How Do Hammond Organs Work?
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Wheels and Cogs
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A Hammond Organ is basically a huge gearbox with an overabundance of wiring, cogs, cables and tubes. It is quite a bulky instrument that relies on the sounds produced by the wheels and cogs that rotate in front of magnetic coils. This unorthodox method of producing sound is the reason why Hammond Organs produce their unique tones. This makes the Hammond Organ more of an electro-mechanical organ, rather than a pure electric organ since the wheels and cogs are mechanical tone wheels and not just electronic oscillators as are found in purely electric organs.
Drawbars
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The tones produced are then amplified by drawbars, which transform the already unique tone into different sounds, thus the Hammond organist is given a choice of 252 million sounds and tones to choose from. Drawbars are mounted just above the two keyboards of the organ and mix the component waveforms. These sliding drawbars, when pulled out, increase the volume of the component waveform, while if the drawbar if pulled in, the corresponding waveform is silenced or becomes absent from the mix. The drawbars act as the Hammond Organs equivalent of the pipes of a traditional organ, where the physical length determines the pitch produced. Drawbars are pitched ranging from one octave below the fundamental pitch up to three octaves above. Each of the drawbars can be modified in real time thus allowing a change of pitch mid-song. The range of each drawbar is from 0 (off) to 8 (full on). Combinations of the drawbars create unique timbres--they have the effect of changing the tone of the note being played, not the pitch itself.
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Leslie Speaker
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Another feature that helps the Hammond create its unique sound is found in its Leslie speaker cabinet. A Leslie speaker is a speaker that rotates inside a wooden box, creating a pitch modulation effect. This unique marriage of tone producing mechanics and Leslie sound manipulation helped the Hammond gain its worldwide popularity among musical greats.
Models
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There are several models of Hammond organs produced, but the one that's considered a cult classic is the Hammond B-3, although the C-3 is also coveted. The M-100 and L-100 are also popular models of the Hammond Organs.
Unfortunately, the original Hammond Organs are no longer built, unless you have one custom built. Used Hammond organs are still widely sought after and expensive. Hammond had stringent quality control. Even today, most used Hammond organs are still in great working condition. The new Hammond models, like the X-B3, are now being produced in Japan. However, these are digital organs that rely either on samples of a real Hammond or on a mathematical model of its behavior. Hammond emulations are popular because the sound is very close to the real thing and because the instruments themselves are much less cumbersome, but the original Hammond organs continue to be a staple in recording studios and in the touring rigs of players who are very particular about their sound and the feel of the instrument.
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