From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Tue Jan 22 07:21:58 2002
Subject:Re: Units on the market

Jay,

>I can see your point, altho isn't the "sound" the thing? AND,
>that "sound" is very subjective, judging by the discourse on this
>forum. I just observe that, purely from a financial point of view,
>some of these clones are WAY overpriced for what they do (or don't do
>I should say).

Yes, the sound is the thing -- at least, to a point. Hammond clones, however, are also trying to copy other aspects of the playing experience: keyboard feel, placement of controls, common modifications, and subtle adjustments to cover a wider range of Hammond models. As you pointed out, the sound is subjective, and it is so in the real Hammond world as well. There are "dark" and "bright" B-3s, "clean" and "noisy" examples, and organs that are described as "aggressive" and "balls-y." Hammond's engineers constantly tried to eliminate the key click, considering it a defect, and so different model years had varying sizes and types of noise suppression on the keyboards -- not to mention the fact that some players removed the filtering altogether! There are adjustments available on the B-3 that affect percussion decay and volume. Also, different Leslies alter the sound of the basic organ in different ways. A complete clone has to take these items into account, in addition to the
basic sound.

As far as whether a particular clone is "worth it," that's a decision each of us has to make. I'm pleased with my decision, and that's all that matters to me.

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Ashby Solutions™ http://music.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group moderator
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com