Clonewheel organ

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"Clonewheel organ" is a slang term used to refer to an electronic musical instrument that emulates (or "clones") the sound of the electromechanical tonewheel-based organs formerly manufactured by Hammond. The first generation of clonewheel organs used synthesizer voices, which were not able to accurately reproduce the Hammond sound. In the 1990s and 2000s, clonewheel organs began using sampling or digital signal processing techniques, which were much better able to capture the nuances of the vintage Hammond sound.

Clonewheel organs can be either keyboard-based instruments such as the Korg CX-3 or the Roland VK-7; or keyboardless emulation devices, which include MIDI modules, such as the E-MU B-3 module and software-based "virtual synths" (such as the B4 by Native Instruments). To use keyboardless emulation devices, they need to be connected to a MIDI-enabled keyboard.

1 History
2 Instruments
3 See also

[edit] History

[edit] Original electromechanical Hammond

The Hammond organ is an electromechanical organ which was designed and built by Laurens Hammond in 1934. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the pipe organ, it came to be used for jazz, blues, and then to a greater extent in rock music (in the 1960s and 1970s) and gospel music.

The original Hammond organ imitated the function of a pipe organ's ranks of pipes in multiple registers by using additive synthesis of waveforms from harmonic series to generate its sounds. The Hammond organ's individual waveforms were made by mechanical tonewheels which rotated beneath electromagnetic pickups. The component waveforms can be mixed in varying ratios by using drawbars mounted above the two keyboards. Hammond organs also have a harmonic percussion effect, in which the 2nd and 3rd harmonic tones can be added to the attack envelope of a note.

Hammond organs have a distinctive percussive key click, which is the attack transient that occurs when all nine key contacts close, causing an audible pop or click. Originally, key click was considered to be a design defect and Hammond worked to eliminate or at least reduce it by using equalization filters. However, some performers liked the percussive effect, and it has become part of the classic sound that modern imitators of the Hammond organ have tried to reproduce. The classic way of amplifying the sound of a Hammond organ is to use a rotating speaker known as a Leslie speaker or cabinet.

[edit] First "clones"

Transporting the heavy Hammond organ, bass pedalboard (a B-3 organ, bench and pedalboard weighs 425 pounds/193kg) and Leslie speaker cabinets to performance venues makes it cumbersome for artists to tour with a vintage electromechanical organ. As well, the Hammond, as with all vintage electromechanical instruments, faces the risk of technical problems with the tonewheels or electric motor, which may be difficult to resolve in a touring situation. As such, there was a strong demand amongst musicians for way of recreating the Hammond sound in a more portable, reliable fashion.

Some early emulation devices from the 1980s were criticized for their unrealistic imitation of the Hammond sound, particularly in the way the upper harmonics were voiced, and in the simulation of the rotary Leslie speaker effect. Refinements to Hammond emulations eventually led to the development of relatively light electronic keyboard instruments such as the Roland VK-7, KORG BX-3 and CX-3, and Kurzweil K2600, that produced a fairly realistic re-creation of the Hammond tone. While these instruments were widely used to replace the bulky Hammonds for band tours and club dates, jazz and blues keyboardists still tended to use a vintage Hammond for recordings, because the first clonewheel organs could not reproduce the tonal nuances of the old wooden Hammonds.

[edit] 1990s and 2000s

By the 1990s and 2000s digital signal processing and sampling technologies allowed for better imitation of the original Hammond sound, and a variety of electronic organs, emulator devices, and synthesizers provided an accurate reproduction of the Hammond tone, such as the Clavia Nord Electro keyboard. Hammond Suzuki USA currently markets numerous home, church, and professional models that digitally reproduce the sound of vintage Hammond tonewheel organs. Some sophisticated emulation devices have algorithms that recreate some of the characteristics of the vintage Hammonds, such as the "crosstalk" or "leakage" between the tonewheels, and digital simulations of the rotating Leslie speaker cabinet's sound.

Currently, there are numerous B-3 "clones" on the market, which range from full-size, dual keyboard behemoths with real Leslie cabinets from Hammond/Suzuki (which can cost over $10,000 US), to inexpensive Casio WK series home keyboards that have a digitally-recreated "tonewheel organ" function (which are available for less than $400 US). In between are numerous keyboard-based models from Hammond, Korg, Roland, Clavia (Nord Series), rackmounted modules, and software-based "virtual synths" (such as the B4 by Native Instruments) which provide simulations of the B-3 sound. Some sophisticated emulation devices have algorithms that recreate many of the nuances of the vintage Hammonds, such as the "crosstalk" or "leakage" between the tonewheels, the sound of dirty key contacts, key click, and a growling tube amplifier, and by digital simulating the rotating Leslie speaker cabinet's sound.

The use of Hammond clones and the merits of using clones versus the vintage electromechanical Hammond is the subject of lively debate amongst musicians. The argument that digital simulations cannot recreate the complex interplay of variables that create the "Hammond sound" (tonewheel leakage, Leslie speaker rotation, etc.) is supported by a review of clones in Keyboard Magazine. The article, entitled "Clonewheel Heaven", reviewed electronic simulations of the traditional Hammond sound, and claimed that some aspects of the vintage electromechanical Hammonds' sound are not accurately reproduced by clones and emulation devices [1]. Nevertheless, the increasing use of clonewheel organs on recordings by jazz and blues organ solo players is testimony to their sound and tone quality.

Despite the widespread availability of relatively lower-cost, reliable digital "clones" and emulation devices, and the near-universal use of "clones" for band tours and club gigs, jazz, blues, and gospel keyboardists still have a strong interest in using vintage Hammond organs for studio recordings. Even if a clone is able to perfectly copy the vintage electromechanical Hammond sound—several companies such as Clavia and Hammond/Suzuki are already making this claim —performers will probably still have an affection for the look, feel, and quasi-"mystical" sense of musical heritage embodied in the heavy, wooden, vintage instruments.

[edit] Instruments

Major clonewheel organs include:

Hammond/Suzuki XK-1, XK-2 and XK-3
Hammond/Suzuki New B-3, XB-1, XB-2, XB-3
Korg CX-3, CX-3 Version 2, BX-3 and BX-3 Version 2
Roland VK-7, VK-8, VK-8M, VK-88, VR-760
Roland/Rhodes VK-1000
Clavia Nord Stage, Nord Electro 2, Nord C1 Combo Organ
Tokai TX-5 (site in Portuguese)
Diversi Musical Instruments [2] New models for 2007 - DV-Solo Portable Keyboard, DV-Solo Plus (w/ bench, pedals, stand), DV-Duo Plus (Two manual full-sized console organ). American Company that manufactures its products in the Philadelphia area.
DLQ KeyB Duo and KeyB Solo [3]
Voce V3,V5, V5+ and Key5
Oberheim OB-3 and OB-3 Squared
Viscount DB-3, DB-5
E-MU B-3 module
Kurzweil PC2, K2600, PC3X (KB3 mode)
Vermona Formation 1, 2, 3 and 3M - the last generation of sine wave based oldschool German electric organs that is capable of a very good Hammond simulation for its age.