A Living Fossil?! The World’s Oldest Synthesizer - Two major brands: Hammond and Viscount

2023-05-20

Currently, electronic organs in Japan include Hammond, Nord, Roland, Yahama’s Electone, and Viscount.

To briefly explain once again, an organ is a keyboard instrument that adds texture to the sound by adding overtones.
It mainly uses a speaker called a Leslie speaker to make sound.

Sound House is currently selling Hammond and Viscount organs.
In this issue, I am going to focus on these two companies’ standard models.

VISCOUNT LEGEND LIVE keyB

This two-stage 61-key analog modeling digital organ was released by long respected Italian keyboard brand, Viscount.
This organ’s best feature is that it can be operated intuitively with a sense of operation similar to an analog organ.
Its main feature is that the upper and lower two keyboards can be set up by using two drawbar patterns.
An organ keyboard typically has a set of 9 drawbars, so the total number of drawbars for the upper and lower keyboards is 18, but this model has 38 drawbars which includes 36 plus two for the foot keys.

These drawbars allow for intuitive operation on both the upper and lower keyboards to play Part A and Part B.
The tonewheel is a component that is used in analog organs like the B3 to produce sound. The Legend Live models the movement of the tonewheel that operates the same way as a music box would in order to achieve a warm sound.

Tonewheel-p, Public domain (Wikipedia)

Other functions such as the percussion sound can be controlled by pressing knobs and buttons. Unlike keyboards, synthesizers and other digital instruments, the Legend Live can easily be finely tuned.

The rotary switch operation and vibrato/chorus dial operation are a bit stiff perhaps due to the design’s focus on an analog feel, but this gives the player the sensation of operating a unique mechanism.

The pitch can be minutely adjusted, so it could be possible to reproduce an old analog organ by shifting the pitch slightly from the pure intonation Hz pitch. The dials are designed with the knob removed, so there is no danger of accidentally knocking it out of tune.

The sustain pedal assignment, reverb, 3-band equalizer, and distortion effects were carefully designed for the usage of modern organs, making it possible to reproduce almost all organ tones.

HAMMOND SKX PRO

The SKX Pro is an organ-focused synthesizer released by Hammond.
The SKX Pro is the fourth model in the SK1 series, and features not only the universal organ controls, but also more advanced elements such as synth selections and presets.

The organ setting has a vibrato/chorus sound effect function that is an important element of the organ used on synthesizers, and a knob to adjust the amount of distortion. In addition, only the upper keyboard has this function, but there are percussion sound switches and the FAST/STOP switches on the lower left, allowing for simple organ operations to be performed instantly.

One of the major changes from its predecessor the SK1 to the SKX is the inclusion of a color display.

Synths that have drawbar operation differ in drawbar placement from the modern placement when the tone is selected, and it’s often impossible to know which drawbar is currently in the on position. In many cases, the player must rely on their knowledge and experience, or determine the combination of other tones from the button activation status.
The display not only eliminates these problems, but it also improves visibility and operability through various elements through the combination of functions that allows for the four sections to be stacked as one set, which is a feature that is unique to this synthesizer.

The four sections include the aforementioned organ; a piano section that includes not only piano and electric piano, but it also contains standard piano instruments that are performed on such as the Clavichord, harpsichord, an ensemble section that mainly consists of PCM sound sources such as brass, synth pads, strings, and a mono synthesizer section.

I personally think that the mono synth section is second only to the organ in this regard.
The oscillator (VCO) that selects the waveform and the filter modulation section (VCF) have three elements: excellent cutoff, resonance, and envelope. In addition, there are eight faders for the filter and amp that each have four elements of envelope: attack, decay, sustain, and release.
In addition, the LFO and portamento can be fine-tuned with knobs and faders for instantaneous operation, making it ideal for solos as well as for creating and modulating tones.

If you’re looking for the maneuverability of the original B3 organ, combine the Hammond SKX Pro with accessories.

These two types of products were introduced above, but there are various other products in the series.
Each of these products has evolved with the addition of various functions, but the fundamental functions of the organ have remained unchanged since Hammond developed organs like the B3.
Whether you prefer older equipment or the newest and latest elements, I think you will like this product.
If you are interested in the organ as an instrument, definitely try one out.