I know the Hammond B3 is the one used by Ken Hensely in Heep's classic days.  But what is the "clicky" organ Emerson uses?  Hammond C3 maybe?  Also, what is the one that Banks uses that sounds kind of like a flute (on Can-Utility, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight)?  Thanks in advance.

Hi,

All 3 used Hammond organs.A B3 and a C3 is essentially the same type of organ.The only difference between the two models are the different cabinet but electronically, they are the same organ. The "click" sound you heard on Emerson C3 is because he plays it with percussion engaged.Emerson also had an L-100, wich he stab with knives and jumped around.

As for Tony Banks, he used spinet organs,the L-100 model in the early days and since "The lamb lies down..." he used the T-100 wich is an update model of the L-100.The spinet organs sound not as big and dirty as the B3 or C3 console models but they sound mellower and softer.Personnally, I like the spinet models more than the big consoles like the B3 and C3 and I own a L-100 since a couple of years and like it very much.With a leslie cabinet, they sound very good, like in Genesis records.

Hope that it answers your questions.

That 'clicky' sound is part of the tone-wheel (not an electric organ) Hammond organ and named 'key-click', it has to do with pushing a key and then making an electric contact. In fact it was a 'factory failure' but soon it turned into one ot the specific Hammond 'side-sounds' like distortion and leakage.

Thijs Van Leer about the Hammond L100: "this was my main keyboard, it has a wonderful mid-dominion, very suitable for arrangements.

Rick v/d Linden: "the Hammond organ is the king of the keyboards, the B3 is superior to the other Hammonds but nonetheless the L and M spinets are impressive!"

Another type of organ widely used was the Farsifa (used by Manzarek, Banton and a few more)

There was a cheap orange plastic organs usedby garage bands in the 60's called the Vox Continental

I love the Farfisa Duo Organ sound by Rick Wright on Pink Floyd At Pompeii, more soaring and spacey, perfect for Pink Floyd in those days!

The Vox Continental was used by The Animals (on House Of The Rising Sun), Them and Iron Butterfly.

Ray Manzarek changed the Vox Continental for a Gibson combo organ, on the flat surface he could put a Rhodes Piano Bass.

erik neuteboom wrote: The Vox Continental was used by The Animals (on House Of The Rising Sun), Them and Iron Butterfly.

Eric you beat me to it. Doug Ingle of Iron Butterfly used the Vox Continental on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

Jim Garten wrote:  the only thing I'd take issue with is that unlike many players, I don't believe Tony Banks ever used a Leslie cabinet - I think his was adapted for use with a 1/4 inch jack plug to a standard amplifier.

Tony Banks surely used a leslie cabinet, just listen to the organ sound of "Fountain of Salmacis" on Nursery Cryme(very leslie sounding) and many others songs.He always be very subtile in his leslie setting and never pushed it to full spin,but the leslie sound is present.My friend used to be the original keyboard player in "The Musical Box" tribute band and always had 2 leslies 147 with him during the shows.Sometimes, even the mellotron was put trought the leslie.

Jim Garten wrote: pierreolivier wrote: I own a L-100 since a couple of years and like it very much.With a leslie cabinet, they sound very good, like in Genesis records I've an L122 myself (played through a Leslie 145) and they're wonderful instruments (considerably lighter/smaller/cheaper than the full console B3/C3s) - the only thing I'd take issue with is that unlike many players, I don't believe Tony Banks ever used a Leslie cabinet - I think his was adapted for use with a 1/4 inch jack plug to a standard amplifier. David Sinclair (Caravan) and David Stewart (Hatfield & The North, Hillage) were others who used a Hammond spinet through a standard amp, but they took advantage of this arrangement to use a great deal of guitar effects pedals, most notably wah-wah & distortion/overdrive - this in turn gives a particularly individual sound to the Hammond - almost unrecogniseable from the 'usual' sound, but still wonderful.

Jim, is it Hammond spinet that Caravan used on the album "In the Land of Grey and Pink"?

Was it the same instrument used also by Steve Winwood on Traffic's "Low Sparks of High Heeled Boys" title track?

Jim Garten wrote: OK then - my very own 1971 Hammond L122 with Leslie 145

Hi Jim,

You have a very beautiful organ and a very fine leslie.Just a little rectifier,you say that your organ was made in 1971 but according to the Hammond book "Beauty in the B" by Mark Vail,all the L models were produced between September 1961 and July 1964 so your organ may be older than you think.

Jim Garten wrote: Seyo wrote: Jim, is it Hammond spinet that Caravan used on the album "In the Land of Grey and Pink" Almost certainly, Seyo - 'Nine Feet Underground' is a great example of a non-Leslied organ being played with distortion and wah-wah effect... Unless it's being played through a Dallas Arbiter fuzz pedal.... Or both...

Thanks.

A very similar sound (at least to my non-musician ears) can be heard in Traffic's "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys album title track, as well as in many Camel records. I guess that's it.

Jim Garten wrote: Now that's interesting - I have the original Hammond warranty (but not the receipt, so I don't know how mucgh was paid) from when my little beastie was purchased from new in Exeter, Devon on 9th December 1971 (which was coincidentally my wife's 4th birthday), and given their popularity at that time, it's difficult to believe a brand new Hammond gathered dust in a shop for seven years before being bought. Are you sure Mark Vail wasn't referring to the original L100 as opposed to the L series as a whole?

I think he is referring to the whole L series because he spoke about the other different cabinets like the L111 and L122 in the same article and he doesn't talk about other L models.If you talk about the Porta L,it's completely another kind of organ and had nothing to do with the original L100 serie,the Porta L is not a tonewheel organ.Don't forget that Hammond was a very special company and they doesn't take back an organ that a dealer doesn't sold.So it not impossible that your organ was in the store for a couple of years before the first owner brought it.I clearly remember when I began to became interested in Hammond organ at the age of 7,I was going to the Hammond dealer near my home and they still have older models like L100,M100 and A100 new and on sale several years after the model was discontinued. Don't forget that the ordinary Hammond consumer of the time want the latest model (even if it's doesn't have tonewheels) and as the years passed, they get stuck with a lot of unsold organs. My grand uncle had the same brought pattern as the first owner of your organ as he said to me some years ago before his passing that he brought his Hammond L102 new with Leslie 147 in the fall of 1970.Unfortunately, he sold it 12 or 13 years later to buy a newer,transistorized models with an internal Leslie(what a shame...).

To concluded,in the book Mark Vail said that the T100 serie, wich was the remplacement of the L100 serie began production in March 1968.So, the production of the L100 maybe goes further than July 1964 as Mr.Vail suggest but was certainly discontinued in March 1968 when the T100 hit the market.

Jim Garten wrote: Good heavens! I may just have to look into this a bit further - I thought my L was in pretty good nick for a 35 year old - now it looks to be about the same age as me (but in considerably better condition, regrettably). As an aside, I never much cared for the T series, as they were transistorised, rather than valve driven - there's nothing quite so soothing as the smell of a warm valve when you're playing with your organ. Also, I found their sound to be a tad harsher than the valve driven organs.

The book "the Beauty in the B" is a useful book to anyone who had an interest in Hammond organs.The only dowside of it, Vail concentrate mostly on console organs like the B3,C3 and A100 but there a chapter where they recapitulate all the tonewheel models including the spinets like the L100,M100 and M3(the one I consulted to tell the date of your organ on a previous post).

As for the T series,they were mainly later date organs and uses transistors but the T100 still use tonewheels.My friend(who was the original keys player in "The Musical Box")had an L100 in the beginning of the project but replace it with a T100 later on and said that it do the job pretty well.

Jim Garten wrote: pierreolivier wrote: the spinets like the L100,M100 and M3 If I had to choose a Hammond I'd love to own apart from a C3, it would be the M3 - absolutely gorgeous instrument, the king of the spinet - no silly presets, just drawbars & proper waterfall keys

I'm completely agree with you.The M3 is the king of the spinet and will like to have one in the future.

Jim Garten wrote: By the way, Pierreolivier - I've just ordered a copy of "Beauty In The B"; sounds like the perfect book for an old saddo Hammond anorak like myself...

Yes sir!,that's a beautiful book.You won't be dissapointed.

A few years ago I wrote a review in a Dutch progrock magazine about the aforementioned Hammond book by Mark Vail, it's recommended to every Hammond aficionado!

MARK VAIL – THE  HAMMOND ORGAN (Beauty in the B)

(Miller Freeman, 1997, US $ 24,95, ISBN 0-87930-459-6)

There has always been a strong relationship between progressive rock and the Hammond organ: this powerful and varied instrument fits perfectly to the alternating and dynamic music that good progressive rock features, from Colosseum, The Nice and ELP to Spock’s Beard, Ars Nova or very recently Niacin. This book (240 pages) is presented by the known magazine Keyboard with a foreword by their editorial director Dominic Milano. It’s layered with photos from all kinds of Hammond organs (from the legendary B3 to Model A and C, Grand 100, the ‘spinets’  L and M and the colossal X-77) and some exciting pictures from Keith Emerson and other ‘Hammond aficionados’ like Tom Coster and  Rod Argent. Chapter 7 contains tips from famous players like Jimmy McGriff, Keith Emerson and Paul Shaffer, popular B-3 drawbar configurations like the ‘ELP - and Argent sound’ and the  “Green onions” groove and known Hammond licks. Some chapters are a bit technical for the average ‘proghead’ (buying and maintaining, vital statistics and details about all the known Hammond organs) but most chapters are at least interesting like the story about the inventor Laurens Hammond. He started with clocks, an automatic bridge table and a 3-D viewer and then invented the tone wheel mechanism of the Hammond organ! Of course this book contain a chapter about the Leslie speaker, the ideal combination with a Hammond organ. Also included is a comprehensive list of adresses (also E-mail and Internet), a Hammondology (instruction video’s and sampling CD’s) and a glossary (from the words “envelope” and “spinet” to “vibrato”). Reading this book was fun and excitement for me because it’s written fluent with lots of fine details and it’s not too technical, typcial Hammond sounds like ‘drawbars’ and the ‘key-click’ are explained very clearly. So I would like to recommend The Hammond Organ to all ‘progheads’ who wants to know more about the instrument that sounds so well and distinctive on ‘classic recordings’ like “A whiter shade of pale” from Procol Harum,  “Child in time” from Deep Purple, “Pictures at an exhibition” from ELP, “Tomorrow night” from Atomic Rooster or “Close to the edge” from Yes.

Jim Garten wrote: Geck0 wrote: Here are some screen shots of Hugh Banton playing with VdGG in Belgium in 1975: Oooohhh - that E112 is a beast! ++drool++

yes, but those pictures are not from the 75 Godbluff concert , but from the 71 TV special on the same DVD, I think

= Electric organs?

Aw... have a heart!

There ya go, Jimminy!

Dig the beat!

Jim Garten wrote: pierreolivier wrote: Jim Garten wrote: By the way, Pierreolivier - I've just ordered a copy of "Beauty In The B"; sounds like the perfect book for an old saddo Hammond anorak like myself... Yes sir!,that's a beautiful book.You won't be dissapointed. I'm not! What a book - I can now bore all my friends even more with Hammond lore; an example: did you know that before inventing the Hammond Organ (or "electric flute", as he called it originally...), Laurens Hammond invented the self shuffling/dealing bridge table

Yes, I've seen the photo in the book.It's quite a weird looking table.I shown the photo to my father,who is an amateur bridge player and he was quite fascinated by the table altrought he say that it's a kind of gadget.Apparently, the table sold very well and the price was something like $25, in the depression era it was a lot of money for something luxurious.

B3Nut wrote: I see you're in England, the L's were very popular over there.  If it has pedal sustain, that would make it an L-122S.  Pedal sustain was an option installed by the European importers (in this case, Boosey & Hawkes).  The Belgian Hammond distributor did this as well, offering options not available on US-sold instruments.  They even made an A-100 with pedal sustain.  Microtechnica in Italy assembled Hammonds, and Boosey&Hawkes had an operation in South Africa assembling them as well. Your L-122 would have to be post-69, it has the large HAMMOND logo with the stylized "H" (that didn't appear until around 1970).  So, 1971 is about right.  In 1966 they went from the small font to a large font, then around '70 went to that even larger blockier font with the big H logo.  My L-112 had the post-'66 large font, as does my '67 M-102 (which I found alongside the road on its back with someone's garbage...I wasted no time rescuing the poor mutt!  Still needs a little work yet...) European Hammonds were, with the exception of the B-3 (which had a complicated-to-manufacture cabinet), assembled in Europe with the cabinetwork made locally.  The guts were shipped as "tray organs" from the plant in Chicago.  This saved a lot of shipping costs.  Leslie did the same thing, European Leslies had locally-made cabinets with only the amps/motors/drivers/hardware coming from Pasadena. Todd in Beerbratistan (pet name for the state of Wisconsin, the enchanted land of brats, beer, and cheese :D )

Thanks for the clarification, B3Nut.

Me too was a little suspicious about the 1964 date but was thinking if Mark Vail,who is supposed to be a vintage keyboards specialist write that date in his book,this date must be accurate.I was wrong.I'm not a specialist on Hammond organ and takes my informations on the "Beauty in the B" book and from a former Hammond dealer where I went very often as a kid.

Personnally, I had an Hammond L-112 with the stylized "H" and large Hammond logo,so it must be post-69.Thanks for the infos,that's very interesting.