hedsound-B3-Organ-Presets
Another nice gift for organ enthusiasts!
After a long research and effort, a new soundfont is ready to use: hedsound-B3-Organ-Presets in sf2 and sf3 formats.
Demo songs (mscz), instrument.xml and a template is included.
https://www.hedsound.com/2019/11/hedsound-b3-organ-presets.html
PS: If you don't know what B3 is, you don't need to look at it.
Comments
Hah! Sounds pretty much right -- I owned one for 25 years. Note that Hammond Organs of the era (B-3, C-3, RT-3) were internally identical (although the RT-3 had 32, not 25 pedals, and a kludgy one-note-at-a-time additional Pedal sound unit). The B-3 was the easiest to move around.
In reply to Hah! Sounds pretty much… by [DELETED] 1831606
Thanks for your comment.
Actually, I started by examining the A100, followed by the B3 and C5.
I also examined the M3 and the T-500. The L100 was also examined.
What I focused on were: weaknesses and strengths.
For example: 91 tonewheels is an amazing positive side.
One of the drawbacks is the seventh harmonic is that it is not included in the drawbars.
The secret of Hammod is that he has chosen the right proportions for sound attenuation.
Eight steps from "ppp" to "fff" are a good choice.
Another interesting choice is set to three decibels increments. (24dB total)
I think the secret of the three decibel increase is: He may have wanted to use the limits of hearing the average person. Because somewhere in the one of the documents, something similar to the phrase "barely noticeable increase" is mentioned.
And another interesting thing is that the system used in the models differs from the patent document in some places.
It is not surprising that the 25-pedal system, another accurate choice, is almost de-facto standard. One octave will be insufficient, more than two octaves will take up a lot of space and cost.
Although Hammond has tried different options in each model, the features of the popular models are obvious: Percussion, Bass Pedals, Vibrato and Chorus and Nine-Drawbars.
There are also many models that are not popular: ChordOrgan, Solovox, Extravoice series.
I keep the Spinet models separate. Because they are produced especially for home use. These models have some missing features. (For cost-effectiveness)
When Hammond first produced these organs, his entire goal was small and medium-sized churches throughout the country. He didn't have the slightest hope that home users would buy it (he later found out that his assumption was wrong)
There are many things I want to write, but I think that's enough.
In reply to Thanks for your comment… by Ziya Mete Demircan
The choice of 25 pedals ruined my pedal technique for decades, and probably that of other organists who came via this path. This burden was based upon reasoning similar to what you say above, ... "two should be more than enough", with not even a nod given to organ repertoire, the idea that some home or church Hammond owner might want to use the novel device to play music written for, of all things, the organ by actual organist-composers of the past. As I've said before, I learned to classify the Bach organ oeuvre into those which did not exceed Mr. Hammond's "wise choice" and those which did. BWV 565, 582, 552 OK, but not 532, 540, 542. Christus der uns selig macht but not Gott, durch deine Güte, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (659) but not the ebullient Nun freuet euch (734) which preceded it in Peters' alphabetical edition. And but for that one critical climactic D4 in BWV 545... rule out anything with cantus firmus in tenor pedal ...(although BWV numbers were not yet in wide use then.).
In reply to The choice of 25 pedals… by [DELETED] 1831606
Of course, it's awful for the player to know that the note he's looking for doesn't exist there and try to adjust the playing style accordingly (Octave down, etc).
It would be nice to offer an update option for existing organs they sell (such as a expandable pedal unit).
Thus, the user could buy and use one octave, two octave, three octave pedals according to his preference.
This was an issue that could be managed with a simple connection plug (but the cost to the manufacturer would of course be more expensive). There are some options nowadays but of course it's too late.
PS:I think they used the Standard 32 pedal in "Concert Model E".
In reply to Of course, it's awful for… by Ziya Mete Demircan
The "standard 32 pedal" model was RT-3 in the days of B-3 and C-3 --- I still have the brochure. You cannot move missing notes an octave down and retain the meaning of the music (e.g., the upward pedal scale which opens BWV 532). A "simple connection plug" in that style would require many, many wires. I worked extensively in the interior of my B3. The number of keyboard/pedalboard wires is the product of the number of drawbars (9 for manuals, 2 for pedals) and keys. Plenty of ancient (pipe) organs get by with 30, or even 27, pedals (30 will suffice for Bach). I seriously considered building an extension unit of my own just for the D4.
But "Hammond B-3" is its own instrument now, and it has 25 pedals like a violin has 4 strings. You shouldn't want or need to play organ repertoire on it these days; better and less expensive options are readily available (although pedalboards, esp classical-capable ones, cost more than the computer you will need).
Is this a request?
In reply to Is this a request? by Toby.
Some kind of answer to an older request.