Hammond SK-1 73 Keyboard Organ, 73-Key

No longer available at zZounds
Meet the 15-pound Hammond organ. With authentic drawbar sounds, dead-on Leslie sims, and a deep palette of pianos and EPs, the 73-key SK-1 sets the standard.

A keyboardist today may jump from B-3 to Electric Piano to Clav in the same song, and if based in the Piano tradition, may find a 61 note keyboard limiting. The Hammond SK1-73's 73 note Fatar keyboard provides the proper breathing room for a modern keyboardist, while retaining the superior feel, light weight and small footprint of the 61-note model. It is also the perfect axe for singer-songwriters and accompanists of all genres, due to its ability in shifting the keyboard response automatically between piano and organ-type feels.

Features:

- Classic Hammond drawbars, vibrato/chorus, touch-response percussion, key click, and the "Tone" control
- 12 Hammond macro profiles with 17 tweakable parameters: Create your perfect "B-3" from showroom to road-worn vintage
- 8 Digital Leslie macro profiles with 17 tweakable parameters: Create the Leslie of your choice
- Combine the Hammond organ of your choice with the Leslie of your choice -- 1000s of combinations possible
- 32 Ranks of majestic, authentic Pipe Organ derived from Hammond 935 Church Organ -- each rank adjustable for custom voicing
- 37 Hi-Def "Extravoices": Acoustic pianos, electric pianos, clavs, harpsichord, orchestral, synth, and more voices available on the Hammond website
- Effects: 4 different types of Overdrive, Phase, Flange, Chorus (Stomp Pedal Style-separate from Hammond Chorus), Auto Pan, Ring Modulator, Wah-Wah, Delay and Tremolo
- 3-band EQ with Shelf Lo and Hi and sweepable Mid control
- Up to three read more external MIDI zones may be controlled by the Sk1-73
- Onboard Music Player reads MP3 or WAV files stored on an attached USB thumb drive
- 100 factory ROM presets, 100 user-adjustable presets
- Save setup to a USB thumb drive for backup

Mr. Hammond's Drawbars

Mr. Hammond used the Pipe Organ Design concept of "Unification" in creating the iconic Drawbars of his Electronic Organ. This concept allowed one or more keyboards to control the pitches of many pipes within one set or "rank" of pipes. Adopting the harmonic standards and nomenclature of the Pipe Organ, Mr. Hammond's design assured that any organist would be able to play his instrument without a steep learning curve. Unlike the Pipe Organ, Mr Hammond's design allowed variable volumes of each Harmonic represented by each drawbar. This variation gave the musician millions of combinations of harmonics, and assured that every Hammond player would be able to summon a unique voice. An extra level to the expression a Hammond Organist had at their fingertips was added because the Drawbars could be manipulated in real time. The Sk Series features real drawbars in the size, shape and configuration of Vintage Hammonds. The Drawbars also serve the Combo and Pipe Organ divisions, but with a slightly different function.

Vibrato and Chorus

One of the most distinctive parts of the Hammond sound is the shimmering "Chorus Vibrato". It adds a silken quality to the sound by adding a second, slightly detuned pitch to the original in the Chorus Mode, and repeat-modulating the pitch slightly in Vibrato mode. Few musicians realize the Chorus effect pedal widely used for Guitars and Electric Pianos had its genesis as a component of the Hammond Organ. Mr. Hammond's original design used an electromechanical apparatus that looked much like the distributors you would find in the automobiles of the day, and ran off the same synchronous motor that powered the Tonewheel Generator. The Sk's Chorus-Vibrato is executed in the Digital Realm, without moving parts, and works under the same model. The classic V1/V2/V3/C1/C2/C3 controls are familiar to anyone who has ever played a Hammond. As with the Tonewheel Generator, Digital control allows a wide range of adjustment that was simply not possible on the original. As the Antique organs aged, the components acquired their own unique qualities. Digital control allows the user to shape the Chorus/Vibrato's various facets, with the added ability to "age" the effect-with the resulting treble emphasis and subtle distortion that marks the organs that develop this patina as "sweeter" than others.

Touch-Response Percussion

The chief feature of the Hammond B-3 upon its release in 1955 was the inclusion of Touch-Response Percussion (Perc). This effect added a high "attack" to the Organ tone at either the octave or the twelfth, with a fast note decay. This sound was reminiscent of an xylophone or clave, and became immensely popular, immediately. Perc gave the Organ a bright highlight, and every generation of music has embraced this sound. Controls for the Perc have the classic nomenclature, familiar to anyone who has ever played a Hammond. On the Sk series, Perc is executed in the Digital realm, allowing a wide range of controls the organists back in the day did not possess. The 1' drawbar muting, characteristic of the Vintage Organs can be defeated, as can the drop in Drawbar volume level that accompanied the engaging of the Percussion voice. You can control the volumes and decay times as well.

Adjustable Key Click

In order that every key (and pedal) of the Laurens Hammond's Organ could access every Tonewheel as predicated by the Drawbar settings, an electro-mechanical apparatus lurked behind the keyboards, with 9 contacts corresponding to each drawbar for that keyboard and a series of contacts attached to each key. As a key was depressed, the contacts sequentially touched, and the circuits were completed to produce the Organ tone that was registered by the Drawbars. The very nature of Electric circuitry dictated a click could be heard at the top of each note played when the current-carrying key contacts touched. Laurens Hammond considered that click to be a nuisance, and worked to no avail in order to rid his organ of that imperfection. The jazz players who embraced the Hammond Organ, however, found the click to be a percussive highlight, and wanted nothing to do with its eradication. To make matters worse, as the Vintage Hammonds aged, the click became more pronounced, and by the Rock and Roll era, the Key Click assumed a role of importance that Laurens Hammond could never imagine. The Sk series allows you to adjust the intensity of the key ON click, and the key OFF click. The timbre of the click may also be adjusted. Mr. Hammond would have greatly approved of the Sk, as you can turn the click all the way off if you desire, creating a Vintage Hammond Organ that could not exist in the physical world.

The "Tone" Control

The inclusion of this obscure feature demonstrates the commitment to authenticity Hammond has brought to the Sk Series. Inside the Vintage Hammond B-3, on one side of the tube preamp, there was a "Screwdriver Pot" with the engraved legend "Tone". This control was adjusted by the Technician installing the organ in order to tame the treble response in the instance of the organ's installation in a Church or Mortuary, where a more muted organ was desired. The control was a cocktail of upper Mid and High frequencies (the proportions of which were, until recently, held secret. The "Tone" control was basically a "hi cut" control and only went "down". You could not direct the control to go "up" for "boost". The TONE control is included in the Sk's menu with the added benefit of being able to BOOST the unique blend of frequencies, which adds a nice "edge" to the Sk tone, if desired.
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- Dimensions: (H x W x L) 3.5 x 44.3 x 12"
- Weight: 21 lbs

8 Leslie Macro Profiles:

- Type 122
- Type 147
- Type 31H (or "TallBoy"-the first Leslie Speaker released in 1941)
- Type 722 (Mid 70's "Home Organ" Model)
- Type 760 (Late 70's Solid State "Combo" Model)
- Type 825 (1970's Solid State Single Rotor Model)
- ROCK TYPE (Early 70's Model 925 High-Power "Combo" Model)
- PR-40 (Non-Rotary Vintage Hammond Tone Cabinet)

37 Hi-Def Extravoices with 114 variations:


- Vox and Farfisa Combo Organs
- Yamaha C-7 Acoustic Grand
- Upright Acoustic Piano
- Yamaha CP70 Electric Grand
- Rhodes Suitcase Electric Piano
- Rhodes Stage Electric Piano-Rhodes Bass
- DX7 Piano Electric Piano-Wurlitzer Electric Piano
- Harpsichord
- Clavinet D6
- Lowery Holiday Organ ("Lucy")
- Clavioline ("Don't Run")
- Vintage Hammond Extravoice ("Blue Star")
- Suzuki A-120 Accordion
- Vox Jaguar Organ
- Trumpet
- Mute Trumpet
- Trombone
- Mute Trombone
- Flute
- Alto Sax-Tenor Sax
- Baritone Sax
- Glockenspiel
- Vibraphone
- Solina String
- Hammond SX String
- Synth String 1
- Synth String 2
- Synth sweep Pad
- Synth square Lead
- Sawtooth Lead
- "Funny" (from vintage Japanese Organ)
- Synth Harp

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 630-543-0277

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. (1 ratings)
Submitted May 11, 2015 by Drex H in fort worth, TX

"hammond sk173"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Great organ off course they are the originators. The keys have real ivory feel.. Though the extra voices could have been better. However there are some great piano and mixed sounds. I love dealing with zZounds these guys are great. Better than those other four online stores.....

Musical Background:

i have been playing keyboard ,pianos for 30yrs

Musical Style:

Gospel ,hip hop, reggae,blues
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No longer available at zZounds

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