Hammond Organ Thesis

["Glen E. Nelson" <GEN9696@ACFcluster.NYU.EDU>]

Okay, here goes;

        I've gotten a lot of response after posting by B3 bio from people
asking to read my graduate thesis that I composed on the Hammond.  This was
written about a year and a half ago, so it is a little out of date, and if I
made any mistakes in my facts, please let me know so that I may correct them!
This is a long document, so either delete it, put it aside, or get ready to
stay in for the long haul.  I hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know
that you think!  

                        And now... the paper;

History of the Hammond B-3 Organ                 by Glen Nelson

Introduction:

        Because of my interest in analog synthesizer technology, and the fact
that I am an jazz organ player, specifically, a Hammond organ player, I thought
it would be fitting to do a report explaining the technology used in the
original Hammond organs ( quite possibly the worldUs first synthesizers, ) and
explain how their immense popularity in the 50Us and 60Us helped shape the
technology of the earliest synthesizers, and the needs of early keyboard
players in general.

The Hammond B-3:

        There were many varieties of the Hammond organ, some designed for home
use, some designed for church use, and some designed for live gigs and studio
recording.  But the most popular variety, and the one still commonly in use
today ( if you can find one that isnUt too beat up ) is the Hammond B-3.  This
organ has two 61 note keyboards, ( manuals ), sometimes called the swell ( top
) and the great ( bottom ), a variety of built-in special effects, ( including
TpercussionU effects, several different chorus and vibrato effects, and
adjustable attack and decay effects ), 9 preset keys for both manuals, ( the
inversely white and black keys on the bottom octave of each manual ), two sets
of nine stops ( drawbars ) for each manual, a full two octave set of foot
pedals with two pedal drawbars built in to the console, a volume pedal (
expression pedal ) built into the base, a solid walnut body with 4  legs and
base, a built-in stool, and it weighed in at over 400 pounds.  Also, it needed
to be run through a separate speaker called a Leslie (which I will explain
later ), which also came in many varieties and sizes, but which was usually
around six feet tall and weighed almost as much as the organ.  To get a B-3 to
a gig, you would probably need a truck or a van to transport it, a dolly or
three to four guys to carry it, and then a prayer that you didnUt have to carry
it up too many flights of stairs.  Why, you must be wondering, would any sane
musician want to take this piece of furniture with them out to a gig?  If you
have ever heard a good B-3, you would understand.  A Hammond B-3 can all at
once sound like a carnival, a big band, a horn section, a small jazz combo, a
funk group, a percussion section, a flute, and/or countless other things.  How
does one instrument  manage to do all this?  The answer begins in the drawbars.

The Drawbars:

        YouUve heard the expression, RPulling out all the stops?S  The drawbars
on the organ are these very stops.   The organist can TvoiceU each stop as he
plays.  Meaning, any one of the nine drawbars that go into the makeup of an
organ sound can be individually altered, either while playing, or permanently
preset into one of the 9 preset keys.  ( The other three are for setting or
clearing the presets. )  Each drawbar has eight degrees to which it can be
literally TdrawnU or pulled, out of the console of the organ, the eighth being
the loudest, and all the way in being silence.  The nine drawbars represent the
nine most important harmonics, going in order of left to right, the sub-octave,
the fifth, the unison or fundamental octave, the 8th, the 12th, the 15th, the
17th, the 19th, and the 22nd.  All of these except the 17th are either roots or
fifths.  The 17th is a third.  The colors on the drawbars themselves are also
related to their harmonic pitch.  The white and brown drawbars are called the
consonants, all the roots and the lower fifths, and the black drawbars are
called the dissonants, the higher fifths and the third.  Using this basic
harmonic series, almost any instrumental tone may be imitated or mimicked.  
Also, the inventor of the Hammond organ, Laurens Hammond, who invented the B-3
around 1937-39,  and who later unveiled it at the 1939 AES show here in New
York City at the RCA building, used some of his fatherUs techniques, who
happened to be a designer of pipe organs, in the development of his new organ. 
The drawbars are all labeled to represent pipe pitches, represented by length,
ranging in order of largest to smallest, from left to right.  These TlengthsU
are, 16', 8', 5 1/3', 4', 2 2/3', 2', 1 3/5', 1 1/3', and 1', being the
smallest.  By the way, the two drawbars for the pedals are called the
Super-Octave and the Sub-Octave, and their respective TlengthsU are 16' and 8'. 
Just like the fundamentals for creating sound waves lies in harmonics, ( much
like what we have learned in this class, ) such is the way with the drawbars
and their harmonic series.  For instance, in terms of sound waves and
frequency, the 1st harmonic by itself creates a sine wave, or a
flute/recorder-type sound.  The odd harmonics create a square wave, or a
clarinet-like sound.  The odd harmonics TsquaredU create a triangle wave, or a
string-like sound.  And all harmonics together create a sawtooth wave, or an
oboe-like sound.  Drawbar settings use the same kind of premise; various levels
and volumes of harmonics are used to create sounds.  There are literally
millions of tone qualities and endless shades of dynamic level available on the
Hammond organ.  Figure 1, ( see back pages ), or drawbar setting ( 00 6200 000
) is an example of a flute tone.   Figure 2 ( 00 4345 554 ) is an example of a
violin tone.   Figure 3 ( 00 6876 540 ) is an example of a trumpet-like tone,
and Figure 4 ( 54 5444 222 )is an example of a diapason, or a typically
organ-like tone quality.  There are also the typical jazz settings ( not
included in the appendix, ) such as 88 8000 000, the most common, used by jazz
players 90% of the time, 88 8400 080, for a bit more of a whistle during solos,
80 0000 088, for a high-end chordal voice setting, or the full blown 88 8888
888, the largest sound possible on the organ, which is used usually for loud
chord solos, or huge crescendos or climaxes.  That particular setting truly
defines the phrase Rpulling out all the stopsS, and it means exactly what it
says; the works.  Of course, there are a mutlitude of other possibilities, and
every player out there has his or her own particular setting, or 'sound'.  But
how exactly do the drawbars do what they do?  The answer to that lies in the
tone generator.

The Tone Generator:

        The tone generator, except for the Pedal Solo Unit, which controls the
sound generated by the pedals, is composed of 91 tone wheels, located inside
the console.   Each tone wheel generates magnetically one of the pitches of the
fundamentals ( the first harmonic ) or the overtones, ( all  harmonics above
the fundamental ) of the many TstopsU.  By the way, musical pitches on the
organ range from 32.692 Hz in the bass to 5919.85 Hz in the treble, a span of
seven and a half octaves.  The frequencies of the Solo Unit for the pedals
range from 16 to 3136 cycles per second.   The expression pedal has a range
over 48 decibels in power.  ( The B-3 is a loud instrument. )   Anyhow, on the
outer rim of each tone wheel, which are only about the size of silver dollars,
are a series of Thills and valleysU which disturb the electromagnetic field in
a near-by magnet and the circuitry with which it is connected.  These wheels
turn on their axles at a carefully controlled speed.  The disturbances are in
the nature of sine waves, and are timed as the musical pitches themselves. 
These disturbances, which are really just fluctuations of electrons in tubes
and wires, are extremely weak and have to be amplified millions of times before
they are strong enough to move the cones in the external speakers, which, in
turn, must move all of the tons of air in a room before the sound actually gets
to you, the listener.   The waves, while they are still in the electrical form,
pass through an amazing set of filters, mixers, and other devices that process
the final result, but to the player, it is so much more less complicated than
all of that.   

Why The Hammond?:   

        Even today, the influence of the Hammond organ is felt everywhere. 
Listen to any song on any given radio station, and it is a strong bet that you
will hear someone banging away at a B-3.  By the way, the B-3 is only one of
the many different styles of organs that the Hammond company produced, among
which were also the Chord organ and the Spinet organ.    This one just happened
to be the most TportableU, if you can call it that, and it really had the best
sound, today what we would call the TclassicU Hammond sound.  The Hammond is
used in all types of music, from Gospel, to Blues, to Jazz, to Funk, to Rock. 
My first real exposure to the organ was early in my musical career when I was
still listening to Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Yes almost exclusively, studying
and memorizing every Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman lick that I could
transcribe.  ( Especially Keith Emerson, who used to take his B-3 and throw it
around the stage, ride it like a horse, set it on fire, stab it, or whatever
else. )  Back then I knew I loved the sound of the organ, but I never really
realized itUs full capability until I reached college and was introduced to my
first Jimmy Smith record, who is world renowned as the master of the jazz
organ, and really the first musician to treat the organ as an honest-to-god
instrument, and not just a novelty to be thrown in at sporadic times, the way
Count Basie did back in the early fifties.  My friend popped in the album
ROrgan Grinder SwingS, and said, RCheck this out - this guy solos with his
right hand, comps chords with his left, plays bass lines with his left foot,
and controls the volume with the right.S  I must have said something like
RYeah, rightS.  Not only was this man doing everything that my friend had
described, but he was also soulfully moaning and wailing to the music that he
was creating, and I knew immediately that this was something serious that I had
to know more about.  Four years later, and I consider myself to be a full time
jazz organ player.  Jimmy Smith, though, was not the only one to make a name
for himself playing the Hammond.  Among the many in jazz, funk, and rock are
Richard RGrooveS Holmes, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Joey and John DeFrancesco,
Shirley Scott, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Larry Young, Don Patterson, Paul Shaffer, Don
Pullen, Larry Goldings, 'Big' John Patton, Booker T. Jones, Billy Preston, Merl
Saunders, Ray Manzerek, Jon Lord, Fats Waller, and so many others.  I have had
the opportunity to take lessons with both Dr. Lonnie Smith and Larry Goldings,
and let me assure you that these men take the instrument very seriously, and
that they are monsterous musicians, capable of doing amazing things.  I have
also had the opportunity to meet Jimmy Smith at a club in Boston, and let me
assure you that the man, although intense, is completely insane.

The Leslie:

        There is one more thing that must be described if we are to fully
appreciate the character of the Hammond, and that the is the Leslie tone
cabinet.  The organ needed an external speaker in order to be heard, and it
also needed one specially designed that had rotating speakers, so that the
vibrato effects in the organ could come out.  Besides, the organ had a special
multi-pin output that could only be connected to a tone cabinet, a conventional
amplifier would never have worked.  The Hammond company actually designed
several tone cabinets of their own, but they never caught on as well as the
similar model produced by the Leslie corporation, which simply sounded better
anyway.  In the early days, there was a sort of rivalry between the two
companies going on, but not long after the Leslie pretty much became accepted
as the standard.  Even Laurens Hammond, who publicly pooh-poohed them had his
own home organ coupled with a Leslie.  Like the organ itself there were a lot
of varieties of these speakers, but one of the most commonly used models was
called the Leslie 122, which stood around six feet high, and had two rotating
treble horns at the top of the cabinet, a bass woofer inside, and another pair
of rotating horns at the bottom.  The rotation of the horns were continuous,
and they only had two speeds, fast and slow.  When moving slow, which they most
often do, is when the clean, pure organ sound comes through.   But when the
fast switch is activated on the console of the organ, the speakers pick up
speed, eventually going as fast as they can, and that is the classic huge
Hammond vibrato sound.  A Leslie is really something to hear close up.  It is a
very loud and a very powerful sounding speaker.  Someone at the controls of an
organ has a lot of power at their disposal, not to mention the possibility of
overdrive, which is a common sound used by organ players.  This happens when
you maximize the volume on the expression pedal and the Leslie distorts, which
is very effective, but should probably only be used sparingly.  Most organ
players preferred the sound of stereo Leslies, but one would work just fine. 
Some other models were made that were smaller and more portable, and it often
depended upon the tastes and needs of the players themselves.  Some players
preferred the sound of the Leslie if only the bottom horns rotated instead of
both, or the other way around.  Some players combined other speakers, like bass
cabinets, in conjunction with their Leslie.  The way you set up your Leslie was
almost as important as the drawbar settings themselves.  But enough background
on the instrument; its time to move on and explore the legacy that the Hammond
organ has left the future generation of keyboard players and the future of
music technology in general.   

The Hammond's Influence:

        As I mentioned before, the Hammond B-3 was immensely popular during the
50's and 60's, and even into the seventies when the first portable synthesizers
began to appear.  Keyboard players like Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, even
though they were surrounded by an army of Moogs, Mellotrons, and electric
pianos, would still lug these things around.  For one reason, because even to
this day, though the Hammond could imitate the sound of almost any instrument,
nothing could imitate the sound of a Hammond.  And it can be safely said that
players were infatuated with the instrument because it really was the world's
first portable synthesizer.  Well, was it?  It utilized oscillating vacuum
tubes, manipulated sine waves through the use of harmonics, could actually save
preset sounds, ( not to mention sounds that actually sounded like something
else besides an organ), had modulation control, ( the two Leslie speeds and the
different tremolo, chorus, and vibrato settings ), had attack and decay
parameters, volume pedal control, and even had echo and sustain available on
later models.  Doesn't that sound a lot like the early synths we know?  When
the early developers of sythesizers, Robert Moog on the east coast and Don
Buchla on the west, were tinkering with oscillators, it is a good bet that they
knew of the Hammond and what it was capable of.  Moog even used a modified
organ manual as his keyboard controller.  Especially later on, when new
synthesizer companies began mass-producing their instruments, the demands of
keyboard players that were already out there on the scene playing warranted
that they would have to appease the Hammond enthusiasts, who had become
comfortable with the organ's by-then 'standard' features.  Entire dictionaries
were put out on the Hammond organ alone, jammed with the different drawbar
settings that all sounded different from one another.   Numerous publications
were being put out on the instrument.  Teachers actually began instructing
students on the Hammond as its own new instrument.  Needless to say, the
movement was large, and it is true that much of what was standard on the
Hammond organs back then became standard on the synthesizers that we know of
and use regularly today.

 The Future:

        There has been a great effort by the synthesizer companies of today to
emulate the sound of the Hammonds.  You yourself may have a couple of killer
Hammond samples on your machine, but there is nothing like being behind the
real thing, starting the motor, ( which is a technique all to itself ) and
feeling the thing purr to life like a giant, breathing creature.  Not only
that, but a sample is just a sample, and you cannot do the any one of a hundred
things to the sound that you could do if you were playing the real thing. 
Nevertheless, there has been a good deal of genuine effort made by different
companies.  In the early eighties, the Korg company were the first to delve
into the field.  They released two keyboards, the B-X3 and the B-X2, both good
efforts, yet both flawed in many ways.  The B-X3 was a dual manual organ, with
one full set of drawbars for each manual, and the B-X2 was a single manual
organ, with one set of drawbars.  Both were highly portable, and relatively
lightweight.  Korg had managed pretty well to nail the grungy, down and dirty
sound of the Hammond, but you could not program presets onto it, ( it came with
three unchangeable presets that were terrible ), most of the special effects,
especially the percussion ( attack ) effects were cheesy sounding, and the
built-in Leslie simulator was horrendous.  More recently, though, a lot of new
efforts have been made, but still nothing has exactly hit the mark.  The
Hammond company, which actually closed down for good in 1975, reopened in 1992
with a whole new line of fully digital, MIDI capable organs.  Incidently, that
means that even if you could get the last B-3 to come off the production line,
you're still buying an instrument that is 18 years old.  Among Hammond's new
line is the popular X-B2 ( which I traded up to after owning the Korg B-X3 ),
which is a single manual organ that was pretty much modeled right after the old
Korg B-X2.  The X-B5 is another, a dual manual organ with a whole slew of
special features, most of which aren't really  necessary on an organ, and also
the X-B3, an exact replica of the original B-3 console, only with a 90's style
high gloss finish.  As far as sound quality, these new Hammonds come very 
close, especially when coupled with the also brand new highly portable Leslie
302 tone cabinets, designed specifically for the new Hammond line, but they too
have their nitty-gritty flaws.  Other recent efforts include a new Rhodes
drawbar keyboard, which has some nice features but also lacks a great deal, a
rack mount module called Vintage Keys, another rack mount module called the
VOCE DMI-64 Mark II, and its later version, the VOCE Micro B, and a few others. 
There is even a new rack mount Leslie simulator available from a German company
which is very good, but very expensive.  So far, the new Hammond line has
pretty much dominated the new organ market, and happily, there has been
somewhat of a B-3 revival going on.  KEYBOARD magazine recently devoted an
entire issue to the subject of the Hammond B-3.  GOFF Professional of
Newington, CT, run by Mr. AL Goff, which started out as a kind of basement
operation has expanded into a very successful new company committed to the
restoration and rental/sale of vintage B-3s and Leslies.  ( See their ad in the
classified section of any issue of KEYBOARD magazine. )  He is an excellent
resource of information, and has become the foremost authority on the east
coast for Hammond organs.  Just about every famous organ player on the scene
today including Keith Emerson, T. Lavitz, Jimmy Smith, Joey DeFrancesco, and
Jimmy McGriff has had their organ or Leslie restored by Goff Professional. 
They even rework the brand new models and the new Leslies to sound awesome. 
They have also done work for groups like Hall and Oates, the Allman Brothers,
Phish, Grayson Hugh, and Widespread Panic.  Joey DeFrancesco, by the way,
famous son of organist John DeFrancesco, is one of the fresh new musicians on
the jazz scene who is helping to put the Hammond B-3 back into the spotlight. 
He is currently working with John McLaughlin.  Also, Larry Goldings is a hot
new player on the scene who has already worked with Maceo Parker, Jim Hall, and
John Scofield.  A lot of the old jazz players too, like saxophonist Lou
Donaldson, are returning to the classic old sound of the jazz organ trio (
organ, guitar, drums ) as a rhythm section.  Go to any rock show now, and
you're bound to see the group's keyboard player onstage with a restored B-3 and
Leslie cabinet.  New groups like the Black Crowes and Phish use the B-3 almost
exclusively as their keyboard instrument.  I've seen Hammonds all over the
place in rock videos, from Bryan Adams to Eric Clapton.  Basically, they're
trendy again, and they're everywhere.  Even in this day and age, when
technology can do amazing things, some things stubbornly refuse to be replaced. 
It will be interesting to see what other developments in this field take place
in the years to come.  Many keyboard players, myself included, will be watching
intently.               

        (PHEW!  Well, if you're still with me, congratulations!  And thanks very
much for taking the time to read!  Again, comments would be appreciated!)

                                                        Glen Nelson