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{{Infobox instrument
{{Infobox synthesizer
| name = Hammond organ
| synth_name = Hammond organ
| names = Hammond, Hammond B3, Hammond C3
| image = Hammond c3 Emilio Muñoz.jpg
| image = Hammond c3 Emilio Muñoz.jpg
| caption = A Hammond C3 organ
| image_caption = A Hammond C3 organ
| synth_manufacturer = The Hammond Organ Company
⚫
| background = keyboard
| classification = Keyboard
| synthesis_type = Additive
| hornbostel_sachs = 53
| oscillator = Tonewheel
⚫
| polyphony = Full
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Radioelectric instruments
| keyboard = 2 x 61-note manuals, 25-note pedals (consoles)<br/>2 x 44-note manuals, 13-note pedals (spinets)
⚫
| inventors = [[Laurens Hammond]]
| developed = 1930s
| dates = 1935 - 1975
⚫
| inventors = [[Laurens Hammond]], John M Hanert
| fx = Vibrato, reverb, harmonic percussion
| ext_control = [[Amphenol connector]] to Hammond Tone Cabinet or [[Leslie Speaker]]
}}
}}


The '''Hammond organ''' is an [[electronic organ|electric organ]] invented by [[Laurens Hammond]] in 1935{{sfn|Corbin|2006|p=151}} and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to [[Church (building)|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 music|rock]], church and [[gospel music]].
The '''Hammond organ''' is an [[electronic organ|electric organ]] invented by [[Laurens Hammond]] and John M Hanert and initially manufactured in 1935{{sfn|Corbin|2006|p=151}}{{sfn|Bush|Kassel|2006|p=168}} and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to [[Church (building)|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 music|rock]], church and [[gospel music]].


The original Hammond organ used [[additive synthesis]] of [[waveform]]s from [[harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]] made by mechanical [[tonewheel]]s 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.
The original Hammond organ used [[additive synthesis]] of [[waveform]]s from [[harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]] made by mechanical [[tonewheel]]s 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.

Revision as of 15:45, 30 July 2013

Hammond organ
A Hammond C3 organ
ManufacturerThe Hammond Organ Company
Dates1935 - 1975
Technical specifications
PolyphonyFull
OscillatorTonewheel
Synthesis typeAdditive
EffectsVibrato, reverb, harmonic percussion
Input/output
Keyboard2 x 61-note manuals, 25-note pedals (consoles)
2 x 44-note manuals, 13-note pedals (spinets)
External controlAmphenol connector to Hammond Tone Cabinet or Leslie Speaker

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M Hanert and initially manufactured in 1935[1][2] 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.

Medley
A medley played on a 1935 Model A Hammond organ through a Leslie speaker.
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C Note
A single note (C) played on a Hammond organ.
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Chord Sequence
A simple chord sequence played on a Hammond organ through a Leslie speaker.
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History

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

The Hammond organ's technology is derived from the Telharmonium, an instrument created in 1897 by Thaddeus Cahill. The telharmonium used tonewheels to generate musical sounds as electrical signals by additive synthesis and was capable of producing any combination of notes and overtones at any dynamic level.[3]

About 30 years later American engineer and inventor Laurens Hammond filed U.S. Patent 1,956,350[4] 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.[5][6] 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.[7]

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.

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.

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.[8][9][10] (The tonewheel illustrated has, comparatively speaking, many fine teeth, and would generate a relatively high frequency.) Every tonewheel is connected to a synchronous motor via a system of gears, which insures that every note always remains at a constant relative pitch to every other.[11]

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.[citation needed]

Crosstalk or leakage occurs when the instrument's magnetic pickups receive the signal from rotating metal tonewheels other than those selected by the organist. Hammond considered crosstalk to be a defect that required correcting, and introduced a new level of Resistor / Capacitor (R/C) filtering to eliminate this, along with mains hum around 1963 into the console models.[12] However, modern Hammond enthusiasts prize the sound of tonewheel crosstalk as a "vintage" or "authentic" aspect of the Hammond's sound.[citation needed]

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.[13] 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.

Models

Hammond organs, as manufactured by the original company, can be divided into two main groups:

  • Console organs have two 61-note manuals and a pedalboard of at least two octaves. Most consoles do not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and so an external speaker cabinet is required.
  • Spinet organs have two 44-note manuals and one octave of pedals, plus an internal power amplifier and set of speakers.[14]

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.[15] The A / AB organs were produced from June 1935 to October 1938.[16]

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.[16] The B-3/C-3 were produced from January 1955 to 1974.[16] The A-100 series was produced from April 1959 to December 1965[16] (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[16]
  • 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[17]–1974[16]
  • RT-3 production years: January 1955 – 1973[16]
  • A-100 series production years: April 1959 – December 1965[16] (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,[17] 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. The B-3 is widely used in country music.[18]

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.' "[19][unreliable source?]

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.[19] 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".[20]

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".[20]

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". Production of tonewheel organs stopped in the mid-1970s, when Hammond switched full-time to electronic tone generators. Examples of these organs are the J/K/N series, the Hammond Aurora, and the Hammond Concorde.

New B-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."[21]

Controls

Keyboards and pedalboard

The pedalboard on a Hammond C2 organ

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.

Drawbars

The drawbars of the Hammond organ
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.[22]

Presets

The preset keys on a Hammond organ are reverse-coloured and sit to the left of the main keyboard

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.[23]

The presets on a Hammond organ can be changed by rerouted the associated color-coded wires on the rear 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 B-3 and C-3 models introduced the concept of "harmonic percussion", an 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.[24] 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. [25]

Speakers

Tone cabinet

The authorised set of speakers to use with a console organ was the Hammond Tone Cabinet, which housed an external amp and speaker in a box.[26] The cabinet carried a balanced mono signal along with the necessary mains power directly from the organ,[27] using a six-pin cable.[28] Spinet organs contained a built in power amplifier and speakers, and so did not require a tone cabinet.

Leslie speaker

Main article: Leslie speaker
A Leslie speaker with a transparent case

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. 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.[29]

The Leslie 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.[30]


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.

Clones and emulation devices

Main article: Clonewheel organ
The Korg CX-3 "came close to emulating the true depth and passion of a vintage Hammond."[31]

The original Hammond organ was never designed to be transported on a regular basis. A Hammond B-3 organ, bench, and pedalboard weighs 425 pounds (193 kg)[citation needed]. This weight, combined with that of a Leslie speaker makes the instrument cumbersome and difficult to move between venues. Consequently, there has been a demand for a more portable, reliable way of generating the same sound. Electronic and digital keyboards that imitate the sound of the Hammond are often referred to as "clonewheel organs".

The first attempts to electronically copy a Hammond appeared in the 1970s, including the Roland VK-1 and VK-9, the Yamaha YP45D and the Crumar Organiser. The Korg CX-3 (single manual) and BX3 (dual manual) were the first lightweight organs to produce a comparable sound to the original. Sound on Sound's Gordon Reid considers a CX3 "came close to emulating the true depth and passion of a vintage Hammond," particularly when played through a Leslie speaker.[31]

An organist playing a Hammond XB-3

After Hammond had been purchased by Suzuki, the rebranded company produced their own brand of portable organs, including the XB2, XB3 and XB5. Sound on Sound's Rod Spark, a longtime Hammond enthusiast, said these models were "a matter of taste, of course, but I don't think they're a patch on the old ones".[32]

The Roland VK-7, introduced in 1997, attempted to emulate the sound of a Hammond using DSP technology.[33] An updated version, the VK-8, appeared in 2002, which also provided emulations of other vintage keyboards and provided an 11-pin connector for a Leslie.[34] Clavia introduced the Nord Electro in 2001, which used buttons to emulate the physical action of pulling or pushing a drawbar, with an LED graph indicating its current state.[35] The company has released several updated versions of the Electro since then, and introduced the Nord Stage with the same technology. The Nord C2D was the first organ released by Clavia that contained real drawbars.[36]

Notable users

See also: List of Hammond organ players and List of jazz organists

Early adopters of the Hammond included Dr Albert Schweitzer, Henry Ford, Eleanor Roosevelt and George Gershwin.[37] The instrument was not initially favoured by classical organ purists, because the tones of two notes an octave apart were in exact synchronisation, as opposed to a slight variation on a pipe organ.[38] However, the instrument did gradually become popular with jazz. One of the first notable performers to use the Hammond organ was Ethel Smith, who was also known as the "first lady of the Hammond Organ".[39] Fats Waller and Count Basie also started using the Hammond.[38] Organist John Medeski thinks the Hammond became "the poor man's big band", but because of that, it became more economical to book organ trios.[40]

Jimmy Smith became a notable user of the Hammond in the 1950s, particularly his sessions for the Blue Note label between 1956 and 1963. He eschewed a bass player, and played all the parts himself using the footpedals,[41] generally using a walking bassline on the pedals in combination with percussive left hand chords. His trio format, which included guitar and drums in addition to himself, became internationally famous following an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957.[38] Medeski says musicians "were inspired when they head Jimmy Smith's records."[42] "Brother" Jack McDuff switched from piano to Hammond in 1959, and toured regularly throughout the 1960s and 70s.[43] Keith Emerson was inspired to take up the Hammond by hearing McDuff's arrangement of "Rock Candy".[44]

Booker T Jones is cited as being the bridge from rhythm and blues to rock. James Taylor said the Hammond "became popular when people such as Booker T & The MGs and artists on the Stax Records label came over to London and played gigs."[45] Matthew Fisher first encountered the Hammond in 1966 having heard the Small Faces' Ian McLagan playing one. After asking if he could play it, McLagan told Fisher "They're yelling out for Hammond players, why don't you go out and buy one for yourself?"[46] Fisher went on to play the notable organ lines on Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade Of Pale, which topped the UK charts in the summer of 1967.[47][48] Steve Winwood started his musical career with the Spencer Davis Group playing guitar and piano but switched to Hammond when he hired one to record Gimme Some Lovin.[49]

Deep Purple's Jon Lord became inspired to play the Hammond after hearing Smith's "Walk on the Wild Side".[50] He initially played the instrument through a Leslie, but was unsatisfied with the overall sound, calling it "a bit noddy." After consulting a technician, he modified the Hammond so it could be played through a Marshall stack to get a growling, overdriven sound to complement the guitar playing of Ritchie Blackmore.[51]

The Hammond was a key instrument in progressive rock music. Author Edward Macan thinks this is because of its versatility, allowing both chords and lead lines to be played, and a choice between quiet and clean and what Emerson described as a "tacky, aggressive, almost distorted, angry sound."[52] Emerson first found commercial success with The Nice, with whom he used and abused an L100, putting knives in the instrument, setting fire to it, playing it upside down, or riding it across stage in the manner of a horse. He continued to play in the instrument in this manner alongside other keyboards in Emerson, Lake and Palmer.[53] Other prominent Hammond organists in progressive rock include The Zombies' and Argent's Rod Argent, Yes's Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman, Uriah Heep's Ken Hensley, Pink Floyd's Rick Wright and Genesis's Tony Banks. Banks later claimed he only used the Hammond because a piano was impractical to transport to gigs.[54]

Ska and Reggae music made regular use of the Hammond throughout the 1960s and 70s. Junior Marvin started to play the instrument after hearing Booker T & The MGs' Green Onions, although he complained about its weight.[55] Winston Wright was regarded amongst the music scene in Jamaica as one of the best organ players, and used the Hammond as part of Toots Hibbert's Maytals, as well as playing it on sessions with Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jimmy Cliff and Gregory Isaacs.[56] Tyrone Downie, best known as Bob Marley & The Wailers' keyboard player, made prominent use of the Hammond on "No Woman, No Cry" as recorded at the Lyceum Theatre, London for the album Live![57]

The Hammond organ fell out of favour in the late 1970s, as Punk and New Wave bands tended to prefer second-hand combo organs from the 1960s, or use no keyboards at all.[58] The Stranglers' Dave Greenfield was a notable exception to this, and used a Hammond onstage during the band's early career. Andy Thompson, better known for being an aficionado of the Mellotron, claims "the Hammond never really went away. There are a lot of studios that have had a B3 or C3 sitting away in there since the 70s."[59] The instrument underwent a brief renaissance in the 1980s with the mod revival movement. Taylor played the Hammond through the 1980s, first with The Prisoners and later with the James Taylor Quartet.[60]

Jazz musicians continued to use Hammond organs into the 21st century. Joey DeFrancesco embraced the instrument during the 1990s, and later collaborated with Smith[61] and Tony Monaco using the "New B3". Monaco claimed he could not tell the difference between the new model and the original tonewheel instrument, stating "This is not a clone; it's the real thing."[62]

See also

Aeolian / Hammond Player Organ model B-A (1938)[63][64]
Hammond Novachord (1939)
Hammond S-6 Chord Organ (1950) [65]

References

  1. ^ Corbin 2006, p. 151.
  2. ^ Bush & Kassel 2006, p. 168.
  3. ^ Corbin 2006, p. 149.
  4. ^ US patent 1956350, Laurens Hammond, "Electrical Musical Instrument", issued 1934-04-24 
  5. ^ Stuyvesant Barry. "Chapter XV - And How it Grew". Hammond As In Organ: The Laurens Hammond Story. Vintage Hammond Church Organs of Houston, TX & Atlanta, GA.
  6. ^ "Milt Herth". Answers.com.
  7. ^ Department of the Army technical manual TM 10-751, Manual for Electronic Organ AN/TNP-1. United States Government Printing Office (Washington). 1949.
  8. ^ Reid, Gordon (November 2003). "Synthesizing tonewheel organs". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  9. ^ "Technical Information for Hammond Tone Wheel Organ". Keyboard Exchange International. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  10. ^ Campbell, Greated & Myers 2004, p. 71.
  11. ^ Campbell, Greated & Myers 2004, p. 441.
  12. ^ "Hammond Filter Capacitor Replacement Kit". Goff Professional. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  13. ^ Gallagher 2008, p. 105.
  14. ^ Bush & Kassel 2006, p. 169.
  15. ^ "Early Hammond Consoles" (PDF). (old catalog pages). Hammond Organ Company. – model A, B, E.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Service Manual: A, A-100, AB,..., Organ Service Company, 196?
  17. ^ a b Hammond Service Manual For The Service Engineer
  18. ^ Vail 2002, p. 22.
  19. ^ a b "Hammmond M102". Hollow Sun. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  20. ^ a b "What makes the L-100 sound so different from the B3 ? - And what can be done to improve the L-100". Frederick Somerville Gospel Organist. 1998-10-03.
  21. ^ Hugh Robjohns. "Hammond B3: Modelled Electromechanical Tonewheel Organ". Sound On Sound (July 2003).
  22. ^ Campbell, Greated & Myers 2004, p. 447.
  23. ^ Inside of Hammond Organ (photograph). TheatreOrgans.com.
  24. ^ Clark 1999, p. 47.
  25. ^ Reid, Gordon (January 2004). "Synthesizing tonewheel organs". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  26. ^ Watkinson, Mike (April 2004). "Software vs Hardware : Tonewheel Organ Implementations Compared". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "Leslie 147A Speaker". Goff Professional. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  28. ^ "Ask Mike". 33–34. Keyboard magazine. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. ^ Brice 2001, p. 427.
  30. ^ Vail 2002, p. 129-131.
  31. ^ a b Reid, Gordon (January 2001). "Korg CX3". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  32. ^ Spark, Rod (October 1997). "The History Of The Hammond". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  33. ^ Magnus, Nick (July 1997). "Roland VK-7". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  34. ^ Reid, Gordon (September 2002). "Roland VK-8". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  35. ^ Reid, Gordon (December 2001). "Clavia Nord Electro". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  36. ^ Reid, Gordon (October 2012). "Clavia Nord C2D". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  37. ^ Vail 2002, p. 15.
  38. ^ a b c Kirchner 2005, p. 384.
  39. ^ Corbin 2006, p. 153.
  40. ^ Vail 2002, p. 18.
  41. ^ Bogdanov, Woodstra & Erlewine 2002, p. 1170.
  42. ^ Vail 2002, p. 19.
  43. ^ Davis 2012, p. 236.
  44. ^ Vail 2002, p. 168.
  45. ^ Vail 2002, p. 21.
  46. ^ Johansen 2001, p. 65.
  47. ^ Johansen 2001, p. 66.
  48. ^ Macan 1997, p. 33.
  49. ^ Welch 1990, p. 73.
  50. ^ Cohen, Scott (October 1974). "Deep Purple's Jon Lord and 'Burn'". Circus Magazine: 42–45. Retrieved 30 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  51. ^ Classic Albums : Machine Head. Eagle Rock Entertainment. 19 November 2002. ASIN B000077VQD.
  52. ^ Macan 1997, p. 34.
  53. ^ Cateforis 2011, p. 158.
  54. ^ Awde 2008, p. 200.
  55. ^ Masouri 2010, p. 71.
  56. ^ Moskowitz 2006, p. 320.
  57. ^ Masouri 2010, p. 596.
  58. ^ Cateforis 2011, p. 104,160.
  59. ^ Awde 2008, p. 531.
  60. ^ Bogdanov 2001, p. 507.
  61. ^ Huey, Steve. "Joey DeFrancesco : Artist Biography". Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  62. ^ Carlson, Russell (May 2003). "The Reinvention of the Hammond B3". Jazz News. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  63. ^ "Aeolian/Hammond Player Organ". Hammond Products. OrganHouse.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  64. ^ "Hammond Models - model B-A". The Hammond-Leslie FAQ. VintageHammond.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  65. ^ "Hammond Models - S-6 Chord Organ". The Hammond-Leslie FAQ. VintageHammond.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
Bibliography

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