Hammond
Leslie
M3
142
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In 1933, Laurens Hammond came up with the idea that by spinning a wheel with waveform shaped cutouts in front of an wire wound electrical pickup, it would produce a flute-like tone. As the basis for the sound generation of a single drawbar, the Hammond Organ was born. Since it's introduction in 1934, Hammond Organs have been used worldwide for church, Jazz and Rock/Pop music styles.
Of all of the organ models Hammond produced, the B3, made from 1939 to 1979, has enjoyed the most fame. While technology can reproduce practically any sound, the B3 still remains as one of the most unique sounds that has eluded imitation. There are countless keyboards and software emulations of the B3, but the authentic article produces sound nuances that are unmistakably Hammond.
My Hammond is not a B3, but the spinet version M3 with identical internal components. While it sounds identical to a B3, it sports two 44 note manuals rather than the full-size 61 note manuals. It has the same waterfall-type keys, but lacks the reverse set of preset keys on the bass sides of each manual. My M3 is a 1959 model, and is in extraordinary condition. It sat in the same living room since it was purchased new.
Back in the late 1930's, Don Leslie, a radio repairman from Los Angeles, decided that his new Hammond organ had a rather sterile motionless sound. To assimilate the wideness of the sound of a pipe organ, Leslie embarked on a project that would make history; rotating a motorized baffle in front of the speaker to produce a wavering sound. Since then, Hammond organs and Leslie speakers are almost always mentioned in the same sentence.
My Leslie speaker is a 142 model. It still needs a little servicing but is operational with it's original speakers and tubes.