Hammond B3 Organs

Nothing Beats the Sound of a Hammond B3 Musical Organ

The Hammond B3 organ has been a favorite of musicians since it was introduced in the 1930s. This instrument takes the best features of a traditional organ and incorporates them into an electronically managed group of sound effects and note manipulations. The result is a unique sound.

The Hammond organ is an electric instrument that uses a metal tone wheel near the electromagnetic pickup to create an electric current. It has an amplifier that strengthens the sound for the speakers. The original organs were popular because of the versatility and quality of the sound, especially when paired with an amplified speaker like the Leslie. Still popular, these Hammond organs exist both as vintage originals and newly manufactured models.

This organ has these components that are unique to electronic keyboards:

• Keyboard - The Hammond organ has two 61-note keyboards called manuals. The keys emit sound until released, and they have a flat-front profile in the waterfall style.
• Pedalboard - The organ's pedalboard is played with the feet and has 25 bass notes instead of the traditional 32.
• Drawbars - Drawbars change the sounds on a tone-wheel Hammond B3. They are metal sliding bars that function much like faders on a synthesizer. There are nine drawbars for each manual, and they raise or lower the octave of the note being played or change it to its harmonic or subharmonic.
• Vibrato effect - This effect changes the pitch slightly.
• Chorus effect - This feature adds another sound to the note.
• Harmonic percussion - These effects add interesting xylophone, harp, and marimba sounds to the note. These sounds fade while the original note remains.
• Start and run switches - These two switches power up the organ. The start switch turns on the starter motor, which needs to remain on for about 12 seconds. It is then turned off, and the run switch is turned on for 4 seconds.

The Leslie, often associated with the Hammond organ, is an amplifier-speaker combination. It takes the signal from an electric musical instrument and uses a rotating baffle in front of the speakers to change the sound. It comprises a treble horn, an amplifier, and a base speaker.