From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Fri Aug 30 12:06:00 2002
Subject:Re: defining a clone

All,

Let's not confuse the charter with the definition of a Hammond clone.

Any keyboard -- or other instrument, for that matter -- that tries to emulate the sound of a Hammond tonewheel organ is valid for discussion in this forum. The Hammond sound is a wonderful part of our recent musical past, and using the sound in any manner available is fine with me. Getting Hammond-like sounds out of your sampler, ROMpler, or even your Minimoog is fair game for discussions. Getting string sounds out of the same instruments is OT.

The "clone" aspect of these instruments is another matter, and apparently, a difficult one to solve to everyone's liking, particularly as technology marches along. My definition of a clone is something that tries to emulate the original in all aspects, rather than in just one aspect, such as sound. In particular, a clone must supply a means of adjusting the nine elements of the sound in real time, since that's a big part of the "Hammond experience;" it should offer as many of the subtle nuances of the original sound (key click, tuning, loudness robbing, crosstalk, etc.) as possible; and it shouldn't offer its Hammond attributes as only one of many capabilities. The second and third areas are where most of the general-purpose workstations fail to become 'Hammond clones.' Even if you have a sample/model of Jimmy Smith playing a 1958 B-3 and Leslie 21H, that does not make your instrument a Hammond clone, in my book.

It also has little to do with the amount of time that the player makes the instrument sound like a Hammond. If I use my CX-3 to drive a NanoPiano for a dinner music gig, the CX-3 does not cease to be a Hammond clone. If I use a Fatar Studio 88 to play blues organ through a ROMpler with a "Vintage Keyboards of the '70s" card in it, it does not become a Hammond clone.

Arguably, the closest clones out there are the Hammond XB-3/XC-3, the "New" B-3, and the Voce Key5, as these instruments try to provide the exact playing experience that a B-3 player has, including two manuals, five sets of drawbars, and pedals -- as well as a significant piece of cabinetry, which is part of the experience, too.

Next in line are probably the OB-5, BX-3, and VK-77, followed closely behind by their single-manual counterparts. Each of these instruments exceeds the original in some areas -- ex: on-board Leslie simulation and adjustable key click -- and falls short in others -- ex: 1-2 sets of drawbars and controls that are shuffled around a bit. All of these changes are natural marriages of modern technology and the B-3 legacy, but they all make for a less-than-perfect clone.

The Electro is a very interesting example, because it has one of the most authentic SONIC emulations, coupled with one of the least authentic PHYSICAL emulations. Nevertheless, I still consider it a clone, because it tries to capture all of the nuances of the sonic experience, and provides a method of adjusting the "drawbars" during performance. I have to say, though, that it runs very close to the clone/non-clone line, in terms a strictly HAMMOND clone. If the Electro offered Hammond, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet, strings, vibes, sax, synth, and guitar, and had no drawbuttons, I would certainly consider it to have crossed the line into general-purpose workstations.

My standards may be more strident than some. I played using a pair of Yamaha TX-81z's in the '80s, often using all eight sine outputs in parallel to sound like a Hammond B-3, pumped through an EFX box to simulate a Leslie. I was NOT playing a "Hammond clone," however; I was emulating a Hammond. I played a Voce V3 for two months without a set of MIDI Drawbars, and I don't even think that was a true clone. (Add the drawbars and it is.) I do consider the Yamaha CS-20 [?] of the late '70s as a Hammond clone -- albeit, a poor one -- because it had dedicated organ section with nine tibia sliders.

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions™ http://consult.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group and HiNote moderator
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com