[HAM] Digital Hammonds (and other instruments)

[JOHN HABURAY]

ted at wetnoodle.net
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 10:55 AM
To: hammond at zeni.net
Subject: [HAM] How hard would this be?


And not to take anything from alternative variations of tonewheel 
organs.
Lawrence, didn't see any benefit or difference in the Leslie in 
comparison
to
his Vibrato unit.

My ears do discern the difference between Tonewheels and every attempt 
to
emulate it Digitally or Sampled. When they Digitize the Smell, Mojo, 
and
each
note sounding different every time you strike it. I'll be sold
until then is no substitute. YMMV

To my ears, electronic attempts thus far produce that sound is a sum of 
all
the
frequencies in a monotone sounding sine. Where as in a real TWG organ, 
you
hear
the fluctuations of each individual frequencies as you play a note.
I find it easier to isolate each variation of the frequencies if I 
listen
closely.
Which could explain why each note sounds diffent each time it's played.
As my ears puts the drawbar tones that produce the note, together in a
diffent
order each time I hear it. That doesn't happen(to my ears any way) in a
digital version becasue the
notes are munged an is what it is. If that makes any
sense.

ted

  The above post makes a lot of good sense. This is why any instrument, not only a Hammond, just does not sound like an actual instrument. Factor in things like the actual feel of the "new" stuff and the crazy prices they are asking for plastic and fiberboard "instruments" and it is really hard sometimes for me to buy into all this hype. Of course as with any technology there are good points to the advancements. Things like being able to edit bad notes, and extreme portability. But, if you want the real thing no matter what it is, get the real thing. There are a lot of people happy with their clone Hammonds, and a lot of people that are not and have rid of them as soon as they got them, or did not buy them at all. In my opinion a clone compared to a real Hammond is Apples and Oranges. Both fruit and that's about it. Personally my ears tire of any digital instrument over a short time period, no matter what it is trying to duplicate. I also find them very boring to play.
 Someday we may all be forced to have to use these types of instruments but that time has not come yet, so it deosn't make a whole lot of sense to me to use them when the originals are still around and working, in abundance. If I was a trumpet player, I would carry a real trumpet. If I were a piano player I would have a real piano. I am a Hammond organ player, so I have a real Hammond organ. I feel the same about Lesliespeakers as well, if anybody cares.:) Thanks for listening.


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