Jazz club owners found that organ trios were cheaper than hiring a big band. It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians in organ trios, small groups centered on the Hammond organ. The organ was originally marketed by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, or instead of a piano. The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker.Īround two million Hammond organs have been manufactured. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup, and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier to drive a speaker cabinet. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Vibrato, chorus, reverb, harmonic percussionĢ × 61-note manuals, 25-note pedals (consoles)Ģ × 44-note manuals, 13-note pedals (spinets)Īmphenol connector to Hammond Tone Cabinet or Leslie speaker
