Hammond Central

Northern California's Source For The New Era Of Hammond Organ

 

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Hammond Central
- Service
- Contact
- Hear the New B3

Hammond Products
- The New B3
- The Portable New B3
- The Hammond 935
- A-305
- The XK Traditional System
- The XK Pro System

Leslie Products
- The 971
- The 122XB
- The 122A & 147A
- The 2100 Portable Leslie
- The 3300 Portable Leslie

Archives (discontinued)
- The Leslie 771
- XB-3M
- XE1 Keyboard System

Links

Events & Concerts

Hammond Central
HAMMOND CENTRAL
255 W. Fallbrook, Suite 101
Fresno, CA 93711
Voice: 559-432-5700
Toll Free: 877- 432-5700
Fax: 559-432-6700

E-Mail:
Cliff Unruh
Info


PORTABLE B-3

The PORTABLE B-3, like the NEW B-3 is an exact digital duplication of Hammond's original B-3. Except now you'll enjoy the ability of being able to take your instrument with you whenever you want. It comes in several lightweight components making it easy to set up and take down.

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PURE Hammond
Since its introduction in 1955, the Hammond B3 has become the essential performance tool for the worlds great keyboard players. The instantly recognizable B3 sound is synonymous with the world of popular music, while no concert stage would seem complete without a B3´s imposing wooden design. Now look at the Portable B3. Simple clean lines. All that magnificent and glorious sound. And portable.

B3 design specifications
Now, for the first time Hammond has exactly replicated the original B3 design specifications with the introduction of the NEW B3.

Sound generator system
The unique B3 sound is reproduced by a revolutionary newly designed sound generator system (96DigitalToneWheels™), which recreates all of those wonderful idiosyncrasies of the Tone wheel generator which have eluded all previous digital systems.

Waterfall keys & harmonic drawbars
Two, 61 note, B3 style, waterfall key, keyboards allow for the essential performance characteristics of the Hammond masters, especially effortless palm glissandos. While four complete sets of nine traditional harmonic drawbars and twenty four reverse colour key presets achieve total ease of set up.

Mechanical multi-contact system
It is by utilizing several tone varying features that the B3 performs so uniquely. Upper and lower pitch foldback subtly effects the overall sound, while, probably, the most important and interesting feature is the nine key contact system operating on each key. These contacts connect from each of the nine drawbar pitches and by pressing a key slowly each pitch level can be determined, high to low. This system created the earliest form of touch response for tone variance as well as expression. This mechanical contact system is also responsible for Hammond´s famous key click noise, an unintended feature that became an essential component of the B3 character. The NEW B3 incorporates a complete mechanical contact system, totally unique in a modern instrument.

B3 expression curve
Sound dynamics are controlled by an exact copy of the original B3 expression
curve incorporated in the new instruments foot volume controller.

 

Prestige                         
Performance
                         Quality

These are the terms that best describe the Hammond
New PORTABLE B-3 Organ. This instrument is dedicated to
all performers and lovers of organ music who demand
nothing less than the finest in tonal reproduction
whether their appreciation is for the classic masterpieces
of Bach or the sparkling modern arrangements of
contemporary composers and artists. The Hammond
New PORTABLE B-3 Organ - from it's stylish eye-catching
design to the precious metal palladium contacts
in the heart of this truly magnificent instrument
there is nothing to compare it to, except of course,
to the magnificent sound of the legendary B-3.

The Heart and Soul of the New PORTABLE B-3

Digital Tone Wheel™ Sound Engine
and
Direct Analogue Keying™

Let us now consider the new digital tone generator and see how it produces the sound. The unique Hammond B-3 sound is reproduced by a revolutionary newly designed sound generator system (96 digital Tone Wheels). This new digital Tone Wheel generator perfectly generates pure tones that is tones which have no harmonic content of their own. This purity is essential in order to attain a desirable tonal cohesion between the fundamental and its harmonics when they are mixed through the use of the drawbars.

When a manual key is pressed, it closes 10 small electrical switch contacts. These contacts are connected to the digital Tone Wheel generator as well as to the drawbars. The positions of the drawbars (which are under control of the player) determine the intensities of the individual electrical currents corresponding to the fundamental and its harmonics.

 

 

Preset Combinations

Each manual of the organ is equipped with nine pre-set combination keys. In addition, there are two sets of manually adjustable controls for each keyboard, thus making twenty-two different registrations which are instantly available, in addition, of course, to the many thousands of variations available by adjustment of the "harmonic drawbars." "VIBRATO AND CHORUS" has six possible positions corresponding to three degrees of vibrato and three degrees of vibrato chorus. The control pre-selects the extent of vibrato or vibrato chorus which will be obtained when either of the manual vibrato "ON-OFF" stops is used.

The Selective Vibrato Stops

The great and swell manuals are provided with separate "ON OFF" vibrato
controls in the form of tilting stop tablets. The rotating control "VIBRATO AND CHORUS" has six possible positions corresponding to three degrees of vibrato and three degrees of vibrato chorus. The control preselects the extent of vibrato or vibrato chorus which will be obtained when either of the manual vibrato "ON-OFF" stops is used.

 

Rotary Control Panel

The new Hammond B-3 has a Rotary Control Panel which is located underneath the manuals on the extreme left side. The organist can use these controls to adjust the sound of the instrument such as: master volume, bass, treble, reverb, overdrive etc.

MIDI

The New Hammond B-3 has a MIDI OUT jack which is located underneath the organ on the left side. To control another MIDI instrument (synthesizer, sound module, etc.) from the organ, connect the MIDI OUT from the organ to the MIDI IN of the instrument you want to control.
Due to the unique tone-generation system of the New Hammond B-3, it does not implement MIDI IN or MIDI THRU.

 

 

Multiple
Speaker Connection

The New B-3 Hammond Organ has two 11-pin Leslie connectors, one marked MAIN and the other marked ECHO, making it easy to connect multiple Leslie Speakers to the organ.

 

Speed Switch


A Leslie Speed Switch is provided with the New B-3 Hammond Organ to allow control of the Leslie Speaker rotors from the organ console.

 

 

Main/Echo Switch


When two Leslie Speakers are connected to the organ, the optional Main/Echo switch will allow the sound to come from only the Main cabinet, only the Echo cabinet, or both cabinets simultaneously.

 

 

"New" PORTABLE B-3

ORIGINAL B-3

KEYBOARDS

61-61-25

61-61-25

PRESET KEY 

12keys

12keys

 

Mechanical Latch

Mechanical Latch

DRAWBARS

 

 

SWELL (UPPER)

9 pitches 2 sets

9 pitches 2 sets

GREAT (LOWER) 

9 pitches 2 sets

9 pitches 2 sets

PEDAL

2 pitches

2 pitches

PRESET MEMORY

Compact Flash card

Change by Preset Panel

KEYING METHOD

Direct Analog Keying

Direct Analog Keying

CONTACT

10-Mechanical contacts

9-Mechanical contacts

 

+Rubber contacts w/velocity

 

POLYPHONY

Full Polyphony

Full Polyphony

GENERATOR (Manual)

96-Digital Tone Wheels

91-Tone Wheels

GEN. WAVEFORM

Changeable by CFcard

Fixed

 

(Flash ROM)

 

GENERATOR (Pedal)

VASE II

Tone Wheels

VIBRATO/CHORUS

V1, V2, V3, C1, C2 ,C3

V1, V2, V3, C1, C2 ,C3

 

SWELL ON, GREAT ON

SWELL ON, GREAT ON

LESLIE

SLOW, STOP, FAST

SLOW, FAST

CONTROL

OVERDRIVE

 

 

REVERB

 

TONE CONTROL

BASS , TREBLE

 

TERMINAL

LINE IN, LINE OUT,

 PHONO INPUT

 

11-Pin LESLIE SOCKET

6-Pin LESLIE SOCKET

 

HEADPHONE

 

 

MIDI OUT

 

EXT MEMORY SLOT

COMPACT FLASH CARD

 

DISPLAY

20 x 2 digits LCD

 

WEIGHT

175 lbs. (Assembled)

419 lbs.

DIMENSIONS

52"x 29"x 38"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2003, Hammond Central