Hammond Organ Heaven

You could walk into a grandma's house--probably one out of ten in the 1970s--and would see a beautiful wooden console keyboard in the corner next to a couch covered in protective plastic. I'll admit I took those old spinet organs for granted. Sure, its still common to see a rock concert stage fitted with a Hammond B3 or C3, but those smaller-sized organs seemed to be the ones old folks would buy to power up for family gatherings at Christmas. I'll bet many a Hammond spinet organ found its way into a trash heap, the value unbeknownst to those cleaning out grandma's house.

Hold on before you make that mistake! As I have learned from my dear friend Kevin Shaw, those old Hammond keyboards can still, if in solid working order, put out the wonderfully mind-blowing tones that we all cherish.

A Hammond M3, similar to the one Kevin's restoring.

I have an indelible memory of hearing a rock band with a Hammond organ back in the 60s at Disneyland. The swirl and stereo effect of the organ/Leslie combo helped give bands a signature sound. Deep Purple and other groups like Procal Harrum with "A Whiter Shade of Pale," Argent's "Hold Your Head Up," songs by Emerson, Lake and Palmer and late-70s rockers like Foreigner, Styx and Kansas, are all known for using a Hammond. The slightly distorted organ helped glue each band's sound together and paired so well with the dirty dual guitars that filled our stereo speakers.

Arguably, little spinets like grandma's Hammond M3 can sound mighty close to their big brother, the B3, albeit with fewer bells and whistles.

I wrote earlier this spring of a Hammond M3 that my buddy Kevin Shaw masterfully restored for my church. Once we got that thing up and running for our worship band to enjoy, I started to pray for my own Hammond set up--and I don't even play keys!

Leslie 120 cabinet

This past week I visited Kevin and he pointed to a Leslie 120 in the corner of his shop. We hooked it up to one of his fabulous-sounding guitar amps--and there it was: the swirling, room-filling tone that guitarists die for (remember that George Harrison "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"?). Its the real thing!

He then took me out to his fabrication shop and showed me the Hammond M3 he was fixing. Kevin asked me if I was interested in purchasing both the M3 and the Leslie cabinet after he completed the repairs...Is the pope Catholic?!...YES!!

So, this weekend Kevin's bringing the M3 and the Leslie over to my place. I am looking forward to using this rig for organ overdubs but am equally looking forward to using the Leslie for some of that classic guitar swirl that most players can only get from using pedals. Yep! I'll be be in swirl heaven.