Results for Hammond

Bob Leggitt has released Classic-H and Skanksta, two free virtual organ instruments for Windows.

The Classic-H provides the essence of an old tonewheel organ within the VST environment. This VSTi captures the distinctive personality of a classic Hammond/Leslie combination, as well as simulating twin manual operation across a single MIDI keyboard, using a variable key-split function.

Thirty extremely cool presets provide a jumping-off point for almost every type of music, from the ‘Full Throb’ of old time soul to the screaming distortion of Deep Purple-type rock. It does gobble CPU, but it has the sounds, and it doesn’t cost a penny.

The Skanksta is a ska-orientated VST organ, designed to produce a light and bright sound which will fit in well with quite a number of quirky and/or rhythmic music styles.

It’s essentially a Vox Continental II with animation provided by a rotary speaker rather than a vibrato unit, and selectable key-splitting to simulate two manuals across a single MIDI keyboard. The key-splitting is particularly important for reggae-derived styles, where the left hand part will typically contrast sharply in tone with the right hand.

Classic-H and Skanksta are available to download as freeware VST instrument plugins for Windows.

More information: Classic-H / FreeST Skanksta

Tronsonic has released the Organatron M100, a sample library featuring sounds from the Hammond M100.

All 9 drawbars, bass pedals and percussion harmonics from the legendary prog organ – the Hammond m100. As used by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and many other greats from the late 60s and early 70s.

Sampled to worn tape on vintage valve equipment, with complete control over each drawbar via midi – in other words, if you have a midi keyboard with 9 faders you have a Hammond! If that keyboard also has 8 assignable knobs then with the Kontakt instruments you can have control over leslie, reverb/delay, vibrato, and even ADSR envelopes should you feel creative. Designed to evoke the magic of late 60s/early 70s music, it also adds great character to contemporary music, and really comes to life when re-amped through an amp, or even better, a real leslie speaker.

Organatron M100 for Kontakt (compatible with ESX24, NNXT and Structure) is available to purchase for the introductory price of £9.99 GBP for registered users until December 31, 2011 (registration is free).

More information: Tronsonic / Organatron M100

Ueberschall Funky Tonewheels is a new sample library featuring organ sounds by Uwe Kinast and Hakan Türközü.

A dirty-played old tube Hammond Organ slightly overdriven, is the perfect spice for any production where an authentic organ is needed. This loop library contains soloistic played organ licks, many funky rhythm grooves and various chord- and bass grooves. Even unusual and mad played styles found their place in this soundbank.

The whole spectrum of Hammond playing techniques is available: From single lines to shearing styles, from drawbar changing loops to varied Leslie speaker‘s speed and much more.

19 Tonewheel-kits offer you a great opportunity to get inspired by lots of phrases, licks and harmonies.

For this recording, a Hammond Organ C3 and its Leslie 147 was microphoned with 3 Neumann Mics (Treble Rotator 2 Mics , Woofer Rotator 1 Mic) using RME Micstasy Hi End A/D converter.

The sound library comes along with the brand new Elastik 2 loop player for realtime timestretching and pitchshifting, among other great features.

Funky Tonewheels for Windows and Mac (VST/AU/RTAS/Standalone) is available for 49 EUR.

More information: Ueberschall / Funky Tonewheels

Equinox Sounds has released MIDI Keys: Keyboard Riffs of the 60′s & 70′s Vol 2, a piano MIDI chord progressions library by Smash Up The Studio.

You’ll find three awesome MIDI Construction Kits and stacks of loops, performed with breathtaking authenticity and in the styles of some of the huge artists of the era.

Following its best-selling predecessor, this pack also concentrates on those truly memorable chord progressions that never seem to go out of date. Timeless riffs that slot seamlessly into many of todays popular styles.

There are loops designed for acoustic piano, also loops for some of the classic electric pianos of the time such as the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer piano and also the Hohner D6 Clavinet and Hammond organ.

Keyboard Riffs of the 60′s & 70′s Vol 2 features

• 3 MIDI Construction Kits and 70 loops ranging from 4 to 16 bars in length.
• Covers various musical styles including Soul, Funk, Jazz, Rock and Pop.
• Not limited to specific sounds but can use the plug-in of your choice to play back each loop, as well as performing countless other editing permutations.
• A selection of loops are featured in the Loop demo. All MIDI files are tempo-labelled.
• All loops are Royalty-free and have been composed and performed by Steve Burton, exclusively for Smash Up The Studio.

MIDI Keys: Keyboard Riffs of the 60′s & 70′s Vol 2 is available to purchase for $29.95 USD.

More information: Equinox Sounds / Keyboard Riffs of the 60′s & 70′s Vol 2

Hal Leonard Books has published The Hammond Organ by Scott Faragher.

With a foreword written by Al Kooper, the book covers virtually everything one could want to know about the Hammond Organ, from it’s technical components to it’s history and the players who gave it it’s place in the development of American music.

“The Hammond has been around since 1935 and has played an important roll in virtually all fields of American and World music,” said Faragher. “I spent seven years researching and interviewing people for this book, from former and current Hammond employees, to engineers, technicians, and top players in all fields. All musicians should know the history and importance of this remarkable cultural icon.”

The Hammond Organ covers various models from the original 1935 Model A tube/tone wheel organs, to the solid-state (transistor) era, to the current digital age, with production dates and photos for each. The book also provides a complete history of the Hammond tone cabinets, as well as the famous Leslie speaker, with photos and technical data for each. Faragher’s account of the demise of the original company, its limbo, and its rebirth is supplemented by many observations from former and current employees of both the original and the new companies. Also included is a comprehensive buyers’ guide telling where to find and buy a vintage organ, what to look for, which models to avoid, and what to pay, as well as important technical tips.

More than 200 artists in all fields who recorded using the Hammond organ are profiled, with pertinent discographies and photos. Among the many world-famous organists who have contributed to The Hammond Organ through interviews and observations are James Brown, Brian Auger, Goldy McJohn (Steppenwolf), Jimmy Greenspoon (Three Dog Night), Richard “Groove” Holmes, Joey DeFrancesco, Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic), Gregg Rolie (Santana), Rev. Charles Hodges (Al Green), Lenny Dee, Rod Argent (The Zombies, Argent) Greg Hatza, Hank Marr, Gene Ludwig, Melvin Rhyne (The Wes Montgomery Trio), Al Kooper (Blues Project, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Bob Dylan), Carlton Lattimore (Joey Dee and the Starliters).

The Hammond Organ is a must-read for not only Hammond fanatics, but also anyone interested in American music and it’s history.

The Hammond Organ is available from Hal Leonard Books for $29.99 USD.

More information: Hal Leonard Books / The Hammond Organ

Bob Leggitt has released FreeST Mutiny, a virtual polysynth instrument, designed to create retro, analogue-type sounds.

FreeST Munity

The kind of sounds keyboardists used in the days before MIDI. The VSTi is not based on any particular synth model, but was created with an ethos of 1970s simplicity – everything on the front panel, no hidden parameters, what you see is what you get.

I wanted the synth to be musical and have a practical, useful sound set – presets which could go straight into recordings without much tweaking. I feel the presets are a big part of what this VSTi is about.

Bob also released Real Rotor, a rotary speaker effect.

The FreeST Real Rotor VST rotary speaker effect replicates the sound of a mic’d up, valve-type, bass-plus-horns rotary speaker cabinet, as typically used with an old Hammond organ. It’s a development of my original Real Rotor effect, which was integrated into the FreeST VSTX3 virtual organ. Not only does this new version have improvements over the original, it’s also the first time the rotary has been available in its own right, not as part of an instrument. So now the Real Rotor can be used with any VST organ, and indeed any other instruments you feel it would suit.

Bob Leggitt plug-ins are available as freeware for Windows (VST).

More information: Bob Leggitt