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I am giving you a look at something I know a quite a bit about from experience. I hope it is useful and instructive to you who love music. The world desperately needs more history like the following......... well, maybe not desperately, but at least a bit urgently.
Many musical instruments have staying qualities. The piano is possibly the most versatile instrument with a very long life. The violin courts the classical musicians as well as the hill folks in North Carolina and virtually every band in Texas of any note. The sax and the trombone seem to grab the attention of the big band swing era and the jazz fans.
But, there is a mysterious staying power to an instrument (Hammond started making organs in the 1920s) that should have all been in the city dump somewhere in the 1970s. As the electronic organs took over, why did the Hammond B-3 stay, and stay, and stay.
Here is a discussion of the Hammond B-3:
The tone generator, and the electronics system of the organ, were, at the same time, both freaks and fantastic inventions. The Hammond is the ONLY organ in the wold ever made with a mechanical tone generator. It must be started by a separate motor before the second motor takes over. And, it must be oiled once a year. If you have an old Hammond in the family that will not start up, you may only need to oil it. I will respond to comments in case anyone needs to know how to do it.
I quote the above site.
Quote: 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 "stops". 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 "hills and valleys" 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.
There is a deeply sensual magic in the Hammond sound that no one has ever copied, though many have tried. Korg came close, but they have yet to duplicate the sound. For you who are old enough to remember the principles of the vacuum tube, this is one of the most powerful forces in the uniqueness of the Hammond B-3. The vacuum tube, unlike the transistor, breathes. It inhales and exhales. It is life and acoustics whereas the transistor is brittle and too perfect to FEEL. It is like the difference between flipping a switch to turn on the lights, and lighting a candle. Modern electronics must layer, warp, and twist many combinations to imitate the living effect of the vacuum tube.
Add to this the warmth of the whir of the electric motor, and the effect of moving parts-- even the subtle smell of warm motors and oil molecules escaping from the bearings. It is the same reason the acoustic piano will never be duplicated electronically. The acoustic piano is an imperfect instrument, and virtually every piano made has its own fingerprints and personal qualities.
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. Ibid
It is very common in rock bands to see a Hammond B-3 with modern keyboards stacked two high on the Hammond. Here is a video history of the Hammond organ that I enjoyed. It shows the universal appeal of the Hammond.
The Hammond has a sound like something breathing, sensual, and alive. It is not mighty like a pipe organ, which also cannot be electronically duplicated. The Hammond B-3 grabs the soul, and that is why it is the absolute organ of choice in all urban Black churches. Here is an example of the sound of soul the Hammond B-3 rules:
"Yield Not To Temptation"! Did you not feel something VERY tempting and sensual in spite of this old hymn asking you NOT to yield? I like to watch the musician (must be Black to do it right) as he looks away from the hymn book at the camera and starts letting the music flow from his soul. I have serious questions what spirit is moving here, but there is NO doubt that the soul is moving.
Well, let's get on down to the South Side of Chicago and do it "right."
We have looked at the Hammond B-3 at the church house. Where else do we find it?
What is really freaky is the extreme popularity of the Hammond B-3 with rock bands with the cash to buy million dollar instruments. Watch this video of Eric Clapton- "Cocaine." What a creepy raw and offensive piece of music, but you will see a brief clip of a Hammond B-3 being played.
I have serviced Hammond B-3s many times, and I marvel at the affection the musicians have for them. It is like a love affair. Such an inexpensive instrument when they were new in the 1950s-- what is the magic? As much blather as I have dumped on you above, I am still not sure I really have figured it all out.
Is that Hammond B-3s demon possessed.........
When Bach is played, the Hammond sounds timid and harmless.
But alas, Bach so easily gives way to the soul of the Hammond B-3
So, find a Hammond B-3, put your name on the back of it, and you are on your way from 1950 to a world famous grand tour.......... well, maybe at least some good skating rink music:
The Sheik of Hammond seems to run out of fingers.
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