Soul Gear: The Hammond Organ

Where would we be without Laurens Hammond?  The Hammond Organ, specifically the B3, and its partner the Leslie rotating speaker, is one of the keyboards at the heart of soul music, right there with the Fender Rhoads and Honer Clavinet.  It has its lovers (that sound man, I have yet to hear an emulation that just nails it) and its haters (ask a roadie whats his least favorite piece of gear to move, and lets not get started on repairing a Porta-B). Its at the heart of some of the most famous soul records out there (who hasn't heard "Green Onions"?) and is so ubiquitous that there is nary a respectable studio without one.



Oddly enough, much like Napster and downloading today, the Hammond was an invention trying to do something cheaper and better, only to be popularized by those trying to stop it.  You see back in the day (the 1930s) Hammond was trying to claim his organ to be superior to pipe organs, saying that it could equal the sounds of a $10,000 organ (the Hammond retailed for a measly $1,250.  Try getting one for that on E-bay). Pipe organ manufacturers called bullshit, and in the name of protecting their product did the only thing that any American industry could do, and brought Hammond to court.

The Court agreed with the Pipe organ industry (as did anyone with trained ears, sound familiar?), and while they let Hammond keep calling it an organ, he could no longer advertise it as being equal to a pipe organ, and forced him to whittle his claim of infinite sounds to 253 Million sounds (I do have to ask if anyone has proven that!). The damage was done, however, and Hammond's sales soared from the publicity of the trial.  It replaced the Pipe organ in churches around the country (and globe, for that matter) where it got adopted by soul (where dose Soul start but in the church?)  Much like Napster, if the organ industry would have just shut it, they might still be around.

Meanwile, Hammond wasn't that happy when someone tried to "improve" his designs, such as the case of the Leslie speaker cabinet (Read Here), nor that it was used for such "low brow" applications such as Jazz, rock, and yes, Soul.  Makes you wonder what the Napster kids think of Limewire.

So while the Pipe organ instustry fell into just the hands of a few companies, enthusiasts, and repair companies, the Hammond company still lives in Hammond Suzuki, still making organs,  still making (ironically) Leslies, and still making soul.








Sorce:
253 Million Possible Tones