A clonewheel organ is an electronic

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

that emulates (or " clones") the sound of the electromechanical tonewheel-based organs formerly manufactured by Hammond from the 1930s to the 1970s. Clonewheel organs generate sounds using

solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their use ...

circuitry or

computer chip An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

s, rather than with heavy mechanical tonewheels, making clonewheel organs much lighter-weight and smaller than vintage Hammonds, and easier to transport to live performances and recording sessions. The phrase "clonewheel" is a play on words in reference to how the original Hammond produces sound through "

tonewheel A tonewheel or tone wheel is a simple electromechanical apparatus used for generating electric musical notes in electromechanical organ instruments such as the Hammond Organ and in telephony to generate audible signals such as Ringing tone. ...

s". The first generation of clonewheel organs used synthesizer voices, which were not able to accurately reproduce the Hammond sound. In the 1990s and 2000s, clonewheel organs began using digitally-sampled real Hammond sounds or

digital signal processing Digital signal processing (DSP) is the use of digital processing, such as by computers or more specialized digital signal processors, to perform a wide variety of signal processing operations. The digital signals processed in this manner are ...

emulation techniques, which were much better able to capture the nuances of the vintage Hammond sound. Clonewheel organs can be either electronic keyboard-based instruments such as the

Korg CX-3 The Korg CX-3 is an electronic clonewheel organ with drawbars that simulates the sound of an electromechanical Hammond organ and the Leslie speaker, a rotating speaker effect unit. The CX-3 was first introduced in 1979. Two models of the CX-3 w ...

or the Roland VK-7; or keyboardless emulation devices, which include

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

-compatible tone modules, such as the E-MU B-3 module and software-based " virtual synths" (such as the B4 by

Native Instruments Native Instruments is a German company that develops, manufactures, and supplies music software and hardware for music production, sound design, performance, and DJing. The company's corporate headquarters and main development facilities are lo ...

iscontinued. To use keyboardless emulation devices, they need to be connected to a MIDI keyboard controller.

History

Original electromechanical Hammond

The Hammond organ is an electromechanical organ that was designed and built by

Laurens Hammond Laurens Hammond (January 11, 1895 – July 1, 1973), was an American engineer and inventor. His inventions include the Hammond organ, the Hammond clock, and the world's first polyphonic musical synthesizer, the Novachord. Youth Lauren ...

in 1934. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

es as a lower-cost alternative to the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

, it came to be used for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, and then to a greater extent in

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

(in the 1960s and 1970s) and

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. The original Hammond organ imitated the function of a

's ranks of pipes in multiple registers by using

additive synthesis Additive synthesis is a sound synthesis technique that creates timbre by adding sine waves together. The timbre of musical instruments can be considered in the light of Fourier series, Fourier theory to consist of multiple harmonic or inharmoni ...

waveform In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time.David Crecraft, David Gorham, ''Electro ...

s from harmonic series to generate its sounds. The Hammond organ's individual waveforms were made by mechanical

s which rotated beneath electromagnetic pickups. The component waveforms can be mixed in varying ratios by using ''drawbars'' mounted above the two keyboards. Hammond organs also have a harmonic percussion effect, in which the 2nd and 3rd harmonic tones can be added to the attack envelope of a note. Hammond organs have a distinctive percussive ''key click'', which is the attack transient that occurs when all nine key contacts close, causing an audible pop or click. Originally, key click was considered to be a design defect and Hammond worked to eliminate or at least reduce it by using equalization filters. However, some performers liked the percussive effect, and it has become part of the classic sound that modern imitators of the Hammond organ have tried to reproduce. The classic way of enhancing the sound of a Hammond organ is to use a rotating speaker known as a Leslie speaker or cabinet.

First "clones"

Transporting the heavy Hammond organ, bass pedalboard (a B-3 organ, bench and pedalboard weighs 425 pounds/193 kg) and Leslie speaker cabinets to performance venues makes it cumbersome for artists to tour with a vintage electromechanical organ. As well, the Hammond, as with all vintage electromechanical instruments, faces the risk of technical problems with the tonewheels or electric motor, which may be difficult to resolve in a touring situation. As such, there was a strong demand amongst musicians for a way of recreating the Hammond sound in a more portable, reliable fashion. Some early emulation devices from the 1970s were criticized for their unrealistic imitation of the Hammond sound, particularly in the way the upper harmonics were voiced, and in the simulation of the rotary Leslie speaker effect. Refinements to Hammond emulations eventually led to the development of relatively light electronic keyboard instruments such as the

(1980), and the Roland VK-1 (1980), which produced fairly realistic re-creations of the Hammond tone. While these instruments were widely used to replace the bulky Hammonds for band tours and club dates, jazz and blues keyboardists still tended to use vintage Hammonds for recordings, because the first clonewheel organs could not reproduce the tonal nuances of the old wooden Hammonds.

1990s and 2000s

By the 1990s and 2000s

and sampling technologies allowed for better imitation of the original Hammond sound, and a variety of electronic organs, emulator devices, and synthesizers provided an accurate reproduction of the Hammond tone, such as the

Kurzweil K2600 Kurzweil is a German-language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adele Kurzweil (1925–1942), Austrian Holocaust victim * Allen Kurzweil (born 1960), American writer * Arthur Kurzweil (born 1951), American genealogist, scholar o ...

and Clavia

Nord Electro The Nord Electro is a series of electronic keyboards, developed in Sweden by Clavia, that digitally emulate electro-mechanical keyboards, such as electric pianos and electronic organs, while designed to be highly portable. Features The origina ...

keyboard. Hammond Suzuki USA currently markets numerous home, church, and professional models that digitally reproduce the sound of vintage Hammond tonewheel organs. Some sophisticated emulation devices have algorithms that recreate many of the nuances of vintage Hammonds, such as the "crosstalk" or "leakage" between tonewheels, the sound of dirty key contacts, key click, a growling tube amplifier, and digital simulations of the rotating Leslie speaker cabinet. Roland VK-7

Currently, there are numerous B-3 "clones" on the market, which range from full-size, dual keyboard behemoths with real Leslie cabinets from Hammond Suzuki (which can cost over $10,000 US), to inexpensive

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. I ...

WK series home keyboards that have a digitally-recreated "tonewheel organ" function (which are available for less than $400 US). In between are numerous keyboard-based models from Hammond, Korg, Roland, Clavia (Nord Series), rack-mounted modules, and software-based "virtual synths" (such as the B4 by Native Instruments) which provide simulations of the B-3 sound. There is even a model by the Pari.E company which uses a modern version of the classic Hammond tonewheels, not a digital simulation. The use of Hammond clones and the merits of using clones versus the vintage electromechanical Hammond is the subject of lively debate amongst musicians. The argument that digital simulations cannot recreate the complex interplay of variables that create the "Hammond sound" (tonewheel leakage, Leslie speaker rotation, etc.) is supported by a review of clones in '' Keyboard Magazine.'' The article, entitled "Clonewheel Heaven", reviewed electronic simulations of the traditional Hammond sound, and claimed that some aspects of the vintage electromechanical Hammonds' sound are not accurately reproduced by clones and emulation devices. Nevertheless, the increasing use of clonewheel organs on recordings by jazz and blues organ solo players is testimony to their sound and tone quality; it is also worth noting the wide variety of tonal variations that exist even among genuine vintage tonewheel Hammond organs. Owing to any number of causes — not least of which are the age of its components and the amount of use a tonewheel organ has had — variations in volume levels between tonewheels, varying levels of key click, and other tonal differences are more common than not. Despite the widespread availability of relatively lower-cost, reliable digital "clones" and emulation devices, and the near-universal use of "clones" for band tours and club gigs, many jazz, blues and gospel keyboardists still have a strong interest in using vintage Hammond organs for studio recordings. Even if a clone is able to accurately reproduce the vintage electromechanical Hammond sound — several companies such as Clavia and Hammond Suzuki are making this claim — performers still have an affection for the look, feel, characteristics and heritage embodied in the much heavier, old wooden vintage instruments.

Format

Clonewheel organs are available in several formats. The first is an integrated keyboard, in which the keyboard and the circuitry that provides the tonewheel emulation is in the same chassis. A second approach is a

sound module A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which th ...

, a tabletop device which only provides the organ sounds; it must be connected to a

MIDI controller A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They mos ...

keyboard to be used. The tabletop units vary in sophistication. The least sophisticated units provide a selection of commonly-used tonewheel sounds. More sophisticated units may have drawbars and a number of knobs and buttons for controlling the sound. The third format is as a virtual instrument, which requires a computer and monitor. The virtual instrument may depict the same types of controls that a real tonewheel organ would have on the monitor. The musician then uses a computer mouse or other input to change the settings.

Instruments

Pre-clonewheel organs

;Early drawbar organs inspired by Hammond: * Vox (designed by JMI, manufactured by JMI,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, Eko and EME) *:

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

/ Continental I (1962–c.1971), Continental II / Super Continental (1966/1967–c.1972), Riviera (1966–c.1972) *

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

A-3 (1966), YC-10 (1969), YC-20 / YC-30 (1970), YC-25D / YC-45D (1972)
Note: during the 1969–c.1970, Yamaha manufactured the Hammond V ''Series'' transistor organs including Cadette V-100 / V-200, according to
Da Hammond Encyclopedia
'. *

Ace Tone Ace Electronic Industries Inc., or Ace Tone was a manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, including electronic organs, analogue drum machines, and electronic drums, as well as amplifiers and effects pedals. Founded in 1960 by Ikutaro Kake ...

TOP-1 (1968/1969), TOP-6 (c.1970)
Note: in the mid-1970s, their joint enterprise with Hammond called ''Nihon Hammond'' manufacture the several transistor Hammond organs in Japan and England, including Cadette VS-300 (after 1973), F1000/F2000/F3000, etc., according to
Da Hammond Encyclopedia
'. * WLM Organ (1972–1984, made in Finland) ;Hammond and related models: *

GT-5, GT-7 (1971, predecessor of Hammond/Sakata models) * Hammond (manufactured by Sakata) X-5 (c.1974/1975), X-2 (1978), B-200 * Roland VK-9, VK-6, VK-09 (c.1978, spin off from Ace Tone) Elka X-50 clonewheel organ

;Italian drawbar organs: *

Farfisa Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professio ...

Professional, Professional Duo (early '70s) VIP series ('70s), Professional 88 and 110 (1977/78), *: and console models "Maharani" and "Pergamon" *

Crumar Crumar was an Italian manufacturer of electronic musical instruments. It was established by Mario Crucianelli in the late 1960s, and manufactured synthesizers and keyboards during the '70s and '80s. Its name is a portmanteau of "Cruci ...

Haven, Organizer, Organizer2, Organizer T1, T2, Tokata, portable models from 1976 to 1980, *: and consoles 203, 204, 205, 2002, 2003 *

Elka ELKA, Elka, or Elkas may refer to: * Aspioti-ELKA, Greek publishing and printing firm, active 1873–1997 * An Italian synthesizer manufacturer, now defunct; brand now owned by Generalmusic, used for their amplifier products ** Elka Synthex, a synt ...

X50 (1982), X55, X605 and X705 (1977–1981)

"X-50 ''— ... "Hammond emulator"'' / X-705 ''— "Full set of Hammond-clone drawbars with seven percussion settings, a full drum machine that was quite impressive for the time, and an 11-preset synth with sounds like guitar, trombone, clarinet, and sax. The synth sounds were polyphonic on the top manual and monophonic on the bottom and pedals. Used by Jean-Michael Jarre. Made from '77 to '81, original price £2662." (Thanks, Les!)''"

* Solton Legend (1980s), B-1000 (c.1977, ''CRB Diamond 910M'') / B 1000 s (c.1981) ''etc.''.

Early clonewheel organs

* Hammond B-3000 (1976/1978, utilizing LSI for multiplexing, etc.)

[In English: "''In 1975, Hammond stop the operation of a tonewheel organ factory in Chicago after the manufacturing of last B-3 ... In 1976, Hammond released a new model B-3000 using a breakthrough mechanism, multiplex system. ... The model B-3000, released in the following year of B-3's discontinuation, was just a model on which Hammond engineers noticed the needs of reproduce of all-elements on tonewheel organ.''"]

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...

Korg CX-3, CX-3, BX-3 (1980, analog) * Roland VK-1 (1980, analog) * Hammond (manufactured by Suzuki) Super-B (1986, a first all-digitally sampled organ from Hammond)

Major clonewheel organs

* Hammond Suzuki XB-1, XB-2 (1991), XB-5 (1993), XB-3 (1994), XC-3 (1995), *: XM-1 / XMc-1 (1997, module), XM-2 / XMc-2 (2006, module), *: XK-2 (1999), XK-3 / XLK-3 (2004), XK-1 (2006), XK-3c (2008), SK1 / SK2 (2011), *: and console models New B-3 (2002), New B-3 mk2, and XH-272 Elegante. *

New CX-3 and New BX-3 (2000) *

Clavia Clavia Digital Musical Instruments (Clavia DMI AB) is a Swedish manufacturer of virtual analog synthesizers, virtual electromechanical pianos and stage pianos, founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1983 by Hans Nordelius and Mikael Carlsson. Since 19 ...

''Series'' (2001–),

Nord Stage The Nord Stage is a digital keyboard or stage piano, manufactured by Clavia Digital Music Instruments of Stockholm, Sweden. There have been five editions of the instrument: the original Nord Stage in 2005, the Nord Stage EX in 2008, the Nord ...

''Series'' (2005–), Nord C1 / C2 / C2D Combo Organ (2007–), Nord Pedal Key 27 MIDI pedalboard * Kurzweil K2500, K2600, PC2, PC2X, PC3, PC3X, PC3K, PC3A (KB3 mode, modeled tone wheel) * Roland Rhodes VK-1000, Roland VK-7, VK-77, VK-8, VK-8m, VK-88, VR-760, and VR-09 (V-Combo) ;Others: * Böhm Emporio *

CTK-691/900/7000/''etc.'', WK-3000/3200/3300/3700/3800/''etc.'' – providing digital drawbar organ function. *

Creamware Creamware is a cream-coloured refined earthenware with a lead glaze over a pale body, known in France as '' faïence fine'', in the Netherlands as ''Engels porselein'', and in Italy as ''terraglia inglese''.Osborne, 140 It was created about 17 ...

B4000 (Tonewheel synthesizer) * Diversi Musical Instruments DV-Solo, DV-Duo, DV-Duo Plus * Ferrofish B4000+ *

E-MU E-mu Systems was a software synthesizer, audio interface, MIDI interface, and MIDI keyboard manufacturer. Founded in 1971 as a synthesizer maker, E-mu was a pioneer in samplers, sample-based drum machines and low-cost digital sampling music ...

B-3 module * KeyB/DLQ www.keyborgan.com KeyB Duo, KeyB Solo, KeyB Expander *

Oberheim Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim. History and products Tom Oberheim founded the company in 1969, originally as a designer and contract manufacturer of electronic effects devices for Maestro (most ...

OB-3, OB-3² ( 'Oh-Bee-Three-Squared'' module) and OB-5 * Roland Atelier AT-900, AT-900c, AT-800 * Studiologic Numa Organ * Tokai TX-5

"''O Tokai TX-5 ... O modelo "combo" inclui: TX-5 Classic + Lower + pedaleira PD-2 + móvel ( todas estas peças podem ser adquiridas separadamente )''"

See also: "
About us
''". * Vermona Formation 1, 2, 3 and 3M *

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

DB-3, DB-5, Legend, Live, Solo, * Voce microB-II V3, V5, V5+ and Key5 * Wersi Louvre, Scala, Verona, Giga Piano – a German company. *

Reface YC (2015) * KeyboardPartner HX3 (Hardware-based physical model) – www.keyboardpartner.com ;Software : There are also software emulations available: * GSi VB3 (shareware,

VST VST may refer to: * Vancouver School of Theology, a theological graduate school in British Columbia, Canada * VST, Stockholm Västerås Airport in Sweden (IATA airport code) * Vehicle safety technology * Virtual Studio Technology, Steinberg's stand ...

plugin) (founded by Guido Scognamiglio) As of 2010s, the product line of Genuine Soundware and Instruments (GSi; founded by Guido Scognamiglio) is distributed by V.M. Connection di Andrea Agnoletto (V.M. Connection;

Quarto d'Altino Quarto d'Altino is a town in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, Italy. SP41 provincial road goes through it. The name "Quarto D'Altino" is composed by the prefix "Quarto" because the town was a quarter of a mile from the Roman city Altinum. ...

, Italy) * * Linplug Organ 3 (previously known as daOrgan) *setBfree (open source, standalone or plugin) *

B4, B4 II ;Controllers * Hamichord M-C3 (powered by GSi VB3 Hamichord edition II)

"''HAMICHORD M-C3 ORGAN MIDI CONTROLLER ... In its full configuration ( Meaning M-C3 +
Exp-edition
' ) Hamichord has a PC running Microsoft Windows XP-embedded that runs your favorite organ software. The sound engine of Hamichord is a SPECIAL VERSION OF GSI VB3 called VB3 HAMICHORD EDITION II.''"

Note: after the acquisition of CRUMAR by BGMI, th
same page
can be found under th
''discontinued'' page
on crumar.it.
Hamichord had been distributed (or produced) by BG's Musical Instruments (BGMI),

"''Bg's Musical Instruments have more than 40 years of History. The Bg's Srl society was created in 2003 by Mr Mauro Baldassari and Mrs Maria Grazia Gioielli, the daughter of Mr Alfredo Gioielli, the "father" of the Italian Electromagnetic organ, PARI '' riginating from the generators created by Anton Parie in Belgium in the early 1960s'. The big experience of Mr Alfredo, producer of organs from 1966 to 1982 ... The idea of re-make an organ with genuine electromagnetic tonewheel generator was in our heart from many years and finally, in 2003 we were able to do it: this is the birth of the new K-61 electromagnetic organ together with our Rotary speakers cabinets. ... With our growing range of product ... : Hamichord, Pari.e, Rotary, GSI, Crumar, ...''"

then its successor model under Crumar brand has been introduced as following: ** Crumar MOJO (powered by GSi VB3 version II) In the late 2000s,

brand have been acquired and revived by BG's Musical Instruments (BGMI;

Castelfidardo Castelfidardo (Marchigiano: ''Castello'') is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Ancona, in the Marche region of central-eastern Italy. It is remembered for a Piedmontese victory over an army composed of foreign volunteers defending th ...

, Italy) / V.M. Connection di Andrea Agnoletto (V.M. Connection;

, Italy), and as of 2010s, the former BGMI's product line have been dealt by V.M. Connection.

Electromagnetic tonewheel organs

* PARI.E K-61 (2006–c.2010s) – an Italian-made B-3 clone which uses an actual electromagnetic tonewheel generator, albeit of modern plastic construction. Also Leslie-clones were made. The origin of PARI.E, the ''Pari organ'' was a tonewheel organ produced by Anton Parie in Belgium in the early 1960s, then the production of XT0 model was moved to Italy by Alfredo Gioielli around 1969, according to th
HammondWiki
*

"''The generator of Pari organs was created by Anton Parie, who started production of an electromagnetic organ in Belgium in the early '60s. Around 1969, production of XT0 model was moved to Italy by Alfredo Gioielli ...''", "''In 2005 Pari factory re-opened with the name of "PARI.E" the means "pari-electromagnetic" starting the production of a new organ, ... In the latter part of 2006, Pari started production of a new two-manual organ, the new K-61 (and a portable version, the K-61P).''"

For details of old Pari organ, see: *

Notes

References

* (officially supported by Hammond U.K.) {{Electronic organs * Electronic organs Electric and electronic keyboard instruments