Introducing the smallest and lightest Genuine Hammond Organ… There was a time when the roaring sound of a genuine Hammond B3 Organ and Leslie Speaker required a moving van with burly movers, and room enough on stage to stand 4 regular musicians. Those days are truly now behind.
Hammond XK-1c Portable Organ
Features
GENUINE AND AUTHENTIC HAMMOND ORGAN
Authentic Chorus-Vibrato/Touch Response Percussion/Overdrive
12 HAMMOND MACRO PROFILES with 17 TWEAKABLE PARAMETERS
each USER-PROGRAMMABLE
3 BLANK USER-PROGRAMMABLE PROFILES
96 INDIVIDUALLY Adjustable, Voiceable Digital Tonewheels
DIGITAL TONEWHEEL GENERATOR
Laurens Hammond’s original Organ (invented in 1935) had an intricate electro-mechanical mechanism that used 96 Quarter-sized wheels spinning on driveshafts powered by his patented synchronous motor. The wheels were notched according to pitch, and an electromagnetic pickup (much like that on an Eelectric Guitar) sensed those notches and rendered a musical note. The Drawbars combined those harmonic tones to produce the inimitable Hammond Organ sound.
Hammond’s adherence to quality has allowed many vintage instruments to remain vital today, and they are among the most desired and imitated musical instruments ever, but at a high cost. The Electromechanical Hammonds require expensive maintenance, regular doses of oil, and were of great weight; not easy to move at all.
The Modern Hammond Organ’sXk-1c’s VASE III “Engine” uses the exact model of Laurens Hammond’s design, executing it in the digital realm, with no moving parts, retaining all of the nuances, imperfections and idiosyncrasies of the original. The wheels are always “spinning”. When a note is played, the tones pass, just as water through a faucet. The random starts of each wave played allow for phase interaction, producing the rich tone so prized in the vintage Hammonds.
The Digital realization of Laurens Hammond’s System allows sophisticated control of every facet. Each Digital Tonewheel can be voiced for Volume, Timbre, Motor Noise and Leakage; enabling the musician to tailor the Modern Hammond to match the characteristics of any Vintage Hammond, or to create their own vision. Twelve Macro Profiles allow the user to quickly select the most popular “kinds” of Hammond, from Showroom-New to Road-Worn Antique and all points between.
CLASSIC HAMMOND COMPONENTS
The Tonewheel Generator wasn’t the only great invention of Laurens Hammond, and no Hammond Organ would be complete without the full spectrum of ingredients that comprised Mr. Hammond’s genius design.
DRAWBARS:
Mr. Hammond used the Pipe Organ Design concept of “Unification” in creating the iconic Drawbars of his Electronic Organ. This concept allowed one or more keyboards to control the pitches of many pipes within one set or “rank” of pipes. Adopting the harmonic standards and nomenclature of the Pipe Organ, Mr. Hammond’s design assured that any organist would be able to play his instrument without a steep learning curve. Unlike the Pipe Organ, Mr Hammond’s design allowed variable volumes of each Harmonic represented by each drawbar. This variation gave the musician millions of combinations of harmonics, and assured that every Hammond player would be able to summon a unique voice. An extra level to the expression a Hammond Organist had at their fingertips was added because the Drawbars could be manipulated in real time. The Xk-1c features real drawbars in the size, shape and configuration of Vintage Hammonds. The Drawbars also serve the Combo and Pipe Organ divisions, but with a slightly different function.
VIBRATO/CHORUS: PIC OF VIB/CHORUS CONTROLS
One of the most distinctive parts of the Hammond sound is the shimmering “Chorus Vibrato”. It adds a silken quality to the sound by adding a second, slightly detuned pitch to the original in the Chorus Mode, and repeat-modulating the pitch slightly in Vibrato mode. Few musicians realize the Chorus effect pedal widely used for Guitars and Electric Pianos had its genesis as a component of the Hammond Organ. Mr. Hammond’s original design used an electromechanical apparatus that looked much like the distributors you would find in the automobiles of the day, and ran off the same synchronous motor that powered the Tonewheel Generator. The Xk-1c’s Chorus-Vibrato is executed in the Digital Realm, without moving parts, and works under the same model. The classic V1/V2/V3/C1/C2/C3 controls are familiar to anyone who has ever played a Hammond. As with the Tonewheel Generator, Digital control allows a wide range of adjustment that was simply not possible on the original. As the Antique organs aged, the components acquired their own unique qualities. Digital control allows the user to shape the Chorus/Vibrato’s various facets, with the added ability to “age” the effect-with the resulting treble emphasis and subtle distortion that marks the organs that develop this patina as “sweeter” than others.
TOUCH-RESPONSE PERCUSSION™ PIC OF PERC CONTROLS
The chief feature of the Hammond B-3 upon its release in 1955 was the inclusion of Touch-Response Percussion™ (Perc). This effect added a high “attack” to the Organ tone at either the octave or the twelfth, with a fast note decay. This sound was reminiscent of an xylophone or clave, and became immensely popular, immediately. Perc gave the Organ a bright highlight, and every generation of music has embraced this sound. Controls for the Perc have the classic nomenclature, familiar to anyone who has ever played a Hammond. On the Xk-1c, Perc is executed in the Digital realm, allowing a wide range of controls the organists back in the day did not possess. The 1′ drawbar muting, characteristic of the Vintage Organs can be defeated, as can the drop in Drawbar volume level that accompanied the engaging of the Percussion voice. You can control the volumes and decay times as well.