Hammond, Hammond and Hammond again, for many a dream. Very expensive for those who want a real one, bulky and difficult to carry, delicate and in need of a lot of attention. For these important reasons we tend to look for an alternative and often choosing the best one is more difficult than deciding to buy "the real thing". The world of Hammond clones is constantly expanding, each time with new technological proposals in order to get as close as possible to our ideal sound, the sound we heard in this or that record and that we want to take with us at all costs. on stage, to the point of having to compromise hard. The cheapest and most practical solution is undoubtedly a desktop clone, to be kept next to or on top of the master keyboard. In this article we put two of the most popular clones face to face and one recently released. Why choose a desktop In fact, there is an even cheaper and lighter solution: software.
In issue 28 of CM2 we talked about the new version of the B4 from Native Instruments and, on balance, we came to the conclusion that using such a software is a valid and wise choice, given the quality of the sound result and given, above all, the convenience in terms of price and portability. But we have not considered the "physical" aspect: an instrument is not just its sound. Playing a Hammond also means having waterfall keyboards (the typical Hammond console keyboard, in the shape of a piano but with a shorter pitch and no edges), being able to operate the drawbars and all the other physical controls. Desktops are a cross between a digital keyboard clone and its software part, and for the right price they don't offer the keyboard but have all the rest of the controls, especially the 9 drawbars. Choosing a desktop could be useful in case you prefer to have only one or at most two keyboards on stage that drive more expanders and that, therefore, serve more things without having to carry around the impossible. Often the “master + modules” solution is chosen for greater versatility, to reduce space requirements or even for an economic factor. Even in the studio, there is a reason for compromise: if the purpose is only to record, a single master keyboard is enough to control the whole arsenal of expanders, samplers, synths, computers and more via MIDI. Also in this case the clone in destkop format combines comfort with ease of use. Why have drawbars? Well, it would be like having a piano without the pedals! It is they who act on the sound and become an integral part of the organ performance. The three desktops I chose for this comparison test (Fig.1) are essentially very different from each other. The Roland VK-8m is a fairly well-known instrument, the Viscount DB-3m (an Italian product) is the evolution of a project previously by the American house Oberheim, the Creamware B4000 ASB is a new product, we have just introduced ourselves. Let's examine them first one at a time and then compare them, complete with audio recording and experiment with real Leslie speaker.
Roland VK-8m I can't deny that Japanese technology stands out right away here. The design wants to look classic, with the walnut edging and the bottom color of the chassis of that beautiful metallic dark gray (Fig.2), but in reality the futuristic imprint catches the eye more than all the rest, starting with the D-BEAM controller, which allows the modulation of certain parameters through the movement of the hand on its invisible infrared light beam, like a species of Theremin. The drawbars are solid and very smooth, with 16 shots each and the footprints imprinted on the front. At the top we find the headphone output, the knob for the general volume, the selector for the type of reverb with relative volume, and the INPUT section which accepts an external signal to be mixed with the sound generated by the device in different ways. Further down there is an endless encoder that allows you to choose the type of Chorus / Vibrato between the six typical positions of the Hammond, and the relative enabling button. At the center is the AMPLIFIER section which uses Roland's COSM technology (Composite Object Sound Modeling) to simulate the characteristics of four different types of amplifiers. With a small button in the center you select the desired amplifier, with the knob on the left you can adjust the degree of distortion and with the one on the right you adjust the tone. The Type IV amp is my favorite not only for the more realistic tone but also because it doesn't increase the volume when you turn up the distortion. The Tone knob is not limited to a simple low-pass filter but varies the overall tone by acting on a wider frequency spectrum. The TONE WHEEL section allows you to choose between three different types of phonic wheels, with different "spurious" harmonic contents, of which the first and second tend to imitate respectively an organ from the 50s or 60s, while the third offers un are “clean”, ie with less contamination. The cutest is the first type, with a more moderate degree of leakage. The adjacent potentiometer is used to adjust the amount of "leakage noise", that is the interference present in the generator of an original Hammond, which characterizes and in a certain way "inflates" the sound especially in the low registers. For the D-BEAM controller there is a multicolored power button which in a very nice way changes color as the hand approaches. Various functions can be assigned to this technological devilry, including the speed change of the rotating speaker, the "Ring Modulator" effect (this will remind Deep Purple lovers!), And two functions that I find very nice: Spring Shock simulates the noise generated by the spring reverb when it is forcibly shaken, and here the lovers of Emerson, Lake & Palmer can have fun, reliving the moments in which Keith Emerson in the show "Pictures at an exhibition" raised his L122, after having stabbed , knocking it to the ground making the springs of its reverb vibrate violently! Another nice function of the D-BEAM is TW-BRAKE which simulates the generator engine turning off, creating an effect like a record slowly slowing down until it stops.
In the center of the VK-8m interface there are the two buttons for controlling the speed of the Leslie simulator, one for switching from SLOW to FAST and vice versa, the other for the BRAKE, that is the brake that stops the rotation of the speakers. Unfortunately it is not possible to bypass the Leslie simulator via the panel commands, and to do this it is necessary to send the following exclusive system string via MIDI, not documented in the manual: F0 41 10 00 4D 12 10 00 20 05 01 4A F7. Also for the Chorus there is a way to choose three different modes, but it is possible to do this only through the following sys-ex strings: '50 Vintage: F0 41 10 00 4D 12 10 00 20 02 00 4E F7; '60 Vintage: F0 41 10 00 4D 12 10 00 20 02 01 4D F7; '70 Vintage: F0 41 10 00 4D 12 10 00 20 02 02 4C F7. Have you noticed that there is not even a small numeric display on the VK-8m? Well, its negative point is precisely programmability, as to access the internal programming parameters it is necessary to use key combinations and have the instruction manual at hand, and thank goodness it comes out in Italian! Proceeding with the analysis of the interface, on the left we find the section dedicated to percussion, with the typical controls for the choice of decay, volume, and harmonic. At the bottom there are the keys for managing the presets and a key that switches the action of the drawbars between the three sections of the organ, upper, lower, and pedals. Let's say that all the fundamental controls for the "performance" are close at hand, well arranged and very manageable, but for the geeks of customization, working on the internal parameters will certainly be a pain! Viscount DB-3m More classic looking (Fig.3 ), less technological, few but essential controls.
The drawbars have a slightly different profile than usual, a little more squared, but they respond very well, they also have 16 clicks and are very solid. To their left are four knobs that control overall volume, reverb level, overdrive respectively, and the last is a six-position mechanical selector for choosing the type of chorus / vibrato. The row of keys at the bottom right includes the commands for percussion, for activating the chorus, for the Leslie simulator and for controlling the presets, while the small numeric display and the buttons below are used for managing the global memories and for internal parameters; everything is laid out in a simple and intuitive way, and everything this tool has to offer is on its control panel. Differences with the VK-8m? Lots! To begin with, we immediately notice that the lower and bass sections are not programmable, rather they have pre-set and non-editable presets. The overdrive is not as aggressive as the Roland, but perhaps more realistic because it tends to simulate just that little bit of tube saturation that a Leslie gives when pushed to the maximum. The "basic" sound of the tonewheels is very good, perhaps the best I have ever heard in a hardware clone, and there is the possibility to choose between four types of scaling, ie the balance between low and high notes. While the VK-8m may sometimes sound too bright, with no possibility of correction except with the use of the equalizer, the DB-3m is undoubtedly more balanced, with excellent response throughout the frequency range. Effects such as spring-shock or ring modulator are missing, but on the other hand there is the effect of the background noise due to the rotation of the phonic wheel motor, and the keyclick is adjustable from the panel and widely customizable. The fundamental characteristic of the sound of this Viscount is the attack of the notes which I find more decisive and realistic. Even the percussion and the vibrato / chorus seem much more faithful than the Japanese clone, but the great flaw of our Italian-American is, alas, the Leslie simulator. I'm sorry to say, but it feels more like a normal vibrato effect than a rotating speaker. At this point, however, I feel compelled to bring up an "out of competition challenger", my Viscount DB-5 (Fig 4 ), the console version, which although it shares the same synthesis engine called ASTM (Advanced Synchronous Tonewheel Modeling) presents a totally different Leslie speaker simulator, much more faithful and realistic than its younger brother DB-3 and perhaps even better than many other existing clones.
Now the question is: why didn't they put the same simulator in the DB-3 (m)? Creamware B4000 ASB This is the third ASB we test on CM2, after the Minimax and PRO-12 seen last month. Indeed the aesthetics of the B4000 maintains the style (Fig.5 ), with mahogany parts and the same knobs used on the other ASBs. The rather fragile feel drawbars are placed in the center and protrude beyond the area occupied by the instrument, making them sometimes awkward to use. The feet are imprinted on the metal shell rather than on the drawbars themselves. The top row of potentiometers includes all the essential controls for sound customization. The first three knobs respectively regulate the level of the keyclick, the crunch of the generator and the overdrive of the Leslie simulator, while the fourth, called "condition" acts on two parameters simultaneously, leakage noise and tonewheels condition, allowing to simulate different types of organs , from a brand new model to a practically run down one. This is followed by separate tone controls and volumes for the four sections: upper, lower, pedals and external input.
And according to the classic scheme, we find the vibrato / chorus controls on the left and the percussion controls on the right, while in the center we find the numeric display with endless encoders for managing presets and MIDI parameters. The B4000 package also includes a CD-Rom containing the PDF manual and the editor for PC and Mac (Fig.6) through which it is possible to organize the presets and manage other functions not accessible directly from the control panel, such as all the possible customizations for the Leslie simulation (rotor speed, microphone positioning, etc.) and velocity response.
I must admit that Creamware had an original idea when developing this clone, although the result did not quite live up to expectations: they practically tried to exploit the MIDI note-on velocity message to simulate the action of the 9-pole contact board present under the keys of a real Hammond. Just to give a brief mention, in a real Hammond organ all the tone wheels are connected to the keys and drawbars through an immense tangle of cables, and under each single key there are 9 different contacts, one for each drawbar, so that when the The performer lowers a key, not always all contacts are closed in perfect contemporaneity, but there could be a very short delay between one contact and the next, in the order of a few moments, depending on whether the key is played quickly or slowly. This small imperfection sometimes radically affects the sound of the original instrument, especially when quick glides are performed with the palm of the hand. Creamware wanted to take advantage of an important MIDI parameter to somewhat simulate this distinctive feature of an authentic Hammond. The sound test: In the CD attached to the magazine, in the DEMO MP3 -> CLONI HAMMOND section, you will find an mp3 file where you can hear examples recorded with our three clones in different ways. For each instrument, a short Jazz clip, one Rock and another of the Lounge genre was played, first all live, i.e. taking the sound that comes out directly from the output of the instruments themselves, then through a Leslie rotary amplifier (Fig.7 ), taken with an AKG C414 B-XLS microphone preamplified by a Universal Audio SOLO 610 (reviewed in this same issue by Antonio Campeglia). For the Jazz clip the classic “power three” setting was used on the upper manual, ie 888 000 000 with 3rd fast normal percussion, and the soft 808 000 000 on the lower. For the Rock genre clip a setting 888 840 000 was used for the upper which on the final turns into a "full" starting first from the acute drawbars, passing the Leslie to fast, while on the lower there is a 858 000 000 for the bass. For the Lounge clip, on the other hand, a setting 800 008 888 was used with Leslie in fast. The flaw of the Viscount concerning the impossibility of varying the drawbars settings for the lower manual is felt and not a little, making it impossible to use the lower for the bass lines. Among the three, the most convincing simulation is undoubtedly given by the Roland VK-8m, strengthened by the Leslie simulation in COSM technology. But when heard through the true Leslie, the most punchy sound is undoubtedly the Viscount DB-3m. The Creamware has a too thin and not very versatile sound, suitable mostly for soft jazz sounds in the Jimmy Smith style. Conclusions: We have seen how these instruments are versatile and comfortable, especially for live performance, but we have also seen how each of them is missing some details, more or less important, so that they are perfect substitutes for a more complete yet more uncomfortable clone. . They all have things in common and each has something the other does not have: all three have 9 great drawbars, all have a nice vintage look and are compact, use external power supplies and have the input for the expression pedal; the Roland has a nice rotary effect but is difficult to program and is too loud; the Viscount has a great basic sound but has a poor Leslie effect; the Creamware has a nice control panel, comes with a software editor and has the simulation of the contact box, but the sound doesn't quite match the other two. The ideal would be the sound of the Viscount with the rotary sound of the Roland and the interface of the Creamware. Wait a minute… but still haven't we said that none of the three are Hammonds? Well, so we will never find perfection!
