He spent years treating each instrument with the care and precision of a military aircraft, then literally helped design military aircraft components for the U.S.
Hammond organ serial numbers model k generator#
From every nut and bolt in his machines to-presumably-the chemical compounds in a can of generator oil, Hammond had a very clear vision of how things should be done.
Like a proto Steve Jobs, Hammond was routinely hailed as a technological genius in his own time, and he seemed rather accepting of the title and the sway that came with it. But the more you learn about Laurens Hammond-the perfectionist behind the music-the more plausible it seems. Was Hammond’s brand of generator oil really that uniquely symbiotic with the Hammond organ? Probably not. Going with an off-brand alternative can mean the difference between an all-night psychedelic jam session and a very ungroovy silence. The specialized lubricating formula, they say, meets the exact required viscosity for the instrument’s elaborate capillary oiling system. Which brings us to our museum artifact.Īccording to many believers in the tonewheel gospel, these little blue cans of Hammond Generator Oil were and still are the ONLY guaranteed way to keep an old B3 purring like a kitten, no matter its vintage. And when it came to maintaining all 253 million of those lovely tones in perfect clarity, only Hammond’s own brand of generator oil would do.
Hammond organ serial numbers model k portable#
Whether employed in churches or jazz bars, these affordable and portable keyboards were also extremely complex, well-oiled machines. Invented in the heart of the Great Depression, just a few years after the first electric guitar, the argument could be made that the electric organ was actually the more significant innovation of the two-at least for a while. It’s hard to say how a musical instrument capable of producing millions of different tones could simultaneously be “distinctive” in its sound, but such was the case with the classic Hammond tonewheel organs of the mid 20th century. “Smaller than a piano, a midget in comparison with the vast pipe organs of traditional style, yet capable of 253 million different tones this is the electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond of Chicago.” - Popular Mechanics, April 1936 Museum Artifact: Hammond Organ Generator Oil Can, 1960s
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