[sdiy] Hammond Vibrato Scanner

[Roy J. Tellason]

On Wednesday 02 January 2008 15:03, Matti Kari wrote:
> Hola,
>
> > Or was it at the beginning of Wandering Song (on the Magician's Hat
> > album)? The pitch here goes down pretty fast and then settles on the
> > correct value. I always thought this was because the tape machine was
> > started after the organ was already playing.
>
> I don't have the album in question but the effect you mention can also
> be easily achieved just by turning the organ on and off quickly
> (especially those units which feature the self-starting motor - i.e. L-,
> R-, E- and T-series). Keith Emerson is probably the most famous user of
> this trick. Can be heard on several The Nice / ELP songs. What first
> comes to my mind is the live version of Rondo.

There was an article in one of the magazines some years back,  with a 
construction project that would allow one to vary the speed of a small 
synchronous motor,  I forget the intended application.  Might've been Popular 
Electronics?

Anyhow,  I thought it a rather nifty idea to take the circuit,  and adapt it a 
bit,  using a lever-type actuator (similar to what you see for pitch bend in 
a lot of synths) and wire that up into a Hammond tonewheel organ.  Since I 
don't own one,  I never got the chance,  though,  and the days when I was in 
touch with lots of people who did are past,  unfortunately...

-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
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Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James 
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