Hammond Clones

_Hammond Clones_ are instruments, mostly keyboards or software, which emulate the sound of a HammondOrgan. The main advantage of a clone is its portability compared to an actual Hammond.

Here is a list of some of the available clones.

Clone Keyboards

• Clavia Nord current and discontinued products:

  # C1 / C2 / C2D
  # Electro 1 / 2 / 3 / 4D
  # Stage 1 / 2

• Crumar Mojo
• Diversi DV-Duo Plus / DV-Solo / DV-Solo Plus
• Hamichord
• Hammond XB-2 / XB-1 / XK-2 / XK-3 / XK-1 / Xk3c (+ optional "XLK 3" = lower manual) / New B3 / Sk1 / Sk2 / Skx / XK-5
• KeyB (both single and dual manual models)
• Korg BX-3 II / CX-3 II
• MAG Custom Organs (HX3 engine) (several models)
• Oberheim OB5/ OB3^2 (OB3 squared) / Viscount DB3 / DB5
• Roland VK-7 / VK-8 / VK-77 / VK-88 / VR-760 / VR-09 / VR-730
• Uhl X3 Smooth (HX3 engine) (single and dual manual models)
• VOCE KEY-5
• StudioLogic Numa Organ / Numa Organ 2
• Ventura TX-5
• Dexibell Combo J7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd538hiaFAI
• Yamaha YC61 Yamaha's first real attempt at a Hammond "clone" with drawbars, waterfall keyboard, etc.
• Viscount Legend series
• Viscount Soul series

Clone Modules (with Drawbars)

• Clavia Nord Electro 2 Rackversion
• Creamware B4000
• Ferrofish B4000+
• Hammond Suzuki XM-1+XMc1 / XM-2+XMc2
• Keyboard Partner HX3 Drawbar Expander
• Oberheim OB3
• Roland VK-8m
• Viscount-Legend Expander
• Voce V5+
• Viscount d9

Software Emulators

• Beatrix - GNU/Linux w/source code(Free, see setBfree below)
• DirectHammond v2 Csound instrument (Free)
• GSI VB3 (Commercial)
• Linn Plug Virtual Instruments Organ 3 (Commercial)
• ORGANized Trio VST Plug-in (Free/Donationware) http://www.soundfonts.it/?a=read&b=13
• Pocket Organ C3B3 - Application for iPhone/iPod touch (Commercial)
• setBfree - An updated version of Beatrix for more modern GNU/Linux distributions (GPL, Free)
• GG Audio Blue3 - (Commercial)
• IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X for iPad https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/hammondb3xipad/ for Mac or PC https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/hammondb3x/ - (Commercial)

Discontinued Clones

• Korg BX-3 / CX-3 - The original 1980 design. Amazing "tonewheel" sound from square wave top octave generator and divider chains with dozens of audio filters to extract the sine waves! Design information.
• Yamaha Electone Analogue & Digital Organs. Analogue models from late 1960's featuring "drawbar like" sliders and built-in Leslie clone. Later digital versions used a menu and LCD with picture of drawbars and electronic effect for Leslie.
• Vox Combo Organs - They have drawbars, but don't be confused, the sound is nothing at all like a Hammond. Bright, tinny sound of House of the Rising Sun, Light My Fire, 96 Tears, etc.

DIY Clones (Electronic kits, FPGA designs, microcontroller projects, etc.)

• Keyboard Partner HOAX - Advanced FPGA physical model system, MIDI or keyboard scanner in, Leslie simulator, presets, etc. Blank PCBs to fully assembled boards. No source code or PCB etch patterns.
• Prop B3 - Parallax Propeller microcontroller project with MIDI in, percussion, chorus/vibrato, reverb, Leslie simulator, foldback, keyclick, overdrive, etc. No kit or pre-etched PCB available.
• Aurduino Roto - Incomplete physical model by Peter Teichman using Arduino and ?MidiVox. More information.

Other Electomechanical "Tonewheel" Organs

Most of these organs are not, strictly speaking, "clones" but they all have electromechanical tone generators. Like the Hammond, these organs rely on motors, gears, and in some cases, belts to turn "tonewheels".

• Telharmonium - Thaddeus Cahill's instrument was certainly the first electromagnetic organ (1897). Gigantic generators were needed in an era BEFORE amplifiers and loudspeakers.
• Compton Melotones - Compton Electrone Organs used electrostatic tonewheel generators called "Melotones" to produce complex pipe-like waveforms (1932). More information.
• Rangertone - An electromagnetic tonewheel organ invented by magnetic audio recording pioneer Richard Ranger (1932). Very limited production.
• Robb Wave Organ - A very limited production electromagnetic organ invented by Morse Robb (1936). Like the Compton, produced complex pipe-like waveforms.
• Welte Light-Tone - An organ with optomechanical tonewheels consisting of printed waveforms on spinning glass disks (1936). A predecessor of the cheap plastic Mattel Optigan keyboards of the 1970's.
• PariOrgans - A somewhat successful Italian electromagnetic organ that came the closest of all these organs to a true Hammond "clone" with drawbars, percussion, etc. (1969).