Hammond Console Factory Presets

Hammond Console Presets Upper Manual

Preset KeyDrawbarsDescriptionLoudness
CNoneCancelNo sound
Db00 5320 000Stopped Flutepp
D00 4432 000Dulcianappp
Eb00 8740 000French Hornmf
E00 4544 222Salicionalpp
F00 5403 000Flutes 8' & 4'p
Gb00 4675 300Oboemf
G00 5644 320Swell Diapasonmf
Ab00 6876 540Trumpetf
A32 7645 222Full Swellff
BbUpper Left drawbarsNo percussion
BUpper Right drawbarsWith percussion
Overview of the factory presets on a Hammond console (B-3, C-3, A-100) Upper Manual

Hammond Console Presets Lower Manual

Preset KeyDrawbarsDescriptionLoudness
CNoneCancelNo sound
Db00 4545 440Cellomp
D00 4423 22Flute & Stringmp
Eb00 7373 430Clarinetmf
E00 4544 220Diapason, Gamba & Flutemf
F00 6644 322Great without reedsf
Gb00 5642 200Open Diapasonf
G00 6845 433Full Greatfff
Ab00 8030 000Tibia Clausaf
A42 7866 244Full Great with 16'fff
BbUpper Left drawbars
BUpper Right drawbars
Overview of the factory presets on a Hammond console (B-3, C-3, A-100) Lower Manual

Whereas the preset sounds seem to be more targeted towards the emulation of pipe organ sounds and have as such limited usage in the typical blues / rock Hammond vocabulary, some of them are quite usable, Here’s an example using the ‘Ab’ (‘Tibia Clausa’) on the lower manual:

Better Drive in Logic X for a real Hammond

In a previous post I explained how to use the Rotor plugin and the Overdrive to add a bit of drive and Leslie emulation to a real Hammond while recording on Logic Pro X. Further along experimentation with this setup, I’ve ditched the Overdrive plugin, and have switched to using the Distortion II / Growl Distortion Light as a favourite driver for the Rotor Leslie emulation. This gives a very convincing bit of dirt to the sound. Here’s an example:

Hammond Leslie Emulation And Recording In Logic Pro X

Something else I’ve been experimenting with, with better and better results, is using the Rotor in Logic, based on  suggestions from Jim at the Organ Forum. If you combine this with the overdrive, or one of the amp simulators (‘Moving Air’ is a good one) you can get very good results, and this works very well for recording, taking the signal directly from the line-out on my A-102; I’ve been struggling with how the Vent is sitting in the mix, and the levels I get from it. This may just be related to my own setup, but I’m pretty much using Overdrive / Amp modeller / Rotor now, sometimes using Spreader and Exciter for an even bigger sound, and either the standard bus 2 platinum reverb (add other buses with reflections to taste) or a modelled reverb room.

Don’t forget to set the record mode to Latch or Write to capture Leslie-switch events (I send my CU-1 through a foot switch input on my interface for slow / fast switching).

For an example how this sounds: