The Hammond organ was created in 1935. Its distinctive feature is that it is not only a mechanical musical instrument, and not a wind instrument, like other organs, but electromechanical. The name of the tool was given by the name of its creator and designer - L. Hammond.
Hammond's original designation
It was not as expensive an instrument as a regular wind organ. Therefore, churches bought it as an alternative. But it turned out that Hammond's organ is suitable for playing blues and other fashionable music. Since then, the musical instrument has become more widespread than anticipated. It was used by military musical ensembles, it studied the timbre, using in acoustic scientific research. Private individuals bought it for home music making.
History of invention
Inventor Lawrence Hammond has significant merit in terms of discoveries. For example, stereo cinema was originally precisely his idea. In total, he has about 80 patents for inventions, and the first of them was received at the age of 16 by Hammond. The organ, the device of which was carefully designed, was not his first brainchild.
Having bought a second-hand piano, he took out the keys and used them for his experiments in the field of sound generation. Having developed the method of electric reproduction of sounds, a year later the designer was able to present a new musical instrument at the Industrial Exhibition. The basis for synthesizing the sound signal was reproduction using mechanical phonic wheels. The levers helped mix different forms of electrical signal. The engine rotated discs having a wavy edge. The keyboard of the electric organ was powered, as a result, each disc reproduced a note. An electric magnet was located opposite. Due to the rotation speed and frequency set by the “roughnesses” of the disk, a tone of a certain height was formed. Several harmonics were added to the tone, which were responsible for higher and lower sounds. Registers adjusted the volume. So the sound was synthesized under the action of a synchronous motor, which is also the invention of this author.
Hammond Patent and Trademark
Nowadays, the Japanese company Suzuki is the owner of the music brand Hammond, as it acquired this brand. Suzuki, being an automotive company, has been eyeing the tool for a long time. Several analogies have been released that do not compare with the original organ. They are called only dummies in comparison with the original tool. In 2011, the Hammond Suzuki division was formed.
Hammond himself patented the tool in a very short time, in 1934. Apparently, this was due to the relevant financial and political situation. The organ model originally put on sale had 2 keyboards with 61 notes. It was also equipped with registers for keyboards, 25 pedals and registers for pedals. The organ gained considerable popularity, but some case helped in this.
The beginning of popularity
An interesting story about two engineers who worked for G. Ford, who instructed them to make an electric organ with the given dimensions. Time to complete the assignment was limited, and the engineers decided to go to the Patent Office, where they found a patent for a similar development already issued to Hammond. All parameters were exactly as ordered by G. Ford. But that was no coincidence. Ford simply became interested in the new body, learning about it, and decided to redeem the patent, avoiding publicity. After all, the inventor may begin to bargain, but Ford did not like this.
Engineers threatened Hammond with trouble and asked to sell the patent. The presentation was planned only for April 1934, that is, a couple of months before this event. Engineers were refused. Then G. Ford personally asked him to bring the tool after the end of its assembly.
Ford got acquainted with the organ and did not buy it, although he said that in two decades everyone should be able to buy such a home musical instrument. After which lunch was given. Now Ford took an interest in the price and, recognizing it, bought 6 copies at once. Hammond's agents set the price at $ 1,250. Thus, the first sale of organs took place even before the presentation at the Industrial Exhibition of Arts.
Organ Sales Company
The further fate of the musical instrument can be called happy. Hammond did not make a big cheat on every sale. But I must say that Ford asked him about this, offering money and workers for the company. The first year gave the sale of 1,400 organs. Churches were considered potential buyers, but many individual citizens, including President Roosevelt, bought the tool.
Despite the organ’s high price, its popularity was even more significant. Over the next two years, the company made a profit of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which by the standards of our time is equivalent to millions.
Opponents of successful production
Those who produced organs of previous models, that is, wind instruments, suffered losses due to the compact dimensions of the new instrument and comparative cheapness. Prices were simply disproportionate. Starting to lose in the market, manufacturers of former bodies filed a complaint with the trade commission. The complaint contained a request: Hammond should not henceforth call his instrument an organ. The reason was the absence of the proper sound range for shades and harmonics, sufficient to fit the organ.
Checking the organ for compliance with church tradition
This statement was not without real reason, since it was almost true. The sound of an electric instrument was different from a traditional church organ. But the commission did not consider this obvious and decided to arrange a show competition in the church at the University of Chicago. It was hidden from the audience on which instrument the music was playing. Hammond organ or traditional?
The jury consisted of students, but it was only one part of it. The second group included famous musicians and conductors. Professional musicians grasped the difference in most cases, while students were not always able to distinguish between performances. But no group was able to determine the difference 100%.
Hammond's firm received the right to call the instrument an organ, but was ordered not to advertise it as an instrument with an infinite sound range. The exact figure has been identified as 253 million sounds.
Competition
Leslie decided to produce its own electronic musical instruments similar to Hammond, which led to competition. They began to transfer electric current in America from a frequency of 50 Hertz to 60. D. Leslie replaced tone generators on organs for an appropriate sound. At that time, he wanted to work at the Hammond firm, but was not accepted. Then he decided to take up the production of loudspeakers for the electric organ and achieved superiority over the Hammond engineers.
Leslie produced the speakers that Hammond used in her organ. These were complex parts of a tool with rotating components. The companies were in a hostile relationship, although their founders did not quarrel and were not friends. D. Leslie's products were not advertised as actively, but they won in quality.
The feud was stopped after the death of L. Hammond by the fact that in 1980 his company bought the company Leslie for the production of speakers. Lawrence Hamond himself died in 1973.
Tool Design Development
After the first model appeared, subsequent musical instruments from the inside were not always subjected to big changes. Often they just replaced the case. But we can also mention additional devices that significantly updated the design. This, for example, vibrato, and subsequently amplifiers that are built into musical instruments.
Leslie speakers also had an unusual effect, as they were equipped with a rotating horn and reflector. These parts were respectively in the high-frequency and low-frequency speakers, only two. The sound changed according to a set of parameters: timbre, frequency, amplitude.
Hammond's famous musicians
Hammond's organs were used to perform music by the most famous musical groups, almost all rock groups. In those days, the organ timbre was very popular, so no modern musician could do without including it in his composition. Not a single self-respecting rock band went on stage without a Hammond organ. For example, he was actively used by his group Deep Purple, as well as the Beatles. Even during the period of mass enthusiasm for the reproduction of samples, some synthesizers had several of his timbres. Nowadays, interest in historical instruments has revived, so the Hammond organ has again become popular.
Hammond's most famous keyboard player was selected as a result of a survey conducted by Keyboard magazine. This is Keith Emerson, repeatedly recognized as the best according to the results of the year. By the way, he treated his instrument quite unusual. With the help of ordinary knives, he sought to secure the keys to ensure a long-lasting sound of notes, while he continued to play music with both hands. Subsequently, it was his instrument that began to be used for Hammond organ samples in E-mu's popular Vintage Keys sound module.
The present period in the life of an organ
Hammond's organs in their original form ceased to be produced in 1976, only loud fame remained. Many models of a musical sound synthesizer have been produced, but most are called only toys compared to the original. Electronic sound synthesis, copying Hammond based on microcircuits, is a rather complicated process, if we talk about accurate reproduction. But so far, many tool repair companies have been manufacturing spare parts for Hammond and repairing it.
In the 70s, Japanese engineers were involved in the production, and in 1986, Suzuki began acquiring the Hammond brand. At that time she already owned Leslie completely. Now, producing its own Hammond organ, the Japanese corporation uses slightly different methods of sound reproduction.