AJ & Mike, when we look at our old stuff, it's easy to see that we all tried to have quality instruments - not necessarily the best, but in the park. I agree with Mike to a degree that instrumentation counts, but I feel that I could use that Farfisa today and people would still like the sound. The making od music creates its own sound. Horn stabs on a Farfisa sound differently than those on a Tyros, but the feeling/technique a good musician adds to the music is the key.

Starkeeper and others - almost anyone who has the opportunity and option, does eventually use a B3; wouldn't you? The differences between a model L and M were minor additional presets, reverbs, amplification, etc. The basic sound source was identical for all Hammond drawbar organs.

The L100, M100, B3, C3, T, all used Hammond tone wheel generator, but a B3 is a different beast, with a different sound. Some musicians called the B3 "The Beast with Hairy Balls".
Starkeeper

Star - if that is so, how do you explain 'Green Onions' and all of the Emerson, Lake and Palmer music. Keith Emerson always played a beat up old L. Those tone wheels are interchangeable (should I say identical), so what's the missing link. I think it comes from the popularity and all the tinkering many people did with the beast. 61 keys, all those presets, double sets of drawbars and maxed out Leslies didn't hurt either.

[This message has been edited by cassp (edited 11-25-2003).]

The percussion effect was the "sought after" sound of the "B" ..... that, and the dirtyness made that sound that we all grew to know and love. The dirty, grit was actually a malfunction. (A happy accident, as it were.)
When it all comes down to it - the Leslie was actually FAR more important than the organ model. I've heard Casios, DX7s, and other beasts sound awesome in a Leslie. It's all in how you move the air that gives it that special, spacial character.
I used to play my Rhodes in stereo through a host of different comninations, but one of the best was a set of special electric piano speakers (Made by Leslie) that I added horns to. It was true stereo vibrato, just like the original suitcase model, but you could spread them farther apart. What a sweet sound. Remember the beginning of Stevie's "You are the sunshine of my life" or Minnie Riperton's (his protege) "Loving you" .......
Both have that stereo panning tremelo that drives me wild. So full .... so phat .... so uniquely Rhodes.

THANK YOU DAVE! That was one of the bests posts I have read anywhere. I remember those Leslie satellites; they were awesome. I could hear them as I read your words. Happy Thanksgiving, for sure.

Hey speaking of organs, does anyone know of some gooood songs with some nice organ, or organ solos?

I don't know quite as much about the other models ( L and M 100 ), but I do know for sure that the B3 and C3 had the exact same internal components. The thing that set them apart was the cabinets themselves. You can read about this on one of the Hammond websites.

I wasn't aware of this when I was listening to ELP in their heyday, hence the C3, as Emerson used it, became my personal favorite, mainly because I favored his playing techniques and his soundset. Keith Emerson used the 100 series boards, (along with just about everything else under the sun ) but in interviews he has noted that the C3 is also one of his favorites.

AJ

LOL, I know that the C3 was their "Church Organ" model, so I wonder if the B3 was their "Bar Organ" model.

Tom

PS I had a pristine M100 for about ten years and finally got rid of it when I moved and no longer had room for it. That was in march of 2001, and it still worked perfectly.

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Bigger is not always better

[This message has been edited by Tomcat (edited 11-26-2003).]

Tomcat, actually the B3 was the original style, marketed radio stations, churches and the like. The 3 is the progression from BV and B2 which didn't have percussion. The surprising popularity of the organ in churches prompted Hammond to make a more traditional, closed front cabinet (C3). A similar model, the RT-D, had a larger (AGO) 32-pedal board and was sold to churches whose organists demanded a regulation (size and spacing) pedalboard. The B3's popularity on the lounge circuit was originally quite a surprise. The Leslie speaker (a cabinet made by one of Hammond's previous employees, but refused by Hammond) is what really brought the B3 to the jazz and pop players.

[This message has been edited by cassp (edited 11-27-2003).]

Ahhhhh, that rotating air sound .... mmmmmmm. LOVE those Leslies.