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#392147 - 08/24/14 11:59 AM The SK1-73 has arrived
cassp Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 03/21/03
Posts: 3748
Loc: Motown
The BEAST is here. I finally sold my XK1 and bought an SK1-73. It's a damn B3 on steroids impersonating a stage piano. Firstly, it's the real thing; upper, lower and pedal drawbar controlled Hammond sounds. In addition there are 30 additional sounds including acoustic grands, elec. piano, clavs, accordions, strings, brass, winds and synths. As of right now they do not offer anything like guitars, but I don't think the focused audience would be needing that as this is mainly an organ/keyboard.

I noticed that the default organ attack is not as quick as I would like, but they say that is completely adjustable. The drawbars are silent; no detent clicking as you slide them in and out. The drawbar sounds themselves are pure, and again, completely adjustable. The 1' is icy cold high, a little too bright for my liking, but I plan to do some adjusting; electronic tonewheels are great, but not exactly like analog. Of course, the Leslie sim is superb and programmable. The are so many ways to reproduce or customize the B3/Leslie sound you want.

In addition to the drawbars making Hammond sine waves, they can also emulate Vox, Farfisa and 64-rank pipe organ sounds. Each is incredibly realistic. I owned a Combo Compact and when I set up the Farf and closed my eyes, I was back in the 60s and 70s. I tooled around with the pipes and was blown away by the realism. We just got a new $50,000 organ update at my church and this 73-key slab could easily blow it away.

The acoustic pianos are much better than my s950 grands, and I can say the same for the EPs. The clav and accordion sounds are realistic and on par with the Yamaha. Strings are beautiful and will definitely do the job. The horns are a mixed bag; some excellent some just OK. The synth section has some great patches but also a bunch of useless stuff IMO.

The beauty of this instrument is it can be divided into three zones, so you can play organ, sounds and bass all at the same time on one keyboard. Zones can overlap so you can also layer. 73 keys is better than 61, especially if you're playing a lot of piano or layered sounds. This is a keyboard that probably needs at least on volume/expression pedal. The organ is very strong and playing without a pedal would ruin the nuance of playing the organ. It accepts MIDI bass pedals, so if you want to go back to the old organ days, it's very simple to do. And this keyboard is essentially for organ players. Everything revolves around the organ as being the main instrument.

The SK has an audio player (USB)that will playback wavs and mp3 files. You can also record to wav.

It's a fairly skinny board with a flat top where you could easily set something atop of it. And, it weighs only 21 lbs. I'm planning to hook up my BK7m to it and see if it might become my new go-to rig. If I do so, it will mean a bigger setup with at least two sound sources, SK and BK, more cables, possibly a small mixer and maybe a VH. I would do that as long as I'm into the sound the setup produces. I play 99% retirement and NH jobs and I don't do it for the big money, but more for pleasure of playing and entertaining. This rig can take me back to my roots while permitting me to stay current and have FUN. Time will tell.

A final note: IMHO Hammond-Suzuki have a pure winner here. If they were ever convinced to add an arranger section to this line (61, 73, 88 and double manual models)I'm sure they could sell a lot of these. This is a very versatile keyboard. It does fall short on the expressive instruments - nothing like the Yamaha premium sounds. But having said that, I don't see too many places where this keyboard falls short. If you like guitar sounds or some other novel stuff, you probably wouldn't be impressed, But, if you come from the organ background many of you say you do, then this keyboard could be a consideration.
_________________________
Riding on the Avenue of Time
cassp50@gmail.com

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#392148 - 08/24/14 12:34 PM Re: The SK1-73 has arrived [Re: cassp]
Dnj Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
Congrats Cass........pics and demos please soon enjoy!!!!

http://hammondorganco.com/products/portable-organs/sk1-73/

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#392162 - 08/25/14 05:51 AM Re: The SK1-73 has arrived [Re: Dnj]
Rustykeys Offline
Member

Registered: 11/19/13
Posts: 85
Loc: Massachusetts/USA
organ congrats, You have got an awesome keyboard. I get many ooo's and aahs when other KB players hear my SK1-73 and my SK1-88 with small Leslies screamming. Don't be afraid to try things. Great KB for gigging. I can be set-up in 10 min-15 min. You'll love it. If I do a solo gig then I use my Tyros-3 and SK1-88. keys
_________________________
C3, B3, Leslie 122's, SK1-73, SK1-88, Leslie 2101 MK2 x2 Tyros 3 Rhodes Stage 73

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#392204 - 08/26/14 08:20 AM Re: The SK1-73 has arrived [Re: cassp]
Dnj Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703

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