From bw@ashbysolutions.com Thu Aug 25 11:20:32 2016
Subject:Re: Hammond XK-5 and 3 Contacts

Actually, I've heard the specific example you mention on a few old
recordings by the Rascals and Vanilla Fudge. If a note is pressed
slowly (and carefully), it's possible to bring the nine DBs in one by
one over a period of about 1/2-1 second. It kind of sounds like pulling
in the DBs, except that it isn't so gradual. The first time I heard it,
I said, "Wow! How did he do that?" It's obscure, but musically useful
in slow tunes.

But that's not the most useful part of nine contacts. If one slaps the
keys on a console Hammond, sometimes all the contacts on the key are
struck, but not always. The result is a very random, animated sound
that is fantastic to my ears. One of the best examples is the intro to
Deep Purple's 'Hush,' but there are other uses. On my NE3, without the
nine contacts, the same part sounds good, but not *quite* as good.

Regards,

-BW

Bruce Wahler
Ashby Solutions.com™
bw@ashbysolutions.com
http://music.ashbysolutions.com
978.597.7008