Please help me identify the organ heard here. Thanks. =)

[Spitfire]

Guys and galls, please view the following video as it features some of the music I grew up with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvpHh99at8c

I know for a fact this is not a Moog, but if you more experienced musicians could help me identify what organ this is, I would be most grateful. Once I find out what it is, I can look for a synth/keyboard that can replicate this sound, as I am sure they are not around anymore... and if they are, well, they would cost a small fortune.

Thanks in advance.


Spitfire.

[thealien666]

That looks, and sounds, exactly like a Hammond organ. Not sure what model, but definitely Hammond. Probably B-3. But it could also be H-100.

[Brian G]

Looking at one of his other videos it’s probably Hammond B3. Could have been a C3 or A 100 ( I think H100 has additional stop tabs over the draw bars which I do not see in the video), the B,C at A all have the same electronics, difference is the B has spindle legs, the C has solid sides and the A has a built in speaker. There are several other models that will do most of what can be done on the B, C and A. They can be found used fairly easily but can be expensive along with being very heavy.

There are many choices out there on the new front a few include.
Nord C2D, it’s a two manual, will also do other organ emulations and has a Leslie modeler. Sells for about $3,500.

Then there is the Hammond Sk1 single manual that sells for around $2,000. For a bit more you can get the SK2

For a more “pure” experience there is the Hammond XK3c, sells for about $2,500 and is a single manual. There is a lower manual option for $1,400. They also have a stand frame available and pedal set . You can midi any keyboard to the XK for the lower manual. You would lose the waterfall keys though which is a fun part of playing a Hammond.

Hammond and a few other manufactures also have modules with drawbars.

There are some romplers that have some very good Hammond samples, and will allow you to adjust the draw bars.


Have fun

[Spitfire]

Alien and Brian:

Thanks for the replies fellas. So a Hammond organ... man, I have heard so much about them for so long without realizing that so much of the music I have heard throughout my life was performed with them. Again, thank you for taking the time to watch the video and apply your experience to figuring this one out. This genre of music just hits home for me. It reminds me of a slower, warmer time in my life and that particular sound creates that feeling for me instantly.

I think it could be a nice instrument to use in electronic music. After learning the scales used in music like cumbia (as heard in the video, not the modern stuff that kids today call "cumbia" but sounds absolutely nothing like it), I would like to not necessarily use the same rhythms, but certainly draw some inspiration from them and certainly use those scales for the ambient/progressive house stuff I am getting into these days.

Now, I have been playing keyboard (hahaha not very well though) for the past 14 years and the drawbar side of organ playing seems tricky. Am I wrong in assuming this (I have no idea)? And from what you know, is there a non-drawbar Nord (like the electro series) that does good emulations of both the Hammond and Rhodes sounds? I ask about the Nords in particular because you mentioned that they cover the Hammond sound and I have had such great experiences with their products that I am loyal to their brand.

I heard the demo for the Hammond SK1 on the sweetwater site and it didn't sound like Mr. Llano Gonzalez's organ. Maybe it has to do with the presets and style the Hammond employee used in the sweetwater video. Do you think Mr. Llano Gonzalez is using effects (doesn't seem like it... I don't see pedals or processors anywhere in his videos), or is that a sound you can dial up by pushing/pulling the drawbars a certain way on a Hammond emulator (be it the Hammond Suzuki or Nord type)? And how in the world does he morph the sounds like that - is that what the drawbars actually do? A Hammond organ is truly a beautiful thing.

Please don't mind what may appear as elementary questions - this subject is completely foreign to me and I truly appreciate your sharing your expertise on the matter. Playing cumbia with an organ sound like the one heard in the video one day would surely be a pleasure.

Thanks again guys.

EDIT: Holy smokes... the Nord C2D is flippin' amazing! I need to check Nord Electro videos now...

[stiiiiiiive]

For organs, at Nord's, you have several candidates:

- C series: the proper organ. Two keyboards, two manuals, one drawbar set for each. The "D" version of the C2 (the black one) has the real drawbars. The digital ones though are quite responsive and allow an easy management of presets as real drawbars are not motorized.

- Electro series: the electric piano and organ keyboard. This one can be seen as a super portative Rhodes/Wurly/Clavinet.Organ. That being said, the Nord Electro is monotimbral hence allowing you to play only one instrument at a time.
- Electro 2 have nice B3 and EPs but bad acoustic pianos. They have no reverb. Discontinued but you can find one used from time to time.
- Electro 3 add very cool acoustic pianos, Farfisa and Vox organ models, enhanced organ/leslie models as well as the capability to use the Nord sample library which contains amonst others great Mellotron samples. Effects-wise, a reverb and some amp simulations have been added. They exist in three versions: semiweighed waterfall 61 C-to-C or 73 F-to-F keyboards, or "HP" for Hammer Portative: a weighted 73 E-to-E keyboard. Generally speaking, the waterfall keybeds are more suitable for organs as they allow classic organ playing technics like key bounce or glissandi; playing EPs is ok, but for APs, most Nordists say they cannot use it much expressively (ppp especially). I have a NE3-73 and, having learned to play on synths, eventhough I'm more of a pianist than a mono-synthesist, I'm ok with the semi weighted keybed for piano though.
The HP is more for primarily pianists. Playing organs is ok for basic stuffs, less for specific organ technics.
- Electro 4D, the newest ones, have a 61 C-to-C waterfall keyboard and true drawbars just as the C2D. A (tap) delay is present to.
you can consider the NE3 HP being for piano guys, the NE3 61 and NE4D for organ guys, and the NE3 73 is sort of an hybrid.

Every Nord Electro has cool effects like tremolo, pan, auto-wah, falnger, phaser, chorus. Few parameters, but the effects do their job.
Oh... the heavier Electro is the HP, 22 lbs. The 61 is 15 lbs. Isn't it great?...

- Stage series: here you have organs, pianos (EPs and APs), sample reading (Stage 2 only), and a synth part -ligther than a Nord Lead. This is the big one. You can play up to six timbral parts. They exist in semi weighted 73 F-t-F keyboards as well as weighted 76 and 88 keyboards.


As a complement, I would recommend the NordUser forum where you will find great information about all this. Especially, people are more competent than me when it comes to subtelties like enhanced organs/leslie models or "String resonnance" and "Long release" piano features. Plus the user's guides are available on the NordKeyboards website.
Hope this helps

[Just Me]

Around here, you can pick up M3 and M101 series Hammonds for $100 down to haul away. These are the organs used on Whiter Shade of Pale, Green Onions and all the Stax recordings. If you are crazy, you can wire a foldback mod into one so it sounds like an A-B-C series organ.
Leslie emulations, for the most part, suck. If you have played through real ones they aren't the same. Same as the emulations of Hammonds. There is no way to simulate the sounds from someone who plays with a light touch and doesn't hit all the harmonics from a full keypress.

[unfiltered37]

Digital organs can be very convincing when recording, but just playing one live through an amp or whatever, as usual, there is no substitute for the real thing. By the real thing I mean tonewheels. I have a cheap M3 which is no B3, although with the foldback mod can sound almost exactly the same, just without the bottom octave and presets (never understood how B3 presets work). Besides the sound, there is something great about sitting at the big hunk of furniture and playing the drawbars and clunky, though charming keyboard. Whereas synths are great for crazy sounds and exploration, the Hammond is awesome for stoney relaxing bluesy jams with clean guitar, p-bass and drum kit.

[Spitfire]

Dear Stiiiive, Just Me, and Unfiltered37,

Thanks for the detailed explanations y'all.

The Nords you referred me to sound great, and the Electro looks like it is well within my range. The C series looks stunning and sounds great. I will be sure to register with the Nord forum for more on all that - thanks for the ideas.

The digital reproductions may not be the same as the real Hammond deal, but for my purposes, I think they'll have to do for now. It's good to know that they aren't all that expensive, if I understood Just Me's response correctly. Just one last thing on the Nords, Stiiiiiiiive... do you think the Nord Electro 3 or 4 can make that timbre heard in the video and do a good job of emulating Rhodes and Wurlitzers too?

Digital emulations of just about anything don't seem to perfectly reproduce their muse, but I think that such a characteristic of digital instruments makes them unique. There's a real Hammond, then there are digital Hammonds. Then again, the Leslie emulation in Cubase 4... from what little I know of organs, it sounds ok but I am sure that your trained ears and those of other Hammond users would ache at the sound.

I hear you, Unfiltered37. It is amazing how it seems like Mr. Llano Gonzalez is changing presets or somehow morphing one organ sound into another in the video I referenced above. Ideally, a digital Nord emulation that allows that kind of morphing and lets me get the organ to hit that distinctive Hammond timbre heard in his song is what I will get. When the day comes that I have a house with a spacious living room, though, an original would be a great addition as not only fine musical furniture, but as a great instrument to have to entertain myself and others. Yeah and the Hammond sounds awesome in blues, no doubt. It's even pretty nice at the ballpark.

Thanks again guys. I know that this is a Moog forum and that my question does not relate to Moog products. Still, it is the only forum I follow, so I appreciate all the help.

Cheers,

Spitfire

[Just Me]

In my neighborhood you can do this,
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/msg/3003768508.html

Or this,

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/msg/3085181096.html

[stiiiiiiive]

My ears are not trained enough in matter of organs, I mut admit it. Plus I never had the chance to play the real thing.
However, when it comes to Rhodes + Wurly + piano + organs, I'm definitely choosing a Nord rather than the real thing as I move around.

Spitfire, I did not watch the video yet and I will do so tonight.
As far as EPs go, the unique Wurly sampleset Nord give is nice, and I'm sure you will find a Rhodes that fits you amongst the 6 samplesets they propose on their website. Effects and hands-on-ness are here to help you shaping the sound as you want.
I suggest you listen to them here, plus I would keep in mind that the overall feeling you get playing them on a Nord Electro is cool to me and many others.

Oh one important thing: while the Nord Stage can play several timbres stacked or split, the Nord Electro will play only one timbre at a time. I'll edit my previous post.

[Spitfire]

@ Just Me: wow, that Hammond looks great and for just $300!!!!! I always thought these things would go for a ridiculous amount of money. It's a shame I would have to haul it up three flights of stairs and pay a premium for shipping, otherwise I would take it.

@Stiiiiiive: Thanks for the update. Nord Electro or Stage it is for me...

Again, thanks guys - I truly appreciate it. You've been great.

[Voltor07]

You can often find Hammonds dirt cheap these days. Problem is, there are fewer Hammond techs than vintage synth techs, and maintaining a Hammond gets expensive fast!