Electone is the trademark used for electronic organs produced by Yamaha . With the exception of the top end performance models, most Electones are based on the design of the spinet electronic organ . Current models are completely digital and contain a variety of sounds, effects, and accompaniments, on top of the ability to store programming data onto memory devices.
107-426: After Hammond pioneered the electronic organ in the 1930s, other manufacturers began to market their own versions of the instrument. By the end of the 1950s, familiar brand names of home organs in addition to Hammond included Conn , Kimball , Lowrey , and others, while companies such as Allen and Rodgers manufactured large electronic organs designed for church and other public settings. What would later become
214-422: A balanced mono signal and AC power directly from the organ via a six-pin cable. Spinet organs contained their own built-in amplifier and speakers. The tone cabinet was originally the only method of adding reverberation to a Hammond organ. The first models to be produced were the 20-watt A-20 and 40-watt A-40. The A-20 was designed for churches and small-capacity halls, and featured a set of doors in front of
321-425: A musical instrument manufacturer are still reflected today in the group's logo—a trio of interlocking tuning forks . After World War II , company president Genichi Kawakami repurposed the remains of the company's war-time production machinery and the company's expertise in metallurgical technologies to the manufacture of motorcycles . The YA-1 (AKA Akatombo, the "Red Dragonfly") , of which 125 were built in
428-512: A speaker cabinet . The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker . Around two million Hammond organs have been manufactured. The organ was originally marketed by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ , or instead of a piano . It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians in organ trios —small groups centered on
535-460: A $ 75,000 Skinner pipe organ in the University of Chicago 's Rockefeller Chapel . During the auditory tests, sustained tones and excerpts from musical works were played on the electric and pipe organs while a group of musicians and laymen attempted to distinguish between the instruments. While attorneys for Hammond argued that the test listeners were wrong or guessed nearly half the time, witnesses for
642-547: A 12-note pedalboard. The M model was produced from 1948 to 1951, the M-2 from 1951 to 1955, and the M-3 from 1955 to 1964. The M series was replaced by the M-100 series in 1961, which used a numbering system to identify the body style and finish as used on earlier console series. It included the same manuals as the M, but increased the pedalboard size to 13 notes, stretching a full octave, and included
749-506: A 25-note pedal board and XLR external audio jacks. The STAGEA ELS-01 series was officially distributed only in Asian countries. In 2006, Yamaha added the ELB-01 model to the lineup. This is a students' model, with 245 AWM voices and 133 accompaniment rhythms, but without voice or rhythm editing capabilities. In 2008, Yamaha added The D-Deck (DDK-7 in some markets), which is the portable version of
856-416: A Hammond organ comes from a tonewheel. Each one rotates in front of an electromagnetic pickup. The variation in the magnetic field induces a small alternating current at a particular frequency, which represents a signal similar to a sine wave . When a key is pressed on the organ, it completes a circuit of nine electrical switches, which are linked to the drawbars. The position of the drawbars, combined with
963-430: A Hammond's tuning is concert A at 440 Hz . Crosstalk or "leakage" occurs when the instrument's magnetic pickups receive the signal from rotating metal tonewheels other than those selected by the organist. Hammond considered crosstalk a defect that required correcting, and in 1963 introduced a new level of resistor–capacitor filtering to greatly reduce this crosstalk, along with 50–60 Hz mains hum . However,
1070-554: A Japanese national contest to promote and market the Electone as a viable creative and professional musical outlet, and featured both the solo performer and the Electone instrument with no other accompaniment present - a format that lasts till this day. The first purposefully branded international edition complete with a broader roster of contestants representing countries such as USA, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, as well as European, Asian and South American countries,
1177-597: A Leslie speaker. Hammond designed it as the company's flagship product, in response to market competition and to replace the B-3. However, it was considered expensive at $ 9,795 and it sold poorly. It did not sound like a B-3. Hammond introduced their first integrated circuit (IC) model, the Concorde, in 1971. The company had stopped manufacturing tonewheel organs entirely by 1975, due to increased financial inefficiency, and switched to making IC models full-time. Console models included
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#17328557986151284-460: A cheaper design, was not as sophisticated as on the other organs. The L-100 sold particularly well in the UK, with several notable British musicians using it instead of a B-3 or C-3. The T series, produced from 1968 to 1975, was the last of the tonewheel spinet organs. Unlike all the earlier Hammond organs, which used vacuum tubes for preamplification, amplification, percussion and chorus-vibrato control,
1391-407: A church organ. Modern Hammond-Suzuki models use waterfall keys. Hammond console organs come with a wooden pedalboard played with the feet, for bass notes. Most console Hammond pedalboards have 25 notes, with the bottom note a low C and the top note a middle C two octaves higher. Hammond used a 25-note pedalboard because he found that on traditional 32-note pedalboards used in church pipe organs,
1498-455: A console half-moon or pedal switch, with the most distinctive effect occurring as the speaker rotation speed changes. The most popular Leslies were the 122, which accepted a balanced signal suitable for console organs, and the 147, which accepted an unbalanced signal and could be used for spinet organs with a suitable adapter. The Pro-Line series of Leslies which were made to be portable for gigging bands using solid-state amps were popular during
1605-487: A digital tonewheel simulator. The New B-3 is constructed to appear like the original B-3, and the designers attempted to retain the subtle nuances of the familiar B-3 sound. Hammond-Suzuki promotional material states that it would be difficult for even an experienced B-3 player to distinguish between the old and new B-3 organs. A review of the New B-3 by Hugh Robjohns called it "a true replica of an original B-3 ... in terms of
1712-464: A good response from bass pedals. Many players prefer to play the Hammond through a cabinet with a rotating speaker known, after several name changes, as a Leslie speaker , after its inventor Donald J. Leslie . The typical Leslie system is an integrated speaker/amplifier combination in which sound is emitted by a rotating horn over a stationary treble compression driver , and a rotating baffle beneath
1819-420: A high-quality electrical connection when pressing a key. This design was discontinued with the introduction of the transistor organ. This means tonewheel organs have between 3.2 and 8.4 grams of palladium, depending on make and model. The sound on a tonewheel Hammond organ is varied through the manipulation of drawbars. A drawbar is a metal slider that controls the volume of a particular sound component, in
1926-623: A new standard for the Vocaloids for having no face, sex, or set voice, but are designed to complete any song. VY1 has a new approach to how the software handled the database of samples and improved the performance of the Vocaloid 2 engine. Yamaha announced a version of the Vocaloid 2 software for the iPhone and iPad , which exhibited at the Y2 Autumn 2010 Digital Content Expo in Japan. Later, this version of
2033-419: A note is being played, and a chorus effect where a note's sound is combined with another sound at a slightly different and varying pitch. The best known vibrato and chorus system consists of six settings, V1, V2, V3, C1, C2 and C3 (i.e., three each of vibrato and chorus), which can be selected via a rotary switch. Vibrato / chorus can be selected for each manual independently. The B-3 and C-3 models introduced
2140-400: A number of presets. The L-100 series entered production at the same time as the M-100. It was an economy version, with various cost-cutting changes so the organ could retail for under $ 1,000. The vibrato was a simpler circuit than on other consoles and spinets. Two variations of the vibrato were provided, plus a chorus that mixed various vibrato signals together. The expression pedal, based on
2247-463: A pedalboard with only 25 notes, instead of the standard 32 on church organs, and it quickly became a de facto standard. On April 24, 1934, Hammond filed a patent for an "electrical musical instrument", which was personally delivered to the patent office by Hanert, explaining that they could start production immediately and it would be good for local employment in Chicago. The invention was unveiled to
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#17328557986152354-540: A restructuring. At this point, the YAMAHA brand and company name continued, but the company essentially withdrew from management. Subsequently, YLT conducted a MBO of the investments of Yamaha and the investment funds, and the company name was changed as of 1 October 2013 and withdrew from the housing equipment business in both name and reality. Other companies in the Yamaha Corporation group include: Kandō ( 感動 )
2461-434: A set of pickups, it changes the pitch of the overall sound slightly. From here, the sound is sent to the main amplifier, and on to the audio speakers. The Hammond organ makes technical compromises in the notes it generates. Rather than produce harmonics that are exact multiples of the fundamental as in equal temperament , it uses the nearest-available frequencies generated by the tonewheels. The only guaranteed frequency for
2568-452: A silver medal and cash prize, and "Outstanding Performance" awards were usually presented to three participants who would receive a bronze medal and cash prize. On rare occasions at IEF finals, a special President's award may also have been presented to one performer. Known as the "Kawakami Prize" it was named after renowned Yamaha Music Corporation President Genichi Kawakami and consisted of a special bronze medal and cash prize very similar to
2675-431: A similar way to a fader on an audio mixing console . As a drawbar is incrementally pulled out, it increases the volume of its sound. When pushed all the way in, the volume is decreased to zero. The labeling of the drawbar derives from the stop system in pipe organs, in which the physical length of the pipe corresponds to the pitch produced. Most Hammonds contain nine drawbars per manual. The drawbar marked "8′" generates
2782-426: A skirt, often a consideration when a church organ was placed in front of the congregation. The model C did not contain the chorus generator, but had space in the cabinet for it to be fitted. The concurrent model D was a model C with a prefitted chorus. Development of the vibrato system took place during the early 1940s, and was put into production shortly after the end of World War II . The various models available were
2889-563: A slightly different tone generator. This was followed by the H-100 series, with a redesigned tonewheel generator and various other additional features. An extended model, the H-300, also featured an integrated drum machine . The organ was not particularly well made, and suffered a reputation for being unreliable. Hammond service engineer Harvey Olsen said, "When they [H-100s] work, they sound pretty decent. But die-hard enthusiasts won't touch it." Though
2996-465: A slower pace and generate a lower pitch for a short time. Hammond's New B3 contains similar switches to emulate this effect, though it is a digital instrument. The Hammond organ's technology derives from the Telharmonium , an instrument created in 1897 by Thaddeus Cahill . The telharmonium used revolving electric alternators which generated tones that could be transmitted over wires. The instrument
3103-521: A stationary bass woofer . This creates a characteristic sound because of the constantly changing pitch shifts that result from the Doppler effect created by the moving sound sources. The Leslie was originally designed to mimic the complex tones and constantly shifting sources of sound emanating from a large group of ranks in a pipe organ. The effect varies depending on the speed of the rotors, which can be toggled between fast (tremolo) and slow (chorale) using
3210-555: A sufficient return. In 1936, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint claiming that the Hammond Company made "false and misleading" claims in advertisements for its organ, including that the Hammond could produce "the entire range of tone coloring of a pipe organ". The complaint resulted in lengthy hearing proceedings, which featured a series of auditory tests that pitted a Hammond costing about $ 2600 against
3317-514: Is a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer. It is one of the constituents of Nikkei 225 and is the world's largest musical instrument manufacturing company. The former motorcycle division was established in 1955 as Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. , which started as an affiliated company but has been spun-off as its own independent company. Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd. ( 日本楽器製造株式会社 , Nihon Gakki Seizō Kabushiki gaisha , lit. ' Japan Musical Instrument Manufacture ' )
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3424-415: Is a Japanese word used by Yamaha Corporation to describe its corporate mission. Kandō is the sensation of profound excitement and gratification derived from experiencing supreme quality and performance. Some reasonable English equivalents are "emotionally touching" or "emotionally moving". Yamaha Corporation is widely known for its music teaching program that began in 1954. In a continuation of that program,
3531-400: Is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup , and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier to drive
3638-709: Is controlled by a pedal (also known as a "swell" or "expression" pedal). The keys on each manual have a lightweight action , which allows players to perform rapid passages more easily than on a piano. In contrast to piano and pipe organ keys, Hammond keys have a flat-front profile, commonly referred to as "waterfall" style. Early Hammond console models had sharp edges, but starting with the B-2, these were rounded, as they were cheaper to manufacture. The M series of spinets also had waterfall keys (which has subsequently made them ideal for spares on B-3s and C-3s ), but later spinet models had "diving board" style keys which resembled those found on
3745-658: Is noted as being held in October of 1971. However, as earlier as 1969 and 1970, a small number of international entrants were invited to compete at the 'Electone Concours Grand Prix' event against a predominantly Japanese contingent of competitors in Tokyo. The IEF finals from these early editions were then held in Japan every year until 1984 when it was held in Los Angeles to mirror the city's Olympic Games hosting duties. Afterwards, Yamaha began holding subsequent IEF finals in other cities around
3852-500: Is the proprietary sound sampling technology of Yamaha. Models in this series are: ELS-01 : The standard model ELS-01C : The custom model, carrying the ability to use the VA voices, Pitch and Tempo Bends, After touch on the pedal keyboard, horizontal touch and after pitch, along with other features, and lastly, ELS-01X : The professional model - taking the ELS-01C, it adds 61-note keyboards,
3959-437: Is turned on for about four seconds. The "Start" switch is then released, whereupon the organ is ready to generate sound. The H-100 and E-series consoles and L-100 and T-100 spinet organs, however, had a self-starting motor that required only a single "On" switch. A pitch bend effect can be created on the Hammond organ by turning the "Run" switch off and on again. This briefly cuts power to the generators, causing them to run at
4066-647: The East Asia , but also in bands and other solo and group public performances. Yamaha began exporting Electones to the United States starting with the D-2B in 1967. In 2004, Yamaha launched the STAGEA series. This series uses all AWM ( Advanced Wave Memory ) voices and features over 180 digital effects, built-in registration menus, VA (Virtual Acoustic) voices, and a Style-File compatible expanded rhythm and accompaniment section. AWM
4173-528: The Hammond Clock Company , in 1928. As well as clocks, his early inventions included three-dimensional glasses and an automatic bridge table shuffler. However, as the Great Depression continued into the 1930s, sales of the bridge table declined and he decided to look elsewhere for a commercially successful product. Hammond was inspired to create the tonewheel or "phonic wheel" by listening to
4280-531: The Yamaha CS-80 in 1977. In 1983, Yamaha made the first commercially successful digital synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7 . In 1988, Yamaha shipped the world's first CD recorder . Yamaha purchased Sequential Circuits in 1988. It bought a majority stake (51%) of competitor Korg in 1987, which was bought out by Korg in 1993. In the late 1990s, Yamaha released a series of portable battery operated keyboards under
4387-750: The Yamaha YPG-625 was awarded "Keyboard of the Year" and "Product of the Year" in 2007 from The Music and Sound Retailer magazine. Other noteworthy Yamaha electronics include the SHS-10 Keytar , a consumer-priced keytar which offered MIDI output features normally found on much more expensive keyboards. Yamaha is segmented into three primary business domains of musical instruments, audio equipment, and others (industrial machinery and components, etc.) The company began by manufacturing high-end furniture based on its expertise in wood processing for piano manufacturing, and
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4494-426: The fundamental of the note being played, the drawbar marked "16′" is an octave below, and the drawbars marked "4′", "2′" and "1′" are one, two and three octaves above, respectively. The other drawbars generate various other harmonics and subharmonics of the note. While each individual drawbar generates a relatively pure sound similar to a flute or electronic oscillator, more complex sounds can be created by mixing
4601-576: The "Outstanding Performance" award. By the mid to late 1990s Yamaha ceased to sponsor the event as the broader international competition it once was, keeping it a solely Japanese and Asian region contest by the turn of the new millennium. This change, which reflected the company's decision to decrease its global Electone market to these territories exclusively, continues to this day as the Yamaha Electone Concours . International Electone Festival Finals The Electone HX model appears briefly in
4708-400: The "classic" Jimmy Smith sound. In addition to drawbars, many Hammond tonewheel organ models also include presets, which make predefined drawbar combinations available at the press of a button. Console organs have one octave of reverse colored keys (naturals are black, sharps and flats are white) to the left of each manual, with each key activating a preset; the far left key (C), also known as
4815-572: The 1960s, Hammond began to manufacture transistor organs in response to competitors such as Lowrey and Wurlitzer who were offering them, with a greater feature set compared to tonewheel Hammonds. The first organ that bridged the gap between tonewheel and transistor was the X-66, introduced in May 1967. The X-66 contained just 12 tonewheels, and used electronics for frequency division . It contained separate "vibrato bass" and "vibrato treble" in an attempt to simulate
4922-428: The 1970s. Leslie initially tried to sell his invention to Hammond, but Laurens Hammond was unimpressed and declined to purchase it. Hammond modified their interface connectors to be "Leslie-proof", but Leslie quickly engineered a workaround. Some Hammond staff thought Laurens Hammond was being irrational and autocratic towards Leslie, but Don Leslie later said it helped give his speakers publicity. The Leslie company
5029-639: The 1980s, many of the most famous names had ceased home production, but the Electone had successfully transitioned into the modern world of digital synthesizers . The FE, and FX lines introduced in 1983, marked a transition from Theater organ styled instruments, with push buttons being used for selecting sounds, instead of tone levers, which would be carried over to future models and lines afterwards. It would come to compete with new products from Moog Music , Wersi , and later Kurzweil . Electones were to be found not only in homes, especially in Japan and elsewhere in
5136-525: The 1987 science fiction film The Running Man . When Ben Richards is in Amber's apartment (18 minutes into the film), he chases her around the Electone. Two scenes later (at the 20 minute mark), Richards, while standing over it, asks her what it is. Amber calls it her "synthesizer setup" and reveals that she wrote the ICS network jingle. (starting at 5:45 and 9:30 in this clip) Hammond organ The Hammond organ
5243-504: The 8000 Aurora (1976) and 8000M Aurora (1977), which contained drawbars and a built-in rotating speaker. Spinet organs included the K-100 and J-400 series, and the "Cadette" V series. Some models included a headphone jack . The B-3 and C-3 were replaced by the B-3000, designed to be a model for professional use that had the same look and feel of the earlier organs. It contained the same controls, but
5350-566: The A-143 was "warm cherry finish, Early American styling". This model numbering scheme was used for several other series of console and spinet organs that subsequently appeared. The D-100 series, which provided a self-contained version of the RT-3, followed in 1963. The E-100 series was a cost-reduced version of the A-100 introduced in 1965, with only one set of drawbars per manual, a reduced number of presets, and
5457-531: The B-2/C-2 and B-3/C-3, respectively. In 1959, Hammond introduced the A-100 series. It was effectively a self-contained version of the B-3/C-3, with an internal power amplifier and speakers. The organ was manufactured in a variety of different chassis, with the last two digits of the specific model number determining the style and finish of the instrument. For example, A-105 was "Tudor styling in light oak or walnut", while
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#17328557986155564-671: The BV and CV (vibrato only) and BCV and DV (vibrato and chorus). The B-2 and C-2, introduced in 1949, allowed vibrato to be enabled or disabled on each manual separately. In 1954, the B-3 and C-3 models were introduced with the additional harmonic percussion feature, advertised as "touch response percussion control". Despite several attempts by Hammond to replace them, these two models remained popular and stayed in continuous production through early 1975. The last B-3 and C-3 organs manufactured were built from leftover parts, and are not considered as good as earlier models. To cater more specifically to
5671-496: The D-3, Electones featured theatre organ-style color coding for the tone levers, which followed as: white for flutes and diapasons, red for reeds (brass and woodwinds), yellow for string voices (including piano and guitar), and green for percussion voices. Unlike theatre organs however, the tone levers could be individually made louder, similar to a drawbar organ , and had 3 click positions, although they could be adjusted between them. By
5778-455: The ELS-01 with a more compact body, 61 keys on the lower keyboard and an optional pedalboard. The D-Deck comes with all the features of the ELS-01, with the additions also of Organ Flute voices and a second expression pedal. In 2009, the STAGEA typeU series was launched, with only hardware differences between them and their original counterparts. The typeU version omitted the floppy drive UD-FD01 and
5885-603: The ELS-02 such as Super Articulation voices. Unlike the previous D-Deck model, the ELC-02 does not contain a 61 note lower keyboard instead a standard 49 note keyboard resides in its place. Existing owners of the D-Deck can upgrade the main unit to the ELC-02 and use their current stand, expression pedals and speakers as is. In 2022, Yamaha launched a new Electone, the ELA-1 . This model is not part of
5992-563: The FTC claimed that Hammond employees had unfairly manipulated the Skinner organ to sound more like the Hammond. In 1938, the FTC ordered Hammond to "cease and desist" a number of advertising claims, including that its instrument was equivalent to a $ 10,000 pipe organ. After the FTC's decision, Hammond claimed that the hearings had vindicated his company's assertions that the organ produced "real", "fine", and "beautiful" music, phrases which were each cited in
6099-401: The FTC's original complaint, but not included in the "cease and desist" order. Hammond also claimed that although the hearing was expensive for his company, the proceedings generated so much publicity that "as a result we sold enough extra organs to cover the expense." The Hammond Organ Company produced an estimated two million instruments in its lifetime; these have been described as "probably
6206-572: The Hammond organ. Jazz club owners found that organ trios were cheaper than hiring a big band . Jimmy Smith 's use of the Hammond B-3, with its additional harmonic percussion feature, inspired a generation of organ players , and its use became more widespread in the 1960s and 1970s in genres such as rhythm and blues , rock (especially progressive rock ), and reggae . In the 1970s, the Hammond Organ Company abandoned tonewheels and switched to integrated circuits . These organs were less popular, and
6313-531: The New B-3. The XK-3 is part of a modular system that allows an integrated lower manual and pedals to be added. In response to some clones, including a variety of vintage keyboards in a single package, Hammond released the SK series of organs, which include grand piano , Rhodes piano , Wurlitzer electronic piano , Hohner clavinet , and samples of wind and brass instruments alongside the standard drawbar and tonewheel emulation. Keyboard magazine's Stephen Fortner praised
6420-630: The PSS and the PSR range of keyboards. The Yamaha PSS-14 and PSS-15 keyboards were upgrades to the Yamaha PSS-7 with short demo songs, short selectable phrases, and sound effects. In 2002, Yamaha closed its archery product business that was started in 1959. Six archers in five different Olympic Games won gold medals using their products. In January 2005, it acquired German audio software manufacturer Steinberg from Pinnacle Systems . In July 2007, Yamaha bought out
6527-623: The STAGEA ELS-02 series is distributed in both Asia and Mexico. In May 2016, the ELB-02 model was launched as a revamp of the ELB-01 model with more voices and rhythms added as well as the "after touch" feature on the upper and lower keyboards. ELC-02 : In 2016, Yamaha launched the STAGEA ELC-02. This model is a replacement for the STAGEA D-Deck (DDK-7), this model contains most of the features of
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#17328557986156634-541: The STAGEA series, and is currently sold in China and Malaysia. This Electone shares the architecture of the Yamaha PSR SX600 portable keyboard and features 3 keyboards (upper, lower and bass pedals). The International Electone Festival (IEF)/International Electone Concours (IEC) is an Electone Organ competition organized by Yamaha which has its beginnings in the 1960s. The first edition of the competition initiated in 1964 as
6741-650: The Smart-Media card slot. In April 2014, Yamaha launched the STAGEA ELS-02 series. This series features Super Articulation voices, on top of over 900 AWM sounds, 96 VA voices, pedalboard polyphony, effects, and 566 accompaniment rhythms. The ELS-01, ELS-01C and ELS-01X can also be upgraded to the current series by the use of a "Vitalize" unit. The STAGEA ELS-02 series currently has three models: ELS-02 : The standard model, with 506 AWM voices including Super Articulation voices, 506 accompaniment rhythms, and hundreds of audio effects. ELS-02C : The custom model. Other than all
6848-556: The T series used all- solid-state , transistor circuitry, though, unlike the L-100, it did include the scanner-vibrato as seen on the B-3. Other than the T-100 series models, all other T-Series models included a built-in rotating Leslie speaker and some included an analog drum machine , while the T-500 also included a built-in cassette recorder. It was one of the last tonewheel Hammonds produced. In
6955-707: The US, Hammond manufactures a number of dedicated console organs, including the B-3mk2 and the C-3mk2, and the A-405, a Chapel Console Organ. The company has a dedicated Church Advisory Team that provides a consultancy, so churches can choose the most appropriate instrument. The authorized loudspeaker enclosure to use with a console organ was the Hammond Tone Cabinet, which contained an external amplifier and speaker . The cabinet carried
7062-479: The United States. The new company produced their own brand of portable organs, including the XB-2, XB-3 and XB-5. Sound on Sound 's Rod Spark, a longtime Hammond enthusiast, said these models were "a matter of taste, of course, but I don't think they're a patch on the old ones". In 2002, Hammond-Suzuki launched the New B-3, a recreation of the original electromechanical instrument using contemporary electronics and
7169-543: The Yamaha Electone emerged as a prototype concept in 1958, then named "E-T". The Electone series finally made its commercial debut in 1959 with the D-1, a home instrument. By 1980, with the market waning sharply, and some manufacturers ceasing production, the Electone line embraced digital technology . This allowed Electone's survival as the traditional home electronic organ market dried up. The product name "Electone", coined from
7276-622: The Yamaha Music Foundation was established by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization In 1966. Yamaha expanded into many diverse businesses and product groups. The first venture into each major category is listed below. Yamaha announced the singing synthesizer Vocaloid for the first time at the German fair Musikmesse on 5–9 March 2003. Yamaha began
7383-414: The cancel key, de-activates all presets, and results in no sound coming from that manual. The two right-most preset keys (B and B ♭ ) activate the corresponding set of drawbars for that manual, while the other preset keys produce preselected drawbar settings that are internally wired into the preset panel. Hammond organs have a built-in vibrato effect that provides a small variation in pitch while
7490-527: The church market, Hammond introduced the Concert Model E in July 1937, which included a full 32-note pedalboard and four electric switches known as toe pistons, allowing various sounds to be selected by the feet. The model E was replaced by the model RT in 1949, which retained the full-sized pedalboard, but otherwise was internally identical to the B and C models. RT-2 and RT-3 models subsequently appeared in line with
7597-497: The company struggled to survive, proposing the acquisition of a majority stake in Roland in 1972, which the latter turned down. Roland's Ikutaro Kakehashi did not believe it was practical at that point to move the entire manufacturing operation from the US to Japan, and also viewed Hammond's declining sales figures as a problem. In 1985, Hammond went out of business, though servicing and spares continued to be available after this under
7704-647: The company went out of business in 1985. The Hammond name was purchased by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation , which proceeded to manufacture digital simulations of the most popular tonewheel organs. This culminated in the production of the "New B-3" in 2002, a recreation of the original B-3 organ using digital technology. Hammond-Suzuki continues to manufacture a variety of organs for both professional players and churches. Companies such as Korg , Roland , and Clavia have achieved success in providing more lightweight and portable emulations of
7811-524: The concept of "Harmonic Percussion", which was designed to emulate the percussive sounds of the harp , xylophone , and marimba . When selected, this feature plays a decaying second- or third-harmonic overtone when a key is pressed. The selected percussion harmonic fades out, leaving the sustained tones the player selected with the drawbars. The volume of this percussive effect is selectable as either normal or soft. Harmonic Percussion retriggers only after all notes have been released, so legato passages sound
7918-454: The drawbars in varying amounts. Because of this, the Hammond organ can be considered a type of additive synthesis . Hammond manufactured from 1969 onwards have the footage of each drawbar engraved on its end. Some drawbar settings have become well-known and associated with certain musicians. A very popular setting is 888000000 (i.e., with the drawbars labeled "16′", " 5 + 1 ⁄ 3 ′" and "8′" fully pulled out), and has been identified as
8025-413: The effect only on the first note or chord, making Harmonic Percussion uniquely a "single-trigger", but still a polyphonic effect. Before a Hammond organ can produce sound, the motor that drives the tonewheels must come up to speed. On most models, starting a Hammond organ involves two switches. The "Start" switch turns a dedicated starter motor , which must run for about 12 seconds. Then, the "Run" switch
8132-460: The features of the ELS-02, it has an additional 60 AWM voices, VA voices, Organ Flutes voices (with digital drawbars), a second expression pedal, horizontal keyboard touch, and pedal board aftertouch. ELS-02X : The professional model, which contains all the features of the ELS-02C but with both keyboards expanded to 61 keys and the pedalboard expanded to 25 full pedals. Unlike the first STAGEA series,
8239-668: The first year of production (1954), was named in honour of the founder. It was a 125cc, single cylinder , two-stroke street bike patterned after the German DKW RT 125 (which the British munitions firm, BSA , had also copied in the post-war era and manufactured as the Bantam and Harley-Davidson as the Hummer ). In 1955, the success of the YA-1 resulted in the founding of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. , splitting
8346-484: The instrument had been originally designed for use in a church, Hammond realized that the amateur home market was a far more lucrative business, and started manufacturing spinet organs in the late 1940s. Outside of the United States, they were manufactured in greater numbers than the consoles, and hence were more widely used. Several different types of M series instruments were produced between 1948 and 1964; they contained two 44-note manuals with one set of drawbars each, and
8453-462: The look and layout, and the actual sound". The instrument project nearly stalled after a breakdown in negotiations between Japanese and United States staff, the latter of whom insisted on manufacturing the case in the United States and designing the organ to identical specifications to the original. The company has since released the XK-3, a single-manual organ using the same digital tonewheel technology as
8560-595: The minority shareholding of the Kemble family in Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) Ltd, Yamaha's UK import and musical instrument and professional audio equipment sales division. It was renamed Yamaha Music U.K. Ltd in late 2007. Kemble & Co. Ltd, the UK piano sales & manufacturing arm, was unaffected. On 20 December 2007, Yamaha made an agreement with the Austrian Bank BAWAG PSK Gruppe to purchase all
8667-433: The most successful electronic organs ever made". A key ingredient to the Hammond organ's success was the use of dealerships and a sense of community. Several dedicated organ dealers set up business in the United States and there was a bi-monthly newsletter, The Hammond Times , mailed out to subscribers. Advertisements tended to show families gathered around the instrument, often with a child playing it, as an attempt to show
8774-567: The motorcycle division from the company. Also, in 1954 the Yamaha Music School was founded. Yamaha has grown into the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments (including pianos, "silent" pianos , drums , guitars , brass instruments , woodwinds , violins , violas , cellos , and vibraphones ), and a leading manufacturer of semiconductors , audio/visual , computer related products, sporting goods, home appliances , specialty metals , and industrial robots . Yamaha released
8881-425: The moving gears of his electric clocks and the tones produced by them. He gathered pieces from a second-hand piano he had purchased for $ 15 and combined it with a tonewheel generator in a similar form to the telharmonium, albeit much shorter and more compact. Since Hammond was not a musician, he asked the company's assistant treasurer, W. L. Lahey, to help him achieve the desired organ sound. To cut costs, Hammond made
8988-651: The name of the Organ Service Company. In early 1986, the Hammond brand and rights were acquired by Hammond Organ Australia, run by Noel Crabbe. Then in 1989, the name was purchased by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation, which rebranded the company as Hammond-Suzuki. Although nominally a Japanese company, founder Manji Suzuki was a fan of the instrument and retained several former Hammond Organ Company staff for research and development, and ensured that production would partially remain in
9095-625: The older model continued to be available as the AB until October 1938. A model BA of 1938 may be seen and heard at the Musical Museum , Brentford England. Criticism that the Hammond organ was more aesthetically suitable to the home instead of the church led to the introduction of the model C in September 1939. It contained the same internals as the AB or BC, but covered on the front and sides by "modesty panels" to cover female organists' legs while playing in
9202-536: The organ as a center-point of home life and to encourage children to learn music. Hammond organs, as manufactured by the original company, can be divided into two main groups: The first model in production, in June 1935, was the Model A. It contained most of the features that came to be standard on all console Hammonds, including two 61-key manuals, a 25-key pedalboard, an expression pedal, 12 reverse-color preset keys, and one for
9309-451: The original 122 speaker, the company announced in 2013 that they would start manufacturing a standalone Leslie simulator in a stomp box . Although they are sometimes included in the category of electronic organs, the majority of Hammond organs are, strictly speaking, electric or electromechanical rather than electronic organs, because the sound is produced by moving parts rather than electronic oscillators. The basic component sound of
9416-432: The original tonewheel organs. The sound of a tonewheel Hammond can be emulated using modern software audio plug-ins . A number of features of the Hammond organ are not usually found on other keyboards like the piano or synthesizer . Some are similar to a pipe organ , but others are unique to the instrument. Most Hammond organs have two 61-note (five- octave ) keyboards called manuals . As with pipe organ keyboards,
9523-451: The pedals. To address concerns that the sound of the Hammond was not rich enough to accurately mimic a pipe organ, the model BC was introduced in December 1936. It included a chorus generator, in which a second tonewheel system added slightly sharp or flat tones to the overall sound of each note. The cabinet was made deeper to accommodate this. Production of the old Model A cases stopped, but
9630-456: The percussive effect, and it has been accepted as part of the classic sound. Hammond research and development engineer Alan Young said, "the professionals who were playing popular music [liked] that the attack was so prominent. And they objected when it was eliminated." Yamaha Corporation Yamaha Corporation ( ヤマハ株式会社 , Yamaha Kabushiki gaisha , / ˈ j ɑː m ɒ ˌ h ɑː / ; Japanese pronunciation: [jamaha] )
9737-560: The public in April 1935, and the first model, the Model A, was made available in June of that year. Over 1,750 churches purchased a Hammond organ in the first three years of production, and by the end of the 1930s, over 200 instruments were being made each month. By 1966, an estimated 50,000 churches had installed a Hammond. For all its subsequent success with professional musicians, the original company did not target its products at that market, principally because Hammond did not think there would be
9844-453: The sale and production of Vocaloid applications, starting with Lily which was later sold via Internet Co., Ltd. 's website. Their involvement continued with the VY series, with VY1 being the first, released in deluxe and standard editions on 1 September 2010. The VY series is a series designed to be a high quality product for professional musicians. The series is also designed with the intention to set
9951-563: The shares of Bösendorfer , with Yamaha intending to continue manufacturing at the Bösendorfer facilities in Austria. The acquisition was announced on 28 January 2008, after the NAMM Show in Los Angeles. As of 1 February 2008, Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH operates as a subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Yamaha electronics have proven to be successful, popular, and respected products. For example,
10058-623: The single manual SK1, indicated that it gave an accurate sound throughout the range of drawbar settings, and said the organ sound was "fat, warm, utterly authentic". The XK-1c model was introduced in early 2014, which is simply an organ-only version of the SK1. An updated flagship organ, the XK-5, was launched in 2016, and a stage keyboard, the SK-X followed in 2019, which allows a player to select an individual instrument (organ, piano or synthesizer) for each manual. In
10165-399: The sound of tonewheel crosstalk is now considered part of the signature of the Hammond organ, to the extent that modern digital clones explicitly emulate it. Some Hammond organs have an audible pop or click when a key is pressed. Originally, key click was considered a design defect and Hammond worked to eliminate or at least reduce it with equalization filters. However, many performers liked
10272-458: The speaker, that could be closed when the organ was not in use. The D-20 was introduced in 1937 and only allowed sound from the speakers to escape by a louvered opening on one side and a gap in the top. The most commercially successful set of Tone Cabinets were probably the PR series cabinets introduced in 1959. The 40-watt PR40 weighed 126 pounds (57 kg) and was 37.5 inches (950 mm) high. It has
10379-411: The switches selected by the key pressed, determines which tonewheels are allowed to sound. Every tonewheel is connected to a synchronous motor via a system of gears, which ensures that each note remains at a constant relative pitch to every other. The combined signal from all depressed keys and pedals is fed through to the vibrato system, which is driven by a metal scanner. As the scanner rotates around
10486-506: The top seven notes were seldom used. The Hammond Concert models E, RT, RT-2, RT-3 and D-100 had 32-note American Guild of Organists (AGO) pedalboards going up to the G above middle C as the top note. The RT-2, RT-3 and D-100 also contained a separate solo pedal system that had its own volume control and various other features. Spinet models have 12- or 13-note miniature pedalboards. Hammond organ manuals and pedalboards were originally manufactured with solid palladium alloy wire to ensure
10593-403: The two manuals are positioned on two levels close to each other. Each is laid out in a similar manner to a piano keyboard, except that pressing a key on a Hammond results in the sound continuously playing until it is released, whereas with a piano, the note's volume decays. No difference in volume occurs regardless of how heavily or lightly the key is pressed (unlike with a piano), so overall volume
10700-461: The word "Electronic" and "Tone", would become so popular in Japan that in later years, it would become a way to refer to electronic organs in general in the country. Electones built until 1983 were often similar in specifications to a small theatre organ , with a main flute group analogous to the Tibia Clausa , strings (usually at 8' and 4'), and multiple reeds at 16' and 8' pitches. Starting with
10807-467: The world including Hamburg, Toronto, Paris, Hong Kong, Mexico and Singapore before returning to Japan. Notable musicians who were invited to be part of the adjudication panel included Jerry Goldsmith , Raymond Lefèvre and Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer . Participants in the IEF finals had to be at least 16 years of age and competed for medal awards and cash prizes. On almost every occasion, there
10914-532: Was 200 pounds (91 kg) lighter than a B-3. Although promoted by Hammond as a suitable replacement, musicians did not think it had a comparable sound. In 1979, a Japanese offshoot, Nihon Hammond, introduced the X-5, a portable solid-state clone of the B-3. Though transistor Hammonds were criticised for their sound, the company remained commercially successful. Many such models were sold to churches, funeral homes and private residences. Laurens Hammond died in 1973, and
11021-467: Was bulky enough to require several railway cars for its transportation, because the alternators had to be large enough to generate high voltage for a loud enough signal. The Hammond organ solved this problem by using an amplifier . Laurens Hammond graduated from Cornell University with a mechanical engineering degree in 1916. By the start of the 1920s, he had designed a spring-driven clock, which provided enough sales for him to start his own business,
11128-482: Was established in 1887 as a reed organ manufacturer by Torakusu Yamaha (山葉寅楠) in Hamamatsu , Shizuoka Prefecture and was incorporated on 12 October 1897. In 1900, the company manufactured the first piano to be made in Japan, and its first grand piano two years later. In 1987, 100 years after the first reed organ built by Yamaha, the company was renamed Yamaha Corporation in honor of its founder. The company's origins as
11235-420: Was one "Grand Prize" recipient who would receive a gold medal and cash prize which in its last years totalled $ 10,000US. Before 1982, a selection of participants were also presented with special Winner's prizes and the number of recipients of this award varied from year to year. After 1982, "Most Outstanding Performance" awards were presented to two (or in some instances three or four) participants who would receive
11342-463: Was sold to CBS in 1965, and the following year, Hammond finally decided to officially support the Leslie speaker. The T-200 spinet, introduced in 1968, was the first Hammond to have an integrated Leslie speaker. Hammond finally purchased Leslie in 1980. Hammond-Suzuki acquired the rights to Leslie in 1992; the company currently markets a variety of speakers under this name. As well as faithful reissues of
11449-510: Was spun off into a separate company in 1991 with the establishment of YAMAHA Livingtec (YLT). The company manufactured and sold unit baths , system kitchens , and other products. In 1992, the company decided to stop selling system furniture, and after narrowing down its product lineup, it terminated orders and production in 2005 March. In 2010, Yamaha sold its 85.1% stake in YLT to Japan Industrial Partners and three foreign investment funds as part of
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