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mooseherman
Published on 04/22/10 at 19:11
This is a really cool synthesizer made by Hammond, the legendary organ manufacturer. I was surprised to find that they even made synthesizers, I figured they would stick to the organs that they made their name on. However, this is a pretty cool instrument. The features are a bit limited. There are 44 keys, which isn't a whole lot, but isn't too small either. This thing is really old, so it can't be edited with any computers, and if I'm not mistaken, it predates MIDI, which makes it tough to compare to modern synths but usually means it sounds far better. It is a polyphonic and monophonic instrument. There are only 6 sounds on it, and they don't sound anything like the instruments they are supposed to. There is no way to edit the sounds.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this guy isn't too hard, but there aren't that many. The setup is easy as long as the thing is working. Considering that there's only about 50 believed to even be found on the planet, the likelihood of finding one that works and stays working is very unlikely. I have no idea whether or not there even is a manual, but it's not really necessary either. There are six presets, and also a manual mode where you have control over pitch, filter, attack/decay, pitch bend and modulation.
SOUNDS
There are no realistic sounds on this synth. I don't really understand why people expect and/or want their synths to actually sound like real instruments, considering that I have never heard one that actually does. I'm more interested in these old analog synths that have qualities al their own. The sounds that come out of this thing are pretty cool, they really aren't my favorite in the world when it comes to analog synths, but they're unique to say the least. I really don't think that there is any other instrument that sounds exactly like this, but I do think there are better ones.
OVERALL OPINION
I was expecting much more when a client of ours showed me this instrument. When he told me how rare they are, and raved about it, I felt as though playing one would have been a rare privilege that I would remember forever, it actually was pretty underwhelming. The rarity of these devices has driven the price up to an insane degree, and I would have to say that because of this, the cost would almost definitely not be worth it, especially since there aren't a whole lot of people who really know how to repair them. Since you probably won't encounter one, this is a hypothetical situation for the most part.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this guy isn't too hard, but there aren't that many. The setup is easy as long as the thing is working. Considering that there's only about 50 believed to even be found on the planet, the likelihood of finding one that works and stays working is very unlikely. I have no idea whether or not there even is a manual, but it's not really necessary either. There are six presets, and also a manual mode where you have control over pitch, filter, attack/decay, pitch bend and modulation.
SOUNDS
There are no realistic sounds on this synth. I don't really understand why people expect and/or want their synths to actually sound like real instruments, considering that I have never heard one that actually does. I'm more interested in these old analog synths that have qualities al their own. The sounds that come out of this thing are pretty cool, they really aren't my favorite in the world when it comes to analog synths, but they're unique to say the least. I really don't think that there is any other instrument that sounds exactly like this, but I do think there are better ones.
OVERALL OPINION
I was expecting much more when a client of ours showed me this instrument. When he told me how rare they are, and raved about it, I felt as though playing one would have been a rare privilege that I would remember forever, it actually was pretty underwhelming. The rarity of these devices has driven the price up to an insane degree, and I would have to say that because of this, the cost would almost definitely not be worth it, especially since there aren't a whole lot of people who really know how to repair them. Since you probably won't encounter one, this is a hypothetical situation for the most part.