicate the tonewheel organ sound using current technology.

Tone generation

Tonewheel rotates beside an electromagnetic pickup.

Additive synthesis

The original Hammond organ imitated the function of a pipe organ's ranks of pipes in multiple registers by using additive synthesis of waveforms from harmonic series to generate its sounds. The Hammond organ's individual waveforms are made by mechanical tonewheels that rotate in front of electromagnetic pickups. Each tonewheel assembly creates audio with low harmonic content, close to a sine wave. Inside the coil is a permanent magnet. As the teeth of the tonewheel pass by, the strength of the magnetism changes—when the tip of a tooth is closest to the tip of the magnet, the magnetism is strongest. As the magnetism varies, that creates AC in the coil, which becomes one of the frequencies used in harmonic synthesis. The tonewheel illustrated has, comparatively speaking, many fine teeth, and would generate a relatively high frequency.

Although they are generally included in the category of electronic organs, original Hammond organs are, strictly speaking, electric or electromechanical rather than electronic organs because the waveforms are produced by mechanical tonewheels rather than electronic oscillators.

The Hammond organ makes technical compromises in its frequency synthesis. Rather than produce harmonics that are exact multiples of the fundamental as organ pipes do, the Hammond organ uses the nearest-available frequencies generated by the tonewheels. This practice contributes to its distinctive tone color.

Crosstalk or leakage occurs when the instrument's magnetic pickups receive the signal from rotating metal tonewheels other than those selected by the organist. In the 1930s and 1940s, crosstalk was considered a defect that required correcting. However, modern Hammond enthusiasts prize the sound of tonewheel crosstalk as a "vintage" or "authentic" aspect of the Hammond's sound.

Drawbars

The drawbars on Hammond XB-1

The component waveform ratios are mixed by sliding drawbars mounted above the two keyboards, which operate like the faders on an audio mixing board. When a drawbar is incrementally pulled out, it increases the volume of its component waveform. When pushed all the way in, the specified component wave form becomes absent from the mix. The labelling of the drawbar is derived from the stop system in pipe organs where the physical length of the pipe corresponds to the pitch produced.

Presets

Preset keys on Hammond B3

Color-coded wires on rear preset panel

In addition to drawbars, many Hammond tonewheel organ models also include presets, which make predefined drawbar combinations available at the press of a button. Full Console organs such as the B-3, C-3 and A-100 models have one octave of reverse colored keys (naturals are black, sharps/flats are white) to the left of each manual, with each key activating a Preset; the far left key (C), also known as the cancel key, de-activates all presets, and results in no sound coming from that manual. The two right-most preset keys (B and Bb) activate the corresponding left or right set of live drawbars for that manual, while the other preset keys produce preselected drawbar settings that are internally wired into the preset panel.

Thus, on each manual of a Hammond console model, 9 prewired presets and two sets of live drawbars are immediately available for selection. The image shows the preset panel on the right and all its color-coded wires associated with its equivalent drawbar. The preset panel has sections corresponding to equivalent drawbar sets, e.g., Upper Manual and Lower Manual. Looking at the preset panel screws horizontally, each screw from left to right represents a Preset Key from C# to A. Looking vertically from the bottom to top each screw represents an increase in intensity from 0-8, corresponding to the numbering on each drawbar as it is pulled out. With the Preset Panel feature, favorite registrations were essentially programmable by the organist for assignment to specific preset keys. The Presets were factory-set to classic organ "tone colors" such as Stopped Flute, Diapason and Trumpet, amongst others.

Other Hammond models such as the M-100 and L-100 series have flip tabs for presets, situated across the top of the organ. The left hand flip tab reverts to the tone set by the drawbars. Some models such as the M, M-2 and M-3 spinet organs have only drawbars, and no presets, but after market products such as the Duet Sixteen, manufactured by the now defunct Electro Tone Corporation can be added to give preset functions.

Harmonic Percussion

The Hammond organ uses a "harmonic percussion" effect that adds a non-sustaining, transient, second or third harmonic overtones to the attack of a note. The selected percussion harmonic fades out either quickly ("Fast") or slowly ("Slow")—a distinctive "plink" sound—leaving the tones the player selected with the drawbars. The volume of the effect is selectable as either Normal or Soft. Harmonic Percussion retriggers only after all notes have been released, so legato passages sound the effect only on the very first note or chord, making Harmonic Percussion uniquely a "Single-trigger, Polyphonic" effect. The Harmonic Percussion feature was provided starting with the 3 series organs such as the B-3 and C-3.

Key click

Some Hammond organs have a distinctive percussive key click, which is the attack transient that occurs when all nine key contacts close, causing an audible pop or click. Originally, key click was considered a design defect and Hammond worked to eliminate or at least reduce it with equalization filters. However, many performers liked the percussive effect, and it has been accepted as part of the classic sound.

Speakers

Maintaining Leslie speaker

Leslie speaker

Main article: Leslie speaker

Although Hammond designed its own set of speakers, many players prefer to play the Hammond through a rotating speaker cabinet known, after several name changes, as a Leslie speaker, after its inventor Donald J. Leslie (1913–2004). The Leslie system is an integrated speaker/amplifier combination in which sound is emitted by a rotating horn over a stationary treble driver and a rotating baffle beneath a stationary bass woofer. This creates a characteristic sound because of the constantly changing pitch shifts that result from the Doppler effect created by the moving sound sources. It was originally designed to mimic the complex tones and constantly shifting sources of sound emanating from a large group of ranks in a pipe organ. The effect varies depending on the speed of the rotors, which can be toggled between fast (tremolo) and slow (chorale) using a console or pedal switch, with the most distinctive effect occurring as the speaker rotation speed changes.

Manuals of Hammond B2

Pedalboard of Hammond C2

Keyboards and pedalboard

The manuals of the Hammond organ have a lightweight action, which lets players play rapid passages more easily than on a weighted keyboard, such as a piano. "Waterfall" style keys of early Hammond models had sharp edges, but starting with the B-2 these were rounded to allow effects such as palm glissandi.

Hammond console organs come with a wooden bass pedalboard for the feet, so that the organist can play bass lines. Hammond organ bass pedalboards typically have 25 notes, with the top note a middle C as Hammond found that on most pedalboards used in churches, the top 7 notes were seldom used. Hammond "concert" models, the RT-2, RT-3 and D-100 had 32-note American Guild of Organists (AGO) pedalboards going up to a G (3rd ledger line above the bass clef) as the top note. They also contained a "Solo Pedal Unit" that provided several 32', 16', 8', and 4' voices for the pedal. The solo pedal unit used oscillators similar to those used in Hammond's "Solovox". Hammond spinet models (L, M, T, etc.) had 12 or 13-note miniature pedalboards with stamped steel pedals. These models were manufactured by Content Organs in The Netherlands.

Tonewheel and transistor organ models

Hammond tonewheel organs can be divided into two main groups:

• Console models, such as the A, B, C, D, and R series have two 61-note manuals.
• Spinet models, smaller organs like the M, L, and T series, which have two 44-note manuals. Production of tonewheel organs stopped in the mid-1970s, when Hammond switched to electronic tone generators. Examples of these organs are the J/K/N series, the Hammond Aurora, and the Hammond Concorde.

Console organs

The first models of each console series organ were single letter models, e.g., A, B, C, D and E Consoles. There was a model B console made prior to December 1936 when the BC was produced though there was an AB, which was the innards of a model A inside a B case (to use up model A parts). Like the later BC, The first B Console was equipped with the additional chorus generator but had a tremulant knob instead of the 3-position vibrato knob of the BC and later consoles. The B was produced in 1936 before the company changed names from The Hammond Clock Company to The Hammond Instrument Company. The A / AB organs were produced from June 1935 to October 1938.

The BV and CV were produced from 1942 to 1949 (est) and included the introduction of vibrato settings along with the chorus settings. The B-2 / C-2 organs were produced from December 1949 to December 1954. The B-3/C-3 were produced from January 1955 to 1974. The A-100 series was produced from April 1959 to December 1965 (continued after 1965 in the UK under license from Hammond). The A-100 series includes all the internal components and features of the B-3/C-3 plus built-in speakers and reverb (basically all the components of a PR40 tone cabinet inside). The Rt-3 and D-100 are exactly the same as the C-3 but have 32 pedals with solo bass system. The E-100 and H-100 are tonewheel organs, similar to the A-100 (internal speakers and an external speaker hook up) but with a different tone generator. These models also had their own decorated speakers cabinets that were specifically designed for the particular cabinet purchased. Later, The H-100 became more popular with the 3 way leslie speaker that boosted the "mids" while giving it a wider tonal spectrum. The H-100 was the last of the tonewheels that had the most features and decorative cabinets.

The difference between the B-3 and the C-3 is purely cosmetic. The B-3 stands on four turned wooden legs, so the organist's legs and feet are visible from all sides of the organ. The C-3 is covered on the front and sides by "modesty" panels to allow for modesty while playing in a skirt, often a consideration when a church organ was placed in front of the congregation.

BV / B-2 / C-2 / E / C / CV / D / RT / RT-2

Hammond B2

Hammond C2

• BV Model Production Years 1946 - 1949
• E Model production years: July 1937 – July 1942
• C Model production years: September 1939 – June 1942
• CV Model Production years 1945 - 1949
• D Model production years: June 1939 – November 1942
• B-2 / C-2 production years: December 1949 – December 1954
• RT Model production years: July 1949 – September 1949
• RT-2 Model production years: November 1949 – January 1955

B-3 / C-3 / RT-3 / A-100 / D-100 / E-100 / H-100 series

Hammond B3

Hammond C3

• B-3/C-3 production years: January 1955–1974
• RT-3 production years: January 1955 – 1973
• A-100 series production years: April 1959 – December 1965 (continued after 1965 in the UK under license from Hammond)
• D-100 series production years: June 1963 – 1969
• E-100 series production years: June 1964 – 1969
• H-100 series production years: June 1965 – 1974

Hammond H-100 series

• The A-100, E-100, H-100, D-100 were marketed as "home" consoles, since they had built-in speakers
• The B-3, designated Hammond's Home Model, originally sold for a list price of $2,750 for the Walnut model and $2,835 for the Cherry, was marketed for musicians who wanted to use a separate tone cabinet. (Hammond tone cabinet or Leslie speaker). The Leslie was not sanctioned by Laurens Hammond at the time for use with his organs.
• The C-3 was marketed for church use, because of its "modesty" or "privacy" panels.
• The RT-3 was marketed for concert organists and church musicians who wanted the standard AGO pedalboard.

In the decades after their introduction, the B-3, C-3, RT-3, D-100, E-100, H-100 and A-100 series were used heavily in the Gospel, jazz, and blues genres and as theatre organs, providing live music for feature films or at public stadiums and ice rinks. Milt Buckner pioneered the use of the Hammond organ in jazz in the late 1940s. In the 1950s and 1960s, the B-3 was used in jazz bands (Walter Wanderley) and in organ trios, such as Jimmy Smith's organ trio.

In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, the B-3 and C-3 were widely used in rock bands ranging from hard rock bands like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Steppenwolf, Atomic Rooster, Grand Funk Railroad, Rainbow and Whitesnake; Latin rock groups such as Santana (B-3), to progressive rock groups such as Procol Harum (M-102), Yes (C-3), Styx, Focus (L-100), Kansas, Keith Emerson of the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer (C-3, L-100), Boston (M-3) and Pink Floyd (C-3) to blues-rock groups such as The Allman Brothers Band (B-3), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (B3), pop rock band Three Dog Night (B3), the Spencer Davis Group, and Twinkie Clark of The Clark Sisters. This organ was also a favorite of renowned Grateful Dead keyboard players Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and Brent Mydland, as well as Page McConnell of Phish, Danny Federici of The E Street Band, Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon, and Tom Scholz of Boston.

From the 1980s to the present, the B-3, C-3, H-100, A-100, E-100 and D-100 were used by many churches and also bands from a range of styles, including gospel, rock, hard rock, jazz, blues, and "jam" bands. Beginning in the 1980s, lightweight "clone" organs that imitated the sound were increasingly used to digitally recreate the B3's sound as a more portable substitute, especially in live touring settings. Nevertheless, some organists such as Derek Sherinian of Black Country Communion (B-3); Bill Champlin Santana co-founder Gregg Rolie; "Papa" John Gros of New Orleans funk band Papa Grows Funk and Dr. Lonnie Smith still perform with vintage B-3 organs.

The B-3 is widely used in country music.

Hammond BC

Hammond D series

BC

The Hammond BC was produced from December 1936 to November 1942 with 13,000 units made. This organ is heavier than a B3 with more internal parts. It also has a heavier cabinet than the later B models, in which Hammond used less wood to cut costs. Unlike the popular B3, the BC did not come with a percussion circuit. The Chorus Generator on the BC is a separate set of tonewheels that varies the pitch of the organ slightly out-of-tune from the BC’s main tone generator. Hammond engineers intended to recreate the beating 'chorus' or 'phasing' effect that results from the inevitable slight difference in frequency between two voices or instruments that are nominally producing the same note.

Spinet organs

Spinet organs from the M, L, T and V series use two 44-note offset manuals, a built-in bass pedal keyboard, and internal speakers and amplification. The spinet organs had 5 fewer tonewheels in the generator than the console organs as the keyboards did not go down as far in pitch as on a full console organs such as the B-3. This means that organ players who want to play a bass line have to use the pedals. However, the pedal keyboard usually had one octave (12 or 13 notes, instead of the 25 notes on a B-3 console organ) and the pedals were much shorter than those found on a full-size Hammond pedal keyboard.

M series

Hammond M-100 series

The M-series " . . . took the tonewheel technology of the bulkier previous models, refined it and scaled it down . . . to make smaller 'spinet' models that were more appropriate for the growing 'home market.' "

Several different types of M series instruments were produced between 1948 and 1964. The M model was produced from 1948 to 1951, the M-2 from 1951 to 1955 and the M-3 from 1955 to 1964. Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the M.G.'s used an M-3 on the 1962 recording "Green Onions". The M3 is also extensively used by Tom Scholz on the Boston album.

M-100 series

Some M-100 series instruments were suited for home or church settings, such as the M100, which had ornate, carved legs. The M102 had a more spartan cabinet that was better suited to touring. All M-100 series instruments had the same basic specifications: 2 x 44-note "springboard" manuals, 13-note pedalboard, two sets of drawbars (one for each manual), six presets and 'touch percussion' effects (available on tabs above the upper keyboard manual), split vibrato, vibrato chorus, built-in spring reverb and speakers and a swell (volume) pedal. Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum used an M-102 on the 1967 recording "A Whiter Shade of Pale", John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin used an M-100 on the 1969 recordings "You Shook Me", "Your Time Is Gonna Come", and "Thank You". Rick Wright of Pink Floyd used an M-102 live from 1970 to 1972, and is seen in the film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. The M-100 series was produced from 1961 to 1968.

L-100 series

Hammond L-100 series (L-112)

The L-100 series was produced from 1961 to 1972. The L-100 sounds different from the B-3 because of several changes made by Hammond engineers. At the Hammond factory, engineers found a way of removing the electrical key click sound from the L-100. Although jazz organists liked the key click sound of the B-3, Hammond engineers viewed it as a fault, and church organists tended to dislike it, because wind-driven pipe organs do not have a "click" sound at the start of every note. Hammond engineers removed the key click by raising the "output of the higher notes in the tone generator" and then cutting the "treble response in several of the amp stages".

A side effect of these modifications was a change in the decay of the percussion circuit. The audible effect is an increase in the decay time. The vibrato and chorus is a real weak point of the L, "either too much or too little and the chorus effect" lacks the "richness of the B". Keith Emerson of the progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer played an L-100 during concerts. In his first band "The Nice", Keith Emerson used an L-100 model as his main instrument, not only for playing but also for his wild stage antics. He also employed some of the instrument's features (self-starting motor and the built-in reverb tank) to produce a wealth of sound effects, such as wailing notes, bomb-like noises and feedback. Tony Banks of the band Genesis played an L-111 in 1969-1970, then an L-122 from 1971 to 1973. An L-100 without a Leslie was part of punk band The Stranglers' Dave Greenfield's keyboard rig for the band's first three albums. Vangelis used the L100 in combination with tape echoes to create a distinctive string/drone pad that he used extensively on the album, L'apocalypse des animaux.

T series

Hammond T series (TR-200)

The T series, produced from 1968 to 1975, was the last of the tonewheel organs. Unlike all the earlier Hammond organs, the T series used all-solid-state, transistor circuitry for amplification. Tony Banks of Genesis used a modified T-102 from 1973 to 1980.

Console transistor organs

Console transistor model (Regent 4172)

In the 1960s, Hammond started making transistor organs. The first organ that bridged the gap between tone wheel and transistor was called the X-66, with more features than a tonewheel. This model had a 12-note tone generator and used electronics for frequency division. Later, Hammond introduced several different IC organ models: Concorde, Colonnade, Commodore, Grandee, Regent and the Elegante. This series of organs were developed as early as the 1970s, and continued in production through the early 1980s. Artists such as Bob Ralston and Ethel Smith played these organs. The X-77 was first used on an album recording by baseball pitcher Denny McLain, on his album "Denny McLain At The Organ".

New B-3

Hammond XB-3

In 2002, the Hammond company (now known as Hammond-Suzuki) relaunched the B-3 as the 'New B-3', a re-creation of the original electromechanical instrument using modern-day electronics and a modern sound generator system. The New B-3 is constructed to appear like the original B-3, and the designers attempted to retain the subtle nuances of the familiar B-3 sound. Hammond-Suzuki promotional material claims that it would be difficult for even an experienced B-3 player to distinguish between the old and new B-3 organs. A review of the New B-3 by Hugh Robjohns called it "...a true replica of an original B-3 ... in terms of the look and layout, and the actual sound."

The New B-3 has been used by well-known B-3 players such as Jimmy Smith and Joey DeFrancesco, who both played a New B-3 on the collaborative album Legacy released in 2005 shortly before Smith's death. Neal Evans of Soulive also plays a Hammond B-3, using it to produce both the organ and bass lines for the group's soul based music. Additionally, Evanescence used the new B-3 organ in almost every song of their album The Open Door, released in October 2006.

Chop organ

A "Hammond Chop" is a slang term used to refer to any Hammond organ that has been modified to fit into one or more roadcases for easier transportation. Moving an unmodified Hammond organ generally requires special lifting equipment, a van and several people. By "chopping" the organ into separate sections it becomes easier to lift and transport the components.

In the UK, the expression is 'split', and an early example of a split Hammond M102 was the Edgware factory-built white-lacquered instrument used by Stevie Winwood of The Spencer Davis Group in 1966.

Performance techniques

Manuals, drawbars, and effects

Pianists and synthesizer players who begin playing the Hammond soon realize that authentic performance practice involves a lot more than playing the notes on the keyboard. Hammond players vary the timbre of both manuals in real time through a combination of changing drawbar settings, engaging or disengaging the vibrato and chorus effects or percussion settings, and changing the rotating Leslie speaker system's speed setting. As well, performers obtain other effects by setting the Leslie's amplifier to maximum output (and controlling the effective volume using only the organ's volume pedal) to add overdriven distortion or growl for certain passages, or by briefly switching off the organ's synchronous run motor, which produces a wobbly pitch-bend effect.

There are playing styles that are idiomatic to the Hammond organ, such as palm glissandos, rapid repetition of a single note, tremolo between two notes a third apart (typically the 5th and 7th scale degree of the current chord), percussive drumming of the keyboard, and playing a chord on the upper manual, then sliding the hand down to duplicate the chord on the lower manual. Artistic use of the foot-controlled volume pedal is an important facet of performing on the Hammond.

Bass pedalboard

Tom Vickers notes that after Jimmy Smith popularized the Hammond organ in jazz, many jazz pianists "...who thought that getting organ-ized would be a snap ...realized that the ...B-3 required not only a strong left hand, but killer coordination on those bass pedals to really get the bass groove percolating." In the 1950s, the organist Wild Bill Davis told aspiring organist Smith that it could take over a decade just to learn the bass pedals. Jazz organists such as Jimmy Smith developed the ability to perform fluent walking-bass lines on the bass pedals, mostly on ballad tempo tunes. He played up-tempo bass lines with his left hand, augmented by occasional taps on the bass pedalboard. Some organists like Barbara Dennerlein or Leon Kuijpers perform basslines on the bass pedalboard.

The organist may operate the bass pedals while either wearing standard shoes; using specially designed organ shoes; or performing barefoot. Rhoda Scott is said to have originated the barefoot playing method, which is popular with some players.

Clones and emulation devices

Hammond XK-1

Because of the difficulties of transporting the heavy Hammond organ, bass pedalboard (a B-3 organ, bench, and pedalboard weighs 425 pounds/193 kg) and Leslie speaker cabinets to performance venues, and because of the risk of technical problems that are associated with any vintage electromechanical instrument, musicians sought out a more portable, reliable way of obtaining the Hammond sound. Electronic and digital keyboards that imitate the sound of the Hammond are often referred to as "clonewheel organs". Refinements to Hammond emulations eventually led to the development of relatively lightweight electronic keyboard instruments such as the Korg BX-3 (dual manuals) and CX-3 (single manual), Roland VK-7, (and even Hammond-Suzuki's own XB-2/XB-5 models). An article from Keyboard Magazine that reviewed electronic simulations of the Hammond sound said that some aspects of the vintage electromechanical Hammond are not accurately reproduced by clones and emulation devices.

Notable uses of instrument

The sound of the Hammond organ can be heard in rhythm and blues pieces such as "Hello Stranger" (March 1963) written by Barbara Lewis with backup by The Dells. The Hammond B-3 organ can be heard in 1960s surf music, where the spinning Leslie speaker created distinctive special effects. The Hammond sound was a key part of the 1967 Procol Harum song, "A Whiter Shade of Pale", especially in the introductory measures played by organist Matthew Fisher. Other Hammond organ usage in rock included Steve Winwood's work on "Gimme Some Lovin'" with The Spencer Davis Group, in The Small Faces' mod anthems "All or Nothing" and "Itchycoo Park" played by Ian McLagan, and in the instrumental song "Green Onions" by Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Billy Preston played the Hammond organ in songs including "Outa-Space,". The Hammond organ is prominent in the Beach Boys' #1 hit "Good Vibrations", where it is played by drummer Dennis Wilson.

Deep Purple's Jon Lord played the C-3. Lord was notable for playing the Hammond through a Marshall stack to get a growling, overdriven sound to complement the guitar playing of Ritchie Blackmore. Other prominent Hammond organists in rock include Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Keith Emerson, The Zombies' and Argent's Rod Argent, Yes's Rick Wakeman, Yes's Tony Kaye, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Uriah Heep's Ken Hensley. Hammond organs were used in 1970s progressive rock music bands by players such as Pink Floyd's Rick Wright, Genesis's Tony Banks, and Kansas's Steve Walsh, notably on the song "Carry On Wayward Son". Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones used the Hammond Organ in studio. The Stranglers were notable for being one of the few bands from the 'Punk' era to have a keyboard player, Dave Greenfield. The Hammond organ was used on the 2001 album Imaginary Sonicscape by the Japanese Avant-garde black metal band Sigh. Swedish heavy metal/stoner metal band Death Organ uses Hammond organ fed through guitar distortion effects. Rob Collins of the Charlatans used a Hammond on the song "Weirdo".

The Beatles used several brands of organs. They did use the L series on some songs. They also made extensive use of the spinning Leslie Speaker, patching guitar, voices, pianos etc.

See also

Aeolian / Hammond Player Organ model B-A (1938)

Hammond Novachord (1939)

Hammond S-6 Chord Organ (1950)

• Chord organ
• Hammond piano
• List of jazz organists
• List of Hammond organ players

External links

Official sites

• Hammond Suzuki USA — Makers of Modern-day Hammond-branded clone organs
• Hammond Suzuki Europe

Archives

• "Hammond Zone".  — Hammond/Leslie resource and home of the Hammond Zone user group
• Bevis Peters. "A complete list of vintage Hammond & Leslie models". JackHollow.co.uk. 
• Glen E. Nelson. "History of the Hammond B-3 organ". TheatreOrgans.com. 
• "Matthew Fisher's unusual 1968 Leslie setup for Procol Harum". Procol Harum - Beyond the Pale. 

Media

• "Electric Pipeless Organ Has Millions of Tones". Popular Mechanics (April 1936): pp. 569–571. 
    one of the first large detailed article on the Hammond Organ and how it worked
• Hammond Organ Seventieth (video). BBC.