Hammond, the story...

The forum for petitions, theoretical discussion, gripes, or other off topic discussion.

Moderator: James Steele

Forum rules
The forum for petitions, theoretical discussion, gripes, or other matters outside deemed outside the scope of helping users make optimal use of MOTU hardware and software. Posts in other forums may be moved here at the moderators discretion. No politics or religion!!
Post Reply
User avatar
Shooshie
Posts: 19820
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Dallas
Contact:

Hammond, the story...

Post by Shooshie »

The Story of Laurens Hammond.
This is the Hammond behind the B3.
Quite the inventor.
I never knew anything about him, so this was interesting. Kinda breezy, like an ad for the company, but assuming it's true, he was really an impressive guy. I'd always wondered about the person who invented the electric clock motor; it was one and the same Laurens Hammond.
It is what it is. Maybe you'll like it, too.

Shoosh
|l| OS X 10.12.6 |l| DP 10.0 |l| 2.4 GHz 12-Core MacPro Mid-2012 |l| 40GB RAM |l| Mach5.3 |l| Waves 9.x |l| Altiverb |l| Ivory 2 New York Steinway |l| Wallander WIVI 2.30 Winds, Brass, Saxes |l| Garritan Aria |l| VSL 5.3.1 and VSL Pro 2.3.1 |l| Yamaha WX-5 MIDI Wind Controller |l| Roland FC-300 |l|
Martini Hill
Posts: 200
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Michigan

Re: Hammond, the story...

Post by Martini Hill »

Really cool Shoosie! Wished I could have been there to give input on the B3. My back still hurts from lugging that thing around for gigs! :-D

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
|l| OS X 10.8.5 ML |l| 2.8 GHz MacBook Pro-8GB RAM |l| DP 9.02 |l| VE Pro 5 |l|Motu MTP AV-#2 MIDI Express USB-#2 2408 Mk II |l| #2 Mackie 400f's |l| Peak Pro 7 |l| Waves 9.x |l| CLA Classic Compressors |l| MPX Master Tape |l| Vocal Rider |l| iZotope Stutter Edit |l| Omnisphere 2 |l| Mach5 2 |l| Sample Tank 2 |l| Sonik Synth 2 |l| Stylus RMX |l| VirHarmonic |l| Albion I |l| VE Pro 5 |l| Superior Drummer 2 |l| EZ Drummer |l| Drumcore 2.5 |l| Garritan Personal Orchestra |l| Many hardware synths.
User avatar
HCMarkus
Posts: 9713
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:01 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Rancho Bohemia, California
Contact:

Re: Hammond, the story...

Post by HCMarkus »

Wouldn't be complete without https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Leslie
User avatar
Shooshie
Posts: 19820
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Dallas
Contact:

Re: Hammond, the story...

Post by Shooshie »

Wow. That casts a different light on Hammond. He may have been quite an inventor, but apparently he had a tin ear. All theory and no soul. How did he hear a Leslie speaker and NOT say "I've gotta have that in my organ?" I had a Conn organ, and even it had a Leslie speaker, way back in 1968.
|l| OS X 10.12.6 |l| DP 10.0 |l| 2.4 GHz 12-Core MacPro Mid-2012 |l| 40GB RAM |l| Mach5.3 |l| Waves 9.x |l| Altiverb |l| Ivory 2 New York Steinway |l| Wallander WIVI 2.30 Winds, Brass, Saxes |l| Garritan Aria |l| VSL 5.3.1 and VSL Pro 2.3.1 |l| Yamaha WX-5 MIDI Wind Controller |l| Roland FC-300 |l|
User avatar
HCMarkus
Posts: 9713
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:01 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Rancho Bohemia, California
Contact:

Re: Hammond, the story...

Post by HCMarkus »

Shooshie wrote:Wow. That casts a different light on Hammond. He may have been quite an inventor, but apparently he had a tin ear. All theory and no soul. How did he hear a Leslie speaker and NOT say "I've gotta have that in my organ?" I had a Conn organ, and even it had a Leslie speaker, way back in 1968.
'Tweech his own, but I'm with you there Shoosh. In fact, I recently picked up the ultimate Leslie simulator... a real (compact - 12" woof) Leslie. The 85 lb. 100 watt baby has had casters installed and now makes its home in my studio. I do a fair amount of organ work, and clients appreciate the real deal!
User avatar
James Steele
Site Administrator
Posts: 21079
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: San Diego, CA - U.S.A.
Contact:

Re: Hammond, the story...

Post by James Steele »

Shooshie wrote:Wow. That casts a different light on Hammond. He may have been quite an inventor, but apparently he had a tin ear. All theory and no soul. How did he hear a Leslie speaker and NOT say "I've gotta have that in my organ?" I had a Conn organ, and even it had a Leslie speaker, way back in 1968.
I found this part especially amusing:
Wanting to keep control of their organ's sound, Hammond went to great lengths to defeat Leslie's invention: changing connectors on newer models, and forbidding Hammond organ merchants to sell Leslie speakers. In 1965 his company was acquired by CBS; Leslie remained as a consultant long enough to see Hammond's death in 1973, at which point Hammond's company warmed to the invention, officially honoring it in 1978. Leslie retired in 1980.
It's kind of funny, in hindsight, that Laurens Hammond went so far as to make an active effort to thwart using a Leslie with his organs. Amazing.
JamesSteeleProject.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Mac Studio M1 Max, 64GB/2TB, MacOS 14.4.1 Sonoma, DP 11.31, MOTU 828es, MOTU 24Ai, MOTU MIDI Express XT, UAD-2 TB3 Satellite OCTO, Console 1 Mk2, Avid S3, NI Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk2, Red Type B, Millennia HV-3C, Warm Audio WA-2A, AudioScape 76F, Dean guitars, Marshall amps, etc., etc.!
User avatar
mhschmieder
Posts: 11282
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Annandale VA

Re: Hammond, the story...

Post by mhschmieder »

We visited his castle a couple of times on school trips and with cub/boy scouts, then I went again once or twice as an adult. You gotta go if you really want to understand the man. Besides which, Gloucester is a cool town.
iMac 27" 2017 Quad-Core Intel i5 (3.8 GHz, 64 GB), OSX 13.6.1, MOTU DP 11.31, iZotope RX 10
RME Babyface Pro FS, Radial JDV Mk5, Hammond XK-4, Moog Voyager

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35
Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, Johhny Marr Jaguar, 57 LP, Danelectro 12
Eastman T486RB, T64/V, Ibanez PM2, D'angelico Deluxe SS Bari, EXL1
Guild Bari, 1512 12-string, M20, Martin OM28VTS, Larivee 0040MH
User avatar
Shooshie
Posts: 19820
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Dallas
Contact:

Re: Hammond, the story...

Post by Shooshie »

James Steele wrote:
Shooshie wrote:Wow. That casts a different light on Hammond. He may have been quite an inventor, but apparently he had a tin ear. All theory and no soul. How did he hear a Leslie speaker and NOT say "I've gotta have that in my organ?" I had a Conn organ, and even it had a Leslie speaker, way back in 1968.
It's kind of funny, in hindsight, that Laurens Hammond went so far as to make an active effort to thwart using a Leslie with his organs. Amazing.
Mind boggling! I can somewhat relate to an older gentleman yelling at young kids to get off his lawn, since he spent his life getting it all green, and doesn't have the joints and energy to fix the damage they do, but "you whippersnapper inventor, you'd better keep your speaker off my electronic organ" is just rife with questions. It doesn't harm it, it gives more options to more people, which means more sales, and it just sounds good. Plus it has a switch for those moments you don't want a tremolo. I can't figure it at all.
|l| OS X 10.12.6 |l| DP 10.0 |l| 2.4 GHz 12-Core MacPro Mid-2012 |l| 40GB RAM |l| Mach5.3 |l| Waves 9.x |l| Altiverb |l| Ivory 2 New York Steinway |l| Wallander WIVI 2.30 Winds, Brass, Saxes |l| Garritan Aria |l| VSL 5.3.1 and VSL Pro 2.3.1 |l| Yamaha WX-5 MIDI Wind Controller |l| Roland FC-300 |l|
Post Reply