Too many tear drops
August 30, 2004 12:57 AM   Subscribe

Banned by the Vatican and created by a tone deaf engineer... presenting the Hammond.
posted by drezdn (20 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
It is good to see that in times when there is so much strife, war, crime, famine and moral corruptness in the world (not to mention the kiddy fiddling within the church itself) that the Catholic church is still able to concentrate on the really important issues like banning a particular type of church organ. Rock on!
posted by DrDoberman at 3:20 AM on August 30, 2004


That article is from 1949, Dr. Doberman. Just about every Catholic church I've ever been in has a Hammond organ now.
posted by sciurus at 4:09 AM on August 30, 2004


I bow to your superior knowledge; personally I wouldn't go inside any institution that 'condones by cover-up' rampant paedophilia.
posted by DrDoberman at 4:18 AM on August 30, 2004


MeTa!
posted by sciurus at 4:32 AM on August 30, 2004


It should have been banned by the medical authorities.
Hammond Organ simulator: fill refrigerator with bricks, carry up and down stairs.
posted by crunchburger at 5:13 AM on August 30, 2004


Well, I hate to re-rail this thread, but when it comes to organists my fave, and one hot babe, is Nancy Faust who plays a mean Hammond for the Chicago White Sox. I believe she was the first to use the "na na hey hey good bye" riff in baseball, though I could be wrong about that.

Ah, but the Hammond B3 (with leslie) was the favorite among some rocking musicians including Billy Preston, Rick Wakeman, and the Allman Brothers a few decades back. It was also popular among jazz musicians. I've heard attempts to synthesize the sound but it comes off sounding weak compared to the Real Thing.

The organs themselves used an interesting technology called the Hammond tone wheel. And I know nobody asked but there is a Hammond Wiki.
posted by SteveInMaine at 6:22 AM on August 30, 2004


Speaking as someone who's helped load and unload a B-3, crunchburger, that's great.
posted by Vidiot at 6:54 AM on August 30, 2004


Damn, I can't believe I left out one of the masters of the Hammond, Brian Auger. If you've never had the pleasure give him a listen. Through his career he played straight jazz and crossed over to fusion. He could (and probably still can) play that Hammond!

I guess it's time to dig up some of my old vinyl and listen again.

By the way, drezdn's first link can be difficult to wade through, but I think it speaks more to acceptance of technology by the catholic church than anything. They have a history of that going back to Galileo.
posted by SteveInMaine at 6:57 AM on August 30, 2004


It should have been banned by the medical authorities.
Hammond Organ simulator: fill refrigerator with bricks, carry up and down stairs.


Absolutely. My Mom accepted a Hammond as a gift and soon decided she didn't want it. It was a later model with no collector's value, and there are plenty of them floating around. You can't get rid of the things. It must've weighed at least 350#. First she tried to sell it, then she tried, with growing desperation, to give it away. A year later, there it sat.

One kind citizen said he'd haul it to the dump for $165 (a fee he had once collected successfully from another unlucky Hammond owner.)

I ended up dismantling it piece by piece to fit it in two large garbage bins, then I kept the wooden shell to make into a nifty old-fashioned-style desk for myself.

Sheesh.
posted by Shane at 7:00 AM on August 30, 2004


That's a cool desk.
posted by crunchburger at 7:22 AM on August 30, 2004


*steps out of the shadows*

I play keys for ubiquitone, Americana Rock from Baltimore/DC. Early on I pegged that organ sound as essential for any rock 'n roll keyboard player, so my rig now contains a Leslie 145. It moves enough air to scare the lead guitar player, so I'm happy :)

A full-size Hammond organ is an insane proposition unless accompanied by a dedicated roadie or four.

*relurk*
posted by joecacti at 7:34 AM on August 30, 2004


joecacti: Yabbut they now appear to sell a Portable B3, which does not seem to be quite so hernia-producing for the road. Say, I see your band has conveniently provided some sample mp3s for download. Thanks!

I remember when I was a kid, the catholic church I attended had a B3 with HUGE wall-mounted leslies. The music was beautiful when they could find somebody who really knew how to make that instrument sing.
posted by SteveInMaine at 7:56 AM on August 30, 2004


I rather like Native Instrument's B4 simulator but then again I've had hardly more than a few moments on a "real" hammond. I like the variety of sounds you can get out of one. From low down blues to "Hey, isn't that Philip Glass?". With my native instruments version I can carry it around in a laptop.

If anyone has one they want to get rid of I'll take it. Seriously. Sheesh, 350 pounds, that's nothing. One of my hobbies is woodworking, and particularly I'm into vintage WW equipment. Try 1500 pounds for a big old band saw and we'll talk. I recently slobbered over a Tannewitz so large you had to carve a depression into your floor so that the table would still be low enough to use. Maybe I should do an FPP on that some day, there is some fascinating stuff out there (well, to me).
posted by RustyBrooks at 8:02 AM on August 30, 2004


Jimmy Smith. As far as I'm concerned, the Hammond was invented for Jimmy Smith to play it.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:48 AM on August 30, 2004


Jon Lord of Deep Purple. Hammond organ is all over the Mk II albums.
posted by mischief at 9:28 AM on August 30, 2004


mischief, I saw Deep Purple live in '95, and Jon Lord was still using the Hammond organ on stage.
posted by riffola at 9:48 AM on August 30, 2004


I love the Leslie sound, whirr whirr whirrr. The history page link is great, thanks.
posted by Peter H at 9:59 AM on August 30, 2004


Two words about Hammond B-3 masters:
Howard Wales.
posted by Lynsey at 10:45 AM on August 30, 2004


I recently slobbered over a Tannewitz so large you had to carve a depression into your floor so that the table would still be low enough to use.

In another forum, this would seem to be an incredible amount of hidden innuendo, laced with odd double speak ;)
posted by Peter H at 11:56 AM on August 30, 2004


Just about every Catholic church I've ever been in has a Hammond organ now.

And just when I thought I had finally found something I agreed with the Vatican about. Too bad.
posted by dagnyscott at 7:07 AM on August 31, 2004


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