Hammond

On a Budget: Leslie Alternative for Hammond Xk-1

A while ago I mentioned I would take a picture of my rotary setup. It’s been a long, long while now–but here it is. (Pay no attention to the sound guy’s rat’s nest… I didn’t do it!) For my money, I get the advantages that a quality Leslie sound provides in a low-price and portable setup. Of course you can always go out and spend more than $300 for all the newest gear, but I didn’t, and I sure get a better sound than others who did.

rotary

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I paired a Motion Sound Pro 3 with an Acoustic B100 bass amp. Here’s why:

Price: Total amount spent = $300. I bought the MSP3 on Craigslist for $200. I found the Acoustic B100 at Guitar Center in Boise, Idaho, while on tour for $100.

Sounds Great This is a solid-state setup (the only bummer here). But, you are able to adjust the overdrive, bass tone, and level difference between treble and bass.

Real Rotary: The duo essentially recreates a sound similar to a Leslie 147 with the back off and turned around, but with no need for a 1/4″ adapter or any further hardware. Don’t worry about the bass not being a rotary speaker, our ears aren’t equipped enough to REALLY notice the difference at 700Hz frequencies and below.

Compliments I think we all want to get noticed with our gear, right? Making others point, say wow, or ask for tips make me feel proud to play an tonewheel clone. In fact, I’ve seen people who know nothing about musical instruments point and say, “Look at the thing inside there go!” I want to explain what it is, and why it’s doing that. But overall, I’m happy because they’re paying more attention to me than the guitar player. Mission accomplished 🙂

How I hook It Up:

Basic setup is easy…

1. Setup Hammond Xk-1.
2. Run a 1/4″ instrument cable from the Hammond Xk-1 left out to the input on the MSP3.
3. Run a 1/4″ instrument cable from the MSP3 mono out to the B100 input.
4. Plug a pedal into the 1/4″ rotor control jack on the MSP3.
5. Mic rotor with one or two Beta 57s.
6. Mic B100 with Beta 52A.

Setup Specs:

MSP3: 6.5″H x 20″W x 16.5″D and weighs 27 lbs.
30W solid state amplifier with 700Hz crossover. Everything 700Hz and below is routed to the bass amp.

B100: 100W amp 1 x 15″ bass cabinet. Passive and active inputs, can control gain, volume, lows, lo-mids, hi-mids, and highs.

Hammond XK-1, years later … still worth it

XK1-xlargeIf you’ve seen my setup at a recent show, you may have noticed a change.

I’ve swapped out the Nord Electro 2 I’ve used for a number of years for a Hammond XK-1. Despite the release of the superbly exceptional Hammond XK-3c, the XK-1 still wows me, fans, and my bandmates. Reviews for the XK-1 have floated around the internet since the mid 2000s now so going into specific detail seems a bit repetitive, but here are some key points from my perspective that should help prospective portable organ buyers looking for recreational, pro use, or otherwise.

1.) PRICE – The release of the Hammond SK series keyboards as well as continued promotion of XK-3c have created a situation where many XK-1 owners are looking to renew their collection, or update their home, studio, or stage sound. This has helped many buyers find XK-1 keyboards for sale for one-third of the price of brand new products. A player’s budget may be less than that of another, so being able to afford this deal is incredible. I was able to find mine bundled with a road case, the manual, leslie foot switch, and expression pedal for $1,000 — with that money saved, I’m looking forward to a new, portable Leslie cab.

2.) PERFORMANCE – A very natural, wood and breathy tone can be achieved with a few tweaks of the parameters. The description coming from an explanation of feeling rather than technical term. The tone driver is still being used in products today, however the Leslie sim is less up-to-date than current Hammond Suzuki models. The customization of Leslie parameters, key click, and percussion must be taken advantage of in order to drive toward a natural sound. I prefer to take a lot of treble and percussion out when performing country shows. But I’ve seen jazz and blues players getting a kick out of the playability of this machine.

3.) COMPLIMENTS – No matter who you are, you should enjoy people saying they enjoy listening to your playing and that they’re jealous of your Hammond sound. Straight to the point: It does indeed have great Hammond sound, it IS a Hammond, and people do love listening to it.

4.) PORTABILITY and EASE OF USE – This 33-lb keyboard feels very light for the number and it’s slim design fits easily into different gig bags and cases. Although it is a 61-key organ, it is best to double-check the length of any potential case to make up for the drawbars. (Total length is 45-5/8 in.) With 12 banks of 11 numbers adding to the capacity for presets, quick set-ups, sound checks and plug-in and play make for an enjoyable and stress-free experience.

5.) NEED TO KNOW: All the presets and internal memory are backed up by a small battery inside the organ console. The manual states to take the organ to a Hammond professional when you get a warning about the battery, but the fix is very easy, cheap and quick to do on your own with the cost covering a $5-$8 CR2032 battery found at many general stores or gas stations. Here’s a link for further details: http://www.harmonycentral.com/t5/Keys-Synths-amp-Samplers/Hammond-XK-1-Battery-AHHHHHH/td-p/23915430

Hopefully this adds a little insight. Many technical reviews for the Hammond XK-1 can be found online and in organ forums. These are a few of the good things I’ve noticed so far, on a personal level. Happy playing.

@bkakeys