"The History and Technology of the Hammond and other Electronic Organs"

September 30th
Bob Rinker - Computer Science

Abstract: The Hammond Organ sound has become an icon in the world of Rock and Jazz music. It is as popular today as it has ever been. While it is easy to replicate "the sound" today using sophisticated Digital Signal Processing, "back in the day" (the 1930's!) the sound was created electromechanically and amplified with tubes. Many people are familiar with the sounds, but they don't understand or appreciate the very "old school" technology used in their creation (motors, tonewheels and tube amps!). We will discuss the history of the original technology, focusing on the original Hammond tonewheel organ, and continue the history through the keyboards of today.