I too have made my living out of Hammond Organs for over 30 years and amongst a vast amount other Hammond players, (Home Hobby - Semi Pro and Pro) am totally satisfied and happy with the New Generation Hammond Organs
I play an xk3c dual manual system and it sounds exactly like my old b3! Hammond Suzuki has made production strides like no other company. Besides most b3s all sound different from each other so I don't understand anyone's complaints!
Hopefully I will be one day able to buy a B3........I use an XK1...and the organ sound great....but B3 is my dream.......and when I see this new digital B3...wow.....I wish I had one......or a Choped vintage B3....:)...God bless.....Great job!!!!
Its all about how you react to the instrument as a player. Studiologic's NumaOrgan, Nord's C1/C2, Hammond Suzuki's XK1/XK3, Roland's VK-1, even sitting behind a controller with a laptop and NI's B4 II open. Some feel close (pull out draw bars, good feeling keys, etc) But if you're playing a real B3, you play it differently than a keyboard or emulating software. This instrument captures that necessary interaction to let you play a B3 like a B3.
I always loved the powerful sub sonic like sound that Lee Michals produced. Thanks for the in depth look at a Hammond B3. Next best thing to a pipe organ.
Fantastic instrument. Saw it brilliantly demonstrated at the Music Show in Dublin, while checking ot the Hammond stand, was great to see! Keep up the good work, here to Hammond going strong into the future!
Well there's something about the old tonewheel Hammonds which cannot be reproduced: The tonewheel signals are constantly re-routed through analog circuits when you are playing. There is an organic behavior which digital could only produce with ridiculously high resolution and the emulation of any kind of behaviour. Yes, the New B3 is damn close. That beautiful shimmer of the C-3 chorus setting, the biting percussion. BUT never forget: at least 50% of the Hammond sound is the Leslie. The technique to slap the keys with your left hand lightly so you only get a few key contacts to close (it's pretty random anyway, but if feels great) is called feathering. I have the Neo Vent sim - it is fantastic, but it still ist't there (and it just attempts to simulate a recorded leslie speaker - the 3-D effect you get in smaller groups and venues is just sublime. I think many a pro Hammond player prefers a New B3 because of its realiability (in fear of battered rock festival Hammonds with awfully dirty leakage, not because they sound better by design.
***** Thanks. Great sounding pedals. Love the analog tape saturation, but if I use the Neo Vent overdrive (guitar mode = no speaker emulation, leslie on stop) I get a fantastic sounding drive. TH-cam uses data compression and I'm sure the texture of the original at uncompressed CD quality (which is crap in 2014 - the Nykvist-Shannon sample theorem is utter BS, a humen being does not hear sound as Fourier sine wave addition but as timbre: a human can hear the difference between a 8 Khz sine wave and a square wave even though the partial above the fundamental is a 24 Khz sine wave, far above CD quality - but that's another story) is way better. It's not chorus I am looking for. I have few recent Boss chorus and phaser pedals which sound fantastic. I was talking about that shimmering scanner vibrato inside a vintage console Hammond. Take any good 70s recording heavily featurting a good sounding Hammond with that throaty, breathy, grinding, "living" sound full of magic and you will hear the difference. All clonewheels including the praised VB3 software 8which I have) used by the Crumar Mojo fall short. They sound great until you hear the real thing. The fact that they (= Hammond Suz) use real mechanical leslies - even in recorded demos - is a dead giveaway that the technology isn't there - just kinda close.
I tried one (New B-3) and was quite impressed with it in most ways. My biggest complaint is that the keys are quite a bit shorter than on the original, thusly affecting the pivot angle and the feel.
Folks can appreciate good technology and practicality. It's obvious that with any new product there has to be a pro/con strategy to marketing. The Hammond tonewheel is the original and so even a copy of itself will be ridiculed. The engineer types like myself will argue til doomsday about the superiority of a real Hammond, but I'm the guy who comes to clean your carpet and can fix any breakdown on my 30 year old equipment in less than 5 minutes. I took the time to learn my trade inside and out.
Sorry to hear of that !!! Most of the pros around the world I deal with love it. In fact some of them are now asking for the New B in preference to a retro for tours and gigs.
I met Gregg Allman in 2015 in my town of St. Augustine FL and when I told him I played Hammond in a black Baptist Church he begged me to buy one of his 6 B-3's. I had to hang my head down because I was just a dead broke world-class player.
I suppose that you are right in as much as modern versions of any retro item be it a vintage car, vintage amp, MP3 vs CD vs Vinyl ! is never going to nail it 110% but the new Hammond B-3's and XK's do a very credible and accurate job and offer reliability, and many other benefits of using modern technology. Also it is interesting that recently 3 of the top Hammond players in the world have actually asked for the New B-3 in favor of an original tonewheel for their gigs !
The portable New B-3 is still quite heavy but it does beak down in 2 mins, can be safely shipped on it side or even upside down and will easily fit into the back of an estate car. A B-3 chop tonewheel is still not that easy I think it is wrong of you to advise people to 'buy an old original' without at least first checking out the new Hammond's for themselves . After all ... That is only your opinion.
Thanks for your comments T.C. Pfeiler Hmmm .... there is never going to be a solution that will satisfy everyone and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. There are good and bad original tonewheel organs and if you are on a tour using hire gear, its very much 'the luck of the draw' as to what you get. The new B-3's can be tweaked a little to suit individual tastes in vibrato character, leakage etc .. etc
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the tonewheels - I never really knew how the sound was made. Does the new B3 output sound ready to input to a Leslie, or does it have additional processing to simulate the sound of a Leslie? (through a standard amp/speaker).
I'm a 'self respecting' Wurlitzer 4500 player. If you want a second organ that has so much amazing tone get one. The Wurlitzer 4500 is the precurser to the 4520 theater organ and is actually identical internally except the 4520 theater organ had a few 'toy counter ' sounds the 4500 didn't have. Also the 4500 is a straight cabinet. There are 4500's on Craigslist all the time. Morelocks in MISS has all spare parts cheap. On Youngstown OH CList is a 4500 in a rare Scandinavian cab.YT John La Duca
@19thSFGA Hmmmm.... Firstly everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However .... The new B-3 is not manufactured in China. It is a bespoke built instrument in the Hammond factory in Japan. Secondly ... I have had the pleasure of being involved with the BEST Hammond artistes in the world in all genres of music and not one of them shares your views. In fact, some of are actually asking for the new B-3 in preference to the retro tone wheels
Yes it is much.. much easier. The console is off the stand in less than a minute and I can fit the whole rig with a 3300 Leslie in the back of an estate car. With a set of wheels you can if necessary and with practice do this alone as long as it is a level 'load in'. BUT .. it is much easier with two pairs of hands.
I own a 1956 C-3. And a 1968 122 Leslie. I'm not a good player. But really appreciate what the history is. Question, how can they reproduce the sound of the " classic" B3-C-3 when they all have there individualistic sound. Doe's this fall into the" Standard is there is no Standard".
I would play that Hammond organ just like a straight up Baroque organ because I am a J.S. Bach fanatic. I would know how to operate a Leslie Speaker on that organ so it can be played to Baroque Organ Music. On a three speed or two speed set the Leslie Rotary control to Chorale speed for that formal and Dignified tone that you cannot get on a stationary/break position.
@Denvermorgan2000 Well put Morgan. I am very interested in this Hoax Hammond I've seen on just two little crappy videos. It seems like the ticket as far as simplicity in the digital meets analog design. How come nobody talks it up? Did the guy get tired? Of course it might be all digital;, but mention is made that it is a full on 91 electronically generated tone wheel signals that can be played all at once if desired. I want to know more because this could be fit into anything! It's selfcontaind
I still say for the sake of the preserving the instrument, Hammond Susuki should still produce a limited amount of Hammond B3 Organs and Leslie 122 VOS (to the EXACT Original Specs) say maybe 5 a year unless the demand increases both Gibson and Fender do it with their guitars...the arguement has always been over expensive technology, well companies still make and sell Pipe Organs...even though you could buy a good yamaha clone, hang speakers everyone to simulate a real pipe organ yet it's not the same thing is it!
+Sluff Adlin Not a good analogy to compare Hammond with Gibson and Fender. Everyone wants to play a Les Paul or a Stratocaster, but not everyone wants or likes to play a Hammond. And remember, the Gibsons and Fenders of today are a far cry from the originals. The woods of that golden era('50s and '60s) doesn't exist anymore. Mahogany is no longer imported from Honduras, rosewood is no longer imported from Brasil, maple doesn't come from big trees, they are becoming smaller every year so the quality is not the same. Those companies TELL us that is the same but it's not. The same happened with Hammond. The technology is old, and the technicians than could build them and fix them are scarse and old too. There's no choice but to move on.
+Sluff Adlin No one would have money to pay for one. The instrument would be too expensive to manufacture, transport and maintain. Also, compare the number of pipe organs sold versus the number of guitars sold. You can buy thousands of guitars with the same money spent in a pipe organ.
***** Yes, but then the product would have to be even more expensive. So much that even those loaded musicians wouldn't buy them. The company has to profit out of these. In the meantime, the touring musicians, who aren't rich, will be getting alternatives instead, defeating the point of having a modern analog version of it, since only a few individuals would be able to afford them, the company would end up in the red because of how much money they spent making these and bad things could happen. Also, who knows how much expensive this thing would have to be if it was fully analog? 10 times more expensive? 100 times?
Like General Industries, Howard Industries has been long gone. This is why Don Leslie switched to a pulsed motor system 30+ years ago. General Industries which manufactured the motors in a Leslie speaker no longer exist. Only old parts are left, so take very good care of what you have.
@Denvermorgan2000 The part you "see" is irrelevant because the pivot point is at the back of the key inside the cabinet where you don't see it. The keys on the original instrument (I'm talking about the whole key which extends well back into the cabinet) are about two feet long compared to the new B-3 which are much shorter. Definately affects the pivot point and the "feel". Have you A/Bd them?
Noooo!! I've nearly started to cry when he Comes to the Point he explains that this is digital!! the Hammond b3 is such an wonderfull Instrument with all his beautifull tonewheels Spinning around making lovely Sounds that are running through analog circuits! It does not matter how much shitty processors this has it wont ever Sound that amazing as the original!! This is not the fucking same!!
There is no processing. The waveforms are modeled from a real tone wheel Hammond Organ. All full size tone wheel Hammond Organ's sounded slightly different from 1935 to 1975. Evaluating a Hammond is like wine tasting, not everyone will agree.
Could you tell us exactly which leslie speakers were used on this demo? It's one of the best hammond sounds i ever heard! I see over your right shoulder a leslie speaker that spins slowly the whole time, i guess that wasn't being used? In another shot, i see a different leslie (brown) with microphone infront, was that the one being used?
Re questions about the set up .... The Leslie used on the recording is the 122XB behind me. This is mic'd up in my favoured way with 2 x Sure SM57's close in the horn enclosure at 45 degrees just off centre. Then a BETA52 centered on the bass enclosure. The other 'black' Leslie in shot is the 2101 with 2121 bass unit but is not used on these particular sessions.
Hi,I have a B3 Hammond 1970,for the first time since I bought it back then,my percussion went out.I tried to clean all the tubes and it still doesn't work.Have any suggestions how can I find the percussion elements on my B 3? thx
How much is he trying to sell it for? Personally, I love mine. After I went in and set some of the sounds, most organist have not been able to tell the difference.
I can, but it is only because of owning many Hammonds over the years and playing only originals. Still this is a very good new instrument with plenty of goodies!
I would have thought the only way to produce a new B3 would be to build them to original spec,, tone wheels and valves ? it could be built perhaps cheaper than the cost of the solid state ones today, and less reliant on the Japanese/Chinese components. yes it sounds good but its not a B3!! it aint got that deep growl.. great video and comments Malc
They do not!! I've heard it and I detect digit artifacts. Somewhat plasticity on some settings. I think that xkc3 thingy sounds closest. Of course all b3'ers think highly of their own opinions. I salute sir on the playing and the love of one of those things that makes life at times sweet. Play on!! -- from the b3 snob capital of the world: southeast America
It's a standard synth that any random instrument maker could have produced. In fact, it's extremely likely Yamaha would do a far superior job at creating an electronic instrument that mimics a Hammond B3. ...But a Hammond synthesizer has wood cabinet and says "Hammond" on it, so take that Yamaha! 1:37 "You only get one chance. You cannot get this wrong. It has to be 100% identical to the original." And that's why we completely scrapped the crucial tone wheel technology which all Hammond B3 organs ever produced were based on, and replaced it with a microchip. ...because again, we need everything to be EXACTLY THE SAME as the original, or no one will want to own one. -_- *crickets
Yes, and he never mentions the reverb, which the original did not have, And how long will those 96 “virtual” tome wheels last? I can’t believe this is a marketing production from Hammond. This guy is the world’s worst salesman and the production quality is terrible!
Have you ever seen a tone wheel case? it's not that huge as described, but probably costs a lot more to produce At least Hammond is honest about moving to digital, while other brands pretend to do tone wheels, oscillators, tapes, BBD's and other analog applications while hiding a 50cent worth dsp underneath
Hand on heart, I can not believe you can say this orgam is anything like a real B3. Sound and or function. The keyb is way closer. Digital sucks period
Meet the 'NEW Cubic Z3 ' Actually Tony Monaco has it ripping on that 'The Hammond Consoles' video 'soundtrack'...but as I sit there and look at all of those Hammond organs in their incarnations It almost makes me laugh that they tweaked this new B3 to the point of absurdity. I think it is less a case of ' let's keep the B3 legacy alive' and more a case of ' let's make a super duper deluxe B3 that only digital can afford, and we can make some money too'. Make a REAL B3 again, that I'll respect
I have a friend who is a professional organist , He bought a New Portable B3 and Leslie 3300 and he regrets it, trying to sell it, No one wants to buy it, he is using his 2 Hammond B3's with 122 Leslies while his PORTABLE $24,495.00 Organ is sitting in storage , He hates it.
The Hammond B3 and the A100 are the best sounding Hammonds made.The portable sounds great, But in my opinion, It not the real tone wheel sound. Why do you think that Jon Lord use a A100 and Booker T used a B3. It's the Real Hammond sound. Yes the Hammond B3 and the A 100 are the beast of all kind of today's music.
Just to make a proven statement Analog produces better sound than an electric will at ever. So yes the original Hammond is better in live Sound Quality. However you can now with the new Hammond create more tones then the original with the same feel and spirit as the original. And I will ask this; if you have to an Electric might as well have the best am I right? A Hammond can only be a Hammond. Plus The bonus is preset options allow you to Automatically set the stops to where you want your sound
@alwms2 - Sorry that you had the experience of buying a digital/solid state/whatever this is. I know what you mean. I played it once.....it wasn't the same. I also play guitar professionally as a session player and the only thing I can compare it to is playing a guitar through a solid state amplifier versus a tube amplifier....a tube amp will always give a warmer, richer, natural sound. Digital, processed sound still doesn't sound as good as analogue.
When will it be Clear for all the Hammond fans that the B-3 have never had any special sound which are not found on most of the other models??!! Old original B-3 sells for twice or 5-6 times the price of an used C-3 or A-100. I have often informed and said - save big Money - buy a C-3 or A-100! It is just the same organ. "Four legs are expensive!!!!!"
i love and respect this guy, But i am really sorry that there is no way on earth to reproduce the tone wheel Hammond B3 , Digital is not what The Hammond Guy used, I don't get it, WHY CAN"T HAMMOND still produce the original organs any more? is it because MR Hammond is dead and the new company owns it ? whats the deal?
+daniel kinney Too expensive for the demand and transport. An analog B3 can weight more than 150 kilos easily. Also, it would have higher maintenance costs due to all the analog circuitry inside it.
I have heard stories that this B3P has had to be sent in for repairs all over the world. Also people that have bought this have sold it. Now they come out with A3 or XK5PRO. Supposed to be the best.
The B3P as well as B3P MkII is extremely reliable. Roger Smith from Tower of Power has toured all over the world with a B3P for over 15 years. The most it ever needs is some screw tightening as things do come loose in transport.
Wait so if you're going to spend that amount of money and have it take up the same amount of space and it is replicating the B3, why not just get a real one......
I wish someone would show the XK5PRO up against this B3P and go over the differences. Because Hammond is claiming that the new A3 or XK5 pro is the best yet. for less money than the B3P like $15000.00 less.
The A3 and XK5 has more features plus it boasts multiple membrane contacts under each key similar the the New B3, New B3 MkII and of course a vintage Hammond. There is a new product to be announced at NAMM in January.
They shouldn’t call a “new” organ a “B3” unless it is a tonewheel with the same specs as the authentic thing. Call it a “B4” or whatever you want, but don’t tarnish the “B3” moniker by marketing a digital clone as a “B3”. I have a Hammond T500 home console tonewheel organ with a small built-in Leslie that is a huge, heavy piece of furniture that requires pricey annual service to keep playable. And there are fewer and fewer qualified tonewheel organ technicians. It’s like plaster guys. They take care of a shrinking number of tonewheel organs in use. It’s a sad fact.
The B4 is Native Instruments. Suzuki Japan (Hammond USA) owns the rights to everything from the original Hammond Factory. In fact all of the original drawings which are on microfilm are at the factory in Addison Illinois. The T500 series was manufactured at a time when Hammond was trying to compete with instruments which had more features and a lower cost, Think Thomas, Lowrey, Conn etc. If it had not been for Mr. Suzuki, Hammond would have been lost as it had already changed hands 4 times after the initial bankruptcy in 1985. Currently Hammond USA is a compliment of about 7 people. More history here.... Hammond Organ History th-cam.com/video/iBjp2ZDA8A0/w-d-xo.html
The New Hammond B3 mk2 is horribly OVERPRICED. It is a mere gimmick. All the new technology added to it is merely there to jack up the price ($24,000.00), not counting the ($4,000) Leslie 122xb Speaker. It is no more than a computer with a keyboard. It's louder than the ORIGINAL B3 to disguise the fact that it doesn't produce the pure sound of the ORIGINAL tone wheel Hammond of the past. There is nothing like the ORIGINAL Hammond ORGAN !!!!!
Almost perfect: 1. The chorus/vibrato is VERY BAD on these new Hammonds - it sounds digital!! On the B4 II it is far better... 2. The feel on the keys is so different...
virtual weak. analouge is analouge digital is digital, why pay hammon b3 price for a casiotone? Make a tonewheel again. I'll start saving my pennies, dollars, bennies... rob a bank. Sorry fender rhodes and b3 heck even moogs what they are and synths are synths. ok lol you would have to gig with tube based semi mechanical instruments I give you that.
virtual weak. analouge is analouge digital is digital, why pay hammon b3 price for a casiotone? Make a tonewheel again. I'll start saving my pennies, dollars, bennies... rob a bank. Sorry fender rhodes and b3 heck even moogs what they are and synths are synths.
Fantastic instrument. Saw it brilliantly demonstrated at the Music Show in Dublin, while checking ot the Hammond stand, was great to see! Keep up the good work, heres to Hammond going strong into the future!
I own a B3-P and a ‘56 C3. Good to have both
I too have made my living out of Hammond Organs for over 30 years and amongst a vast amount other Hammond players, (Home Hobby - Semi Pro and Pro) am totally satisfied and happy with the New Generation Hammond Organs
I play an xk3c dual manual system and it sounds exactly like my old b3! Hammond Suzuki has made production strides like no other company. Besides most b3s all sound different from each other so I don't understand anyone's complaints!
Hopefully I will be one day able to buy a B3........I use an XK1...and the organ sound great....but B3 is my dream.......and when I see this new digital B3...wow.....I wish I had one......or a Choped vintage B3....:)...God bless.....Great job!!!!
Its all about how you react to the instrument as a player. Studiologic's NumaOrgan, Nord's C1/C2, Hammond Suzuki's XK1/XK3, Roland's VK-1, even sitting behind a controller with a laptop and NI's B4 II open. Some feel close (pull out draw bars, good feeling keys, etc) But if you're playing a real B3, you play it differently than a keyboard or emulating software. This instrument captures that necessary interaction to let you play a B3 like a B3.
Well said sir!
I always loved the powerful sub sonic like sound that Lee Michals produced. Thanks for the in depth look at a Hammond B3. Next best thing to a pipe organ.
I love the sound of the new B3.
Thanks Tad.
The haters i think they are so biased they are not
willing to admit that its the real deal it sounds like a B3 It feels like one
too.
It sounds really great!
I want to see & hear MORE.... Great info here, just need more....
Fantastic instrument. Saw it brilliantly demonstrated at the Music Show in Dublin, while checking ot the Hammond stand, was great to see!
Keep up the good work, here to Hammond going strong into the future!
Incredible HAMMOND player.
Well there's something about the old tonewheel Hammonds which cannot be reproduced: The tonewheel signals are constantly re-routed through analog circuits when you are playing. There is an organic behavior which digital could only produce with ridiculously high resolution and the emulation of any kind of behaviour. Yes, the New B3 is damn close. That beautiful shimmer of the C-3 chorus setting, the biting percussion. BUT never forget: at least 50% of the Hammond sound is the Leslie. The technique to slap the keys with your left hand lightly so you only get a few key contacts to close (it's pretty random anyway, but if feels great) is called feathering. I have the Neo Vent sim - it is fantastic, but it still ist't there (and it just attempts to simulate a recorded leslie speaker - the 3-D effect you get in smaller groups and venues is just sublime. I think many a pro Hammond player prefers a New B3 because of its realiability (in fear of battered rock festival Hammonds with awfully dirty leakage, not because they sound better by design.
***** would you please care to explain. I would be ever so grateful.
*****
Thanks. Great sounding pedals. Love the analog tape saturation, but if I use the Neo Vent overdrive (guitar mode = no speaker emulation, leslie on stop) I get a fantastic sounding drive. TH-cam uses data compression and I'm sure the texture of the original at uncompressed CD quality (which is crap in 2014 - the Nykvist-Shannon sample theorem is utter BS, a humen being does not hear sound as Fourier sine wave addition but as timbre: a human can hear the difference between a 8 Khz sine wave and a square wave even though the partial above the fundamental is a 24 Khz sine wave, far above CD quality - but that's another story) is way better. It's not chorus I am looking for. I have few recent Boss chorus and phaser pedals which sound fantastic. I was talking about that shimmering scanner vibrato inside a vintage console Hammond. Take any good 70s recording heavily featurting a good sounding Hammond with that throaty, breathy, grinding, "living" sound full of magic and you will hear the difference. All clonewheels including the praised VB3 software 8which I have) used by the Crumar Mojo fall short. They sound great until you hear the real thing. The fact that they (= Hammond Suz) use real mechanical leslies - even in recorded demos - is a dead giveaway that the technology isn't there - just kinda close.
I tried one (New B-3) and was quite impressed with it in most ways. My biggest complaint is that the keys are quite a bit shorter than on the original, thusly affecting the pivot angle and the feel.
Folks can appreciate good technology and practicality. It's obvious that with any new product there has to be a pro/con strategy to marketing. The Hammond tonewheel is the original and so even a copy of itself will be ridiculed. The engineer types like myself will argue til doomsday about the superiority of a real Hammond, but I'm the guy who comes to clean your carpet and can fix any breakdown on my 30 year old equipment in less than 5 minutes. I took the time to learn my trade inside and out.
Sorry to hear of that !!! Most of the pros around the world I deal with love it.
In fact some of them are now asking for the New B in preference to a retro for tours and gigs.
I met Gregg Allman in 2015 in my town of St. Augustine FL and when I told him I played Hammond in a black Baptist Church he begged me to buy one of his 6 B-3's. I had to hang my head down because I was just a dead broke world-class player.
I suppose that you are right in as much as modern versions of any retro item be it a vintage car, vintage amp, MP3 vs CD vs Vinyl ! is never going to nail it 110% but the new Hammond B-3's and XK's do a very credible and accurate job and offer reliability, and many other benefits of using modern technology.
Also it is interesting that recently 3 of the top Hammond players in the world have actually asked for the New B-3 in favor of an original tonewheel for their gigs !
GREAT HAMMOND PLAYER, GREAT HAMMOND SPECIALIST, simply the HAMMOND sings !
Thanks .. glad you like it.
Thank you .. Glad you found this interesting
Hi ... glad you like. I am working on a new project this spring with video and audio content
I wish I had a portable B3 with a nice leslie 971 and put it next to my YAMAHA MOTIF XF8 and enjoy playing it as well as I enjoy playing my MOTIF.
My Motif just doesn't have a great B-3 sound. Of course I was playing a Hammond in church every Sunday.
There would be so many different instruments and effects that we couldn't imagine if only the industry kept it analog instead of going digital.
Jeremy, it was one of the new Leslie 122XB's
The portable New B-3 is still quite heavy but it does beak down in 2 mins, can be safely shipped on it side or even upside down and will easily fit into the back of an estate car. A B-3 chop tonewheel is still not that easy
I think it is wrong of you to advise people to 'buy an old original' without at least first checking out the new Hammond's for themselves . After all ... That is only your opinion.
Thanks for your comments T.C. Pfeiler
Hmmm .... there is never going to be a solution that will satisfy everyone and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
There are good and bad original tonewheel organs and if you are on a tour using hire gear, its very much 'the luck of the draw' as to what you get.
The new B-3's can be tweaked a little to suit individual tastes in vibrato character, leakage etc .. etc
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the tonewheels - I never really knew how the sound was made.
Does the new B3 output sound ready to input to a Leslie, or does it have additional processing to simulate the sound of a Leslie? (through a standard amp/speaker).
I'm a 'self respecting' Wurlitzer 4500 player. If you want a second organ that has so much amazing tone get one. The Wurlitzer 4500 is the precurser to the 4520 theater organ and is actually identical internally except the 4520 theater organ had a few 'toy counter ' sounds the 4500 didn't have. Also the 4500 is a straight cabinet. There are 4500's on Craigslist all the time. Morelocks in MISS has all spare parts cheap. On Youngstown OH CList is a 4500 in a rare Scandinavian cab.YT John La Duca
Awesome!
@paulj0557 I have to agree if they made a new one with tonewheels and all somebody would complain because they used new caps or resistors
@19thSFGA
Hmmmm.... Firstly everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However .... The new B-3 is not manufactured in China. It is a bespoke built instrument in the Hammond factory in Japan. Secondly ... I have had the pleasure of being involved with the BEST Hammond artistes in the world in all genres of music and not one of them shares your views. In fact, some of are actually asking for the new B-3 in preference to the retro tone wheels
Yes it is much.. much easier.
The console is off the stand in less than a minute and I can fit the whole rig with a 3300 Leslie in the back of an estate car.
With a set of wheels you can if necessary and with practice do this alone as long as it is a level 'load in'.
BUT .. it is much easier with two pairs of hands.
I own a 1956 C-3. And a 1968 122 Leslie. I'm not a good player. But really appreciate what the history is. Question, how can they reproduce the sound of the " classic" B3-C-3 when they all have there individualistic sound. Doe's this fall into the" Standard is there is no Standard".
I like my 1965 , two leslies
I would play that Hammond organ just like a straight up Baroque organ because I am a J.S. Bach fanatic. I would know how to operate a Leslie Speaker on that organ so it can be played to Baroque Organ Music. On a three speed or two speed set the Leslie Rotary control to Chorale speed for that formal and Dignified tone that you cannot get on a stationary/break position.
I am really pleased you like the New Generation B-3 and thank you for taking the time to leave your kind comments.
Cheers
Malc
Thanks MalcDeakin. The new B3 sounds very vintage yet modern in identity
Joe Saulsbury
@Denvermorgan2000 Well put Morgan. I am very interested in this Hoax Hammond I've seen on just two little crappy videos. It seems like the ticket as far as simplicity in the digital meets analog design. How come nobody talks it up? Did the guy get tired? Of course it might be all digital;, but mention is made that it is a full on 91 electronically generated tone wheel signals that can be played all at once if desired. I want to know more because this could be fit into anything! It's selfcontaind
What Leslie speakers are you running on this B3? It sounds really warm and rich!
I still say for the sake of the preserving the instrument, Hammond Susuki should still produce a limited amount of Hammond B3 Organs and Leslie 122 VOS (to the EXACT Original Specs) say maybe 5 a year unless the demand increases both Gibson and Fender do it with their guitars...the arguement has always been over expensive technology, well companies still make and sell Pipe Organs...even though you could buy a good yamaha clone, hang speakers everyone to simulate a real pipe organ yet it's not the same thing is it!
+Sluff Adlin Not a good analogy to compare Hammond with Gibson and Fender. Everyone wants to play a Les Paul or a Stratocaster, but not everyone wants or likes to play a Hammond. And remember, the Gibsons and Fenders of today are a far cry from the originals. The woods of that golden era('50s and '60s) doesn't exist anymore. Mahogany is no longer imported from Honduras, rosewood is no longer imported from Brasil, maple doesn't come from big trees, they are becoming smaller every year so the quality is not the same. Those companies TELL us that is the same but it's not. The same happened with Hammond. The technology is old, and the technicians than could build them and fix them are scarse and old too. There's no choice but to move on.
+Sluff Adlin No one would have money to pay for one. The instrument would be too expensive to manufacture, transport and maintain. Also, compare the number of pipe organs sold versus the number of guitars sold. You can buy thousands of guitars with the same money spent in a pipe organ.
***** Yes, but then the product would have to be even more expensive. So much that even those loaded musicians wouldn't buy them. The company has to profit out of these. In the meantime, the touring musicians, who aren't rich, will be getting alternatives instead, defeating the point of having a modern analog version of it, since only a few individuals would be able to afford them, the company would end up in the red because of how much money they spent making these and bad things could happen. Also, who knows how much expensive this thing would have to be if it was fully analog? 10 times more expensive? 100 times?
***** There are dozens of companies out there who do it already.
Like General Industries, Howard Industries has been long gone. This is why Don Leslie switched to a pulsed motor system 30+ years ago. General Industries which manufactured the motors in a Leslie speaker no longer exist. Only old parts are left, so take very good care of what you have.
@Denvermorgan2000 The part you "see" is irrelevant because the pivot point is at the back of the key inside the cabinet where you don't see it. The keys on the original instrument (I'm talking about the whole key which extends well back into the cabinet) are about two feet long compared to the new B-3 which are much shorter. Definately affects the pivot point and the "feel". Have you A/Bd them?
AND NOW WE HAVE THE NEW HAMMOND XK 5 PRO System & A3 Heritage Wood Version. I think I like the XK5 Pro way better now that I have seen the VIDEOS
Has Keith Emerson of ELP tried one? He is heavily associate with Hammonds and would like to hear him play Tarkus Eruption on one.
Noooo!!
I've nearly started to cry when he Comes to the Point he explains that this is digital!!
the Hammond b3 is such an wonderfull Instrument with all his beautifull tonewheels Spinning around making lovely Sounds that are running through analog circuits!
It does not matter how much shitty processors this has it wont ever Sound that amazing as the original!!
This is not the fucking same!!
There is no processing. The waveforms are modeled from a real tone wheel Hammond Organ. All full size tone wheel Hammond Organ's sounded slightly different from 1935 to 1975. Evaluating a Hammond is like wine tasting, not everyone will agree.
Could you tell us exactly which leslie speakers were used on this demo? It's one of the best hammond sounds i ever heard! I see over your right shoulder a leslie speaker that spins slowly the whole time, i guess that wasn't being used? In another shot, i see a different leslie (brown) with microphone infront, was that the one being used?
Re questions about the set up .... The Leslie used on the recording is the 122XB behind me. This is mic'd up in my favoured way with 2 x Sure SM57's close in the horn enclosure at 45 degrees just off centre. Then a BETA52 centered on the bass enclosure. The other 'black' Leslie in shot is the 2101 with 2121 bass unit but is not used on these particular sessions.
Malcolm Deakin Thanks!
Hi,I have a B3 Hammond 1970,for the first time since I bought it back then,my percussion went out.I tried to clean all the tubes and it still doesn't work.Have any suggestions how can I find the percussion elements on my B 3? thx
How much is he trying to sell it for? Personally, I love mine. After I went in and set some of the sounds, most organist have not been able to tell the difference.
I can, but it is only because of owning many Hammonds over the years and playing only originals. Still this is a very good new instrument with plenty of goodies!
@MalcDeakin My only Question is it easier to take it on the road?
Watch it now
I would have thought the only way to produce a new B3 would be to build them to original spec,, tone wheels and valves ? it could be built perhaps cheaper than the cost of the solid state ones today, and less reliant on the Japanese/Chinese components. yes it sounds good but its not a B3!! it aint got that deep growl.. great video and comments Malc
What did musician do before midi?
so, is it cheaper to find an original one or just buy a new one?
This is what computer engineers call a "bug for bug compatible" version of an older product.
This is a review of the portable B3 (New B3P)???
They do not!! I've heard it and I detect digit artifacts. Somewhat plasticity on some settings. I think that xkc3 thingy sounds closest. Of course all b3'ers think highly of their own opinions. I salute sir on the playing and the love of one of those things that makes life at times sweet. Play on!! -- from the b3 snob capital of the world: southeast America
A lot of guy s prefer the original but it's becoming to expensive to maintain. The new sounds great.
@tonespinner "pivot angle" I should have said.
It's a standard synth that any random instrument maker could have produced. In fact, it's extremely likely Yamaha would do a far superior job at creating an electronic instrument that mimics a Hammond B3. ...But a Hammond synthesizer has wood cabinet and says "Hammond" on it, so take that Yamaha!
1:37 "You only get one chance. You cannot get this wrong. It has to be 100% identical to the original." And that's why we completely scrapped the crucial tone wheel technology which all Hammond B3 organs ever produced were based on, and replaced it with a microchip. ...because again, we need everything to be EXACTLY THE SAME as the original, or no one will want to own one. -_-
*crickets
Yes, and he never mentions the reverb, which the original did not have, And how long will those 96 “virtual” tome wheels last? I can’t believe this is a marketing production from Hammond. This guy is the world’s worst salesman and the production quality is terrible!
?has anybody heard the new B3 through a Neo Instruments Ventilator?
HI! can anyone tell me how much these cost ? or how much i should pay for one ? links, tips, anything is appreciated :)
Where do you get this thing?
So who sells these things?
how much does it weigh.... and how much does it cost?
+nytom4info $24 K
Thank you for the heads up! Think I'll go to keyboard exchange and pic up a nice "old" one for one third the price!
Play on brother... ;)
Vocês vende órgão hammond quero comprar um órgão hammond. Me responde por favor muito obrigado ver tradução.
Have you ever seen a tone wheel case? it's not that huge as described, but probably costs a lot more to produce
At least Hammond is honest about moving to digital, while other brands pretend to do tone wheels, oscillators,
tapes, BBD's and other analog applications while hiding a 50cent worth dsp underneath
Hand on heart, I can not believe you can say this orgam is anything like a real B3. Sound and or function. The keyb is way closer. Digital sucks period
Does this use MIDI?
+Jonathan Smith yes
There is a tenth busbar for midi output.
Meet the 'NEW Cubic Z3 '
Actually Tony Monaco has it ripping on that 'The Hammond Consoles' video 'soundtrack'...but as I sit there and look at all of those Hammond organs in their incarnations It almost makes me laugh that they tweaked this new B3 to the point of absurdity. I think it is less a case of ' let's keep the B3 legacy alive' and more a case of ' let's make a super duper deluxe B3 that only digital can afford, and we can make some money too'.
Make a REAL B3 again, that I'll respect
DOLLARS!?! I can buy a used C-172 for that!!! ;)
Why not just make more tonewheel organs?
I have a friend who is a professional organist , He bought a New Portable B3 and Leslie 3300 and he regrets it, trying to sell it, No one wants to buy it, he is using his 2 Hammond B3's with 122 Leslies while his PORTABLE $24,495.00 Organ is sitting in storage , He hates it.
+daniel kinney, How much does he want for it?
Hey Man. he texted me and he has sold it. I didn't ask what he got for it but i will and let you know.
Damn I wish he'd actually play it more.... and spin it through the leslie
The Hammond B3 and the A100 are the best sounding Hammonds made.The portable sounds great, But in my opinion, It not the real tone wheel sound. Why do you think that Jon Lord use a A100 and Booker T used a B3. It's the Real Hammond sound. Yes the Hammond B3 and the A 100 are the beast of all kind of today's music.
Just to make a proven statement Analog produces better sound than an electric will at ever. So yes the original Hammond is better in live Sound Quality. However you can now with the new Hammond create more tones then the original with the same feel and spirit as the original. And I will ask this; if you have to an Electric might as well have the best am I right? A Hammond can only be a Hammond. Plus The bonus is preset options allow you to Automatically set the stops to where you want your sound
@alwms2 - Sorry that you had the experience of buying a digital/solid state/whatever this is. I know what you mean. I played it once.....it wasn't the same. I also play guitar professionally as a session player and the only thing I can compare it to is playing a guitar through a solid state amplifier versus a tube amplifier....a tube amp will always give a warmer, richer, natural sound. Digital, processed sound still doesn't sound as good as analogue.
When will it be Clear for all the Hammond fans that the B-3 have never had any special sound which are not found on most of the other models??!! Old original B-3 sells for twice or 5-6 times the price of an used C-3 or A-100. I have often informed and said - save big Money - buy a C-3 or A-100! It is just the same organ. "Four legs are expensive!!!!!"
i love and respect this guy, But i am really sorry that there is no way on earth to reproduce the tone wheel Hammond B3 , Digital is not what The Hammond Guy used, I don't get it, WHY CAN"T HAMMOND still produce the original organs any more? is it because MR Hammond is dead and the new company owns it ? whats the deal?
+daniel kinney Too expensive for the demand and transport. An analog B3 can weight more than 150 kilos easily. Also, it would have higher maintenance costs due to all the analog circuitry inside it.
I have heard stories that this B3P has had to be sent in for repairs all over the world. Also people that have bought this have sold it. Now they come out with A3 or XK5PRO. Supposed to be the best.
The B3P as well as B3P MkII is extremely reliable. Roger Smith from Tower of Power has toured all over the world with a B3P for over 15 years. The most it ever needs is some screw tightening as things do come loose in transport.
And also a lot of oil
Wait so if you're going to spend that amount of money and have it take up the same amount of space and it is replicating the B3, why not just get a real one......
98% is talking. I did not meet the Hammond but I met a talking guy. I wanted to hear the Hammond. Sorry to say.
Virtual digital tone wheels? I prefer my L111's Actual real ones through my actual 147rv Leslie thanks.Cheerio!...
I wish someone would show the XK5PRO up against this B3P and go over the differences. Because Hammond is claiming that the new A3 or XK5 pro is the best yet. for less money than the B3P like $15000.00 less.
The A3 and XK5 has more features plus it boasts multiple membrane contacts under each key similar the the New B3, New B3 MkII and of course a vintage Hammond.
There is a new product to be announced at NAMM in January.
Digital people seem weak to me. Always say the new one is better and all of that.
They shouldn’t call a “new” organ a “B3” unless it is a tonewheel with the same specs as the authentic thing. Call it a “B4” or whatever you want, but don’t tarnish the “B3” moniker by marketing a digital clone as a “B3”. I have a Hammond T500 home console tonewheel organ with a small built-in Leslie that is a huge, heavy piece of furniture that requires pricey annual service to keep playable. And there are fewer and fewer qualified tonewheel organ technicians. It’s like plaster guys. They take care of a shrinking number of tonewheel organs in use. It’s a sad fact.
The B4 is Native Instruments. Suzuki Japan (Hammond USA) owns the rights to everything from the original Hammond Factory. In fact all of the original drawings which are on microfilm are at the factory in Addison Illinois.
The T500 series was manufactured at a time when Hammond was trying to compete with instruments which had more features and a lower cost, Think Thomas, Lowrey, Conn etc.
If it had not been for Mr. Suzuki, Hammond would have been lost as it had already changed hands 4 times after the initial bankruptcy in 1985.
Currently Hammond USA is a compliment of about 7 people.
More history here....
Hammond Organ History
th-cam.com/video/iBjp2ZDA8A0/w-d-xo.html
The New Hammond B3 mk2 is horribly OVERPRICED. It is a mere gimmick. All the new technology added to it is merely there to jack up the price ($24,000.00), not counting the ($4,000) Leslie 122xb Speaker. It is no more than a computer with a keyboard. It's louder than the ORIGINAL B3 to disguise the fact that it doesn't produce the pure sound of the ORIGINAL tone wheel Hammond of the past. There is nothing like the ORIGINAL Hammond ORGAN !!!!!
Whoop bully
Almost perfect:
1. The chorus/vibrato is VERY BAD on these new Hammonds - it sounds digital!! On the B4 II it is far better...
2. The feel on the keys is so different...
virtual weak. analouge is analouge digital is digital, why pay hammon b3 price for a casiotone? Make a tonewheel again. I'll start saving my pennies, dollars, bennies... rob a bank. Sorry fender rhodes and b3 heck even moogs what they are and synths are synths. ok lol you would have to gig with tube based semi mechanical instruments I give you that.
virtual weak. analouge is analouge digital is digital, why pay hammon b3 price for a casiotone? Make a tonewheel again. I'll start saving my pennies, dollars, bennies... rob a bank. Sorry fender rhodes and b3 heck even moogs what they are and synths are synths.
*INHALES*
Fantastic instrument. Saw it brilliantly demonstrated at the Music Show in Dublin, while checking ot the Hammond stand, was great to see!
Keep up the good work, heres to Hammond going strong into the future!