New products from Hammond Suzuki

[tompass]

Do not play piano very often but do have occasion once a month to use a K1000. Always had problems with the action so assuming by some of the comments, it is not just me. Hopefully the semi weighted action on new HS is not that bad...

[AnotherScott]

Funny... It looks like you'd be able to buy an SK1-61 and a NumaCompact 88 for far less than the price of an SK1-88... and the NumaCompact 88 includes an 88 key semi-weighted Fatar action. (Not waterfall, though.)

 

Alternatively, the spread could get you a Krome 61 or an MX61, etc. Seems a big premium to pay to not have to go to a 3-tier setup if you still want your weighted action underneath.

[Cloner]

Ouch! Semi-weighted always makes me cringe - too traumatized from when Kurzweil first came out with their K1000 series 20 years ago.

There are many semi-weighted designs, and they can feel very different from each other. In this case, I assume it will be the same action as on the 61-key SK1, which I believe is the same semi-weighted action Nord uses on the 61-key Electro (though Nord adjusts it to be more tightly sprung). The Roland Jupiter 50/80 are semi-weighted, and I think they are excellent. The Kurzweil PC3 and SP4-7 are semi-weighted, and I don't like them at all. So try it first. For organ, I've found that semi-weighteds can be both some of the best and some of the worst actions you can get!

 

Yeah, I was being a bit tongue in cheek (although not about the K1000 - the home versions counterparts at that time were even worse). I have played a couple of semi-weighted boards that were not too bad. Hopefully, the SK1-88 will be like you say and have the same keys as the SK1-61.

[JMcS]

The Hammond US website has been remodeled today and there seems to be a lot of information regarding a possible new version of the XK-3c. It appears it will have effects such as Ring Modulator, Wah-Wah and others similar to what is in the SK's. I'm trying to find out more. Hopefully there will be a software update for the current version but I suspect the new effects will require DSP hardware and software that the current '3c's don't have.

 

Hammond US - XK-3c

 

Also, I've heard there will/may be a new Hammond digital Leslie pedal on the way. I'm trying to find out more about it as well. New small 12" low rotor Organ Leslies too.

 

More info here:

New Leslies

 

Pedal Info

[Mark Schmieder]

Very confusing; why wouldn't they at least bump the letter code? Maybe those of us who own XK-3c can do a firmware upgrade> I don't have the specs of mine in front of me and don't remember whether it already had DSP. If so -- and especially if implemented on an FPGA chip -- it should be possible to update legacy XK-3c's.

[Outkaster]

Yes there is something new with the XK series coming I had heard I wasnt allowed to say anything about it at the time. Maybe I will hold on to mine? I hope the improvements are worth it.

[Doerfler]

I was hoping for an XK4 myself, an exact Xk3 footprint with SK library accessability. Maybe next year.

[Bobadohshe]

New site looks awesome. Well deserved as well, the old one was getting a little long in the tooth.

[CEB]

You know I would still rather play the XK3-c rather than all this other stuff out there with the exception of a Hamichord or the Moe Joe.

[HSS]

Hopefully with the release of the new Hammond models there will be another OS update for the current SK's in the near future, perhaps with an improved overdrive and splitting / layering capabilities. The last OS update, with the shallower trigger point for organ voices, showed me that Hammond is definately serious about keeping the ball rolling.

[Craig MacDonald]

JMcS,

 

I'm seeing reference to a "vintage" model which is basically an xk3c system in a cabinet with B3 style spindle legs... It also references a vintage xk3c model with black ends and I think it has some new features... Based on my understanding of the standard xk3c features..

 

Is this what you were referring to?

 

Craig

[JMcS]

In the Organ Division DSP... drop down section of the XK-3c information page it mentions a number of effects that are available in the SK series but not yet in the XK series. I don't know if the new effects will be installable into the current '3c's as a software update or not. It would be great if they could be but if they require a more powerful DSP than what is in the current model they may not be. We '3c owners can hope since it isn't being called the XK-3ce (for enhanced).

 

My interpretation of the "Vintage" series is that there will be XK-3c's with black end pieces (and from what I can see in the picture the top cover also) at Hammond US that will be mated with the specially ordered cabinet. The Vintage Series will have a number of finishes available to choose from.

 

In addition there will be the standard XK-3c that will be sold as a stand alone instrument or part of the Traditional or Pro Systems.

[Craig MacDonald]

JMcS thanks, that's what I had figured.. It will be interesting to see if the new features can be added to the existing xk3c's but like yourself I'm a bit skeptical that it will have the power. Interesting custom finishes!

 

Craig

[Mitch Towne]

The new site looks great. Apparently Hammond has decided to run with Scott May's "If it says Hammond, it isn't a clone," mantra.

 

That's crazy-talk, of course, but it's still a nice looking site.

[JMcS]

The current XK-3c's were designed more than 6 years ago. That's a lot of technology under the bridge.

[Doerfler]

The current XK-3c's were designed more than 6 years ago. That's a lot of technology under the bridge.

 

right. I want to be able to update my traditional system with a new organ without having to replace the lower manual and stand, which cost as much as the XK3c itself.

[JMcS]

I don't think Hammond will stop making an organ that will fit into or on the Traditional and Pro Systems. Whatever else they may come up with I think the XK/System is here to stay. I bet the System owners have a higher percentage of upgrade purchases when the next generation comes out than standalone XK-3/c owners.

[Craig MacDonald]

The current XK-3c's were designed more than 6 years ago. That's a lot of technology under the bridge.

 

JMcS, yes I agree and it's probably unreasonable to think that they can add all this new functionality into 6 year old technology, which probably makes lot's of sense to those folks who bought their XK3c 6 years ago and less sense to those who bought theirs 6 months ago.

 

I was upset with Nord having bought a C1 about 6 months before the C2 came out, and on the surface it didn't seem as if there was really that much different that the C2 OS couldnt be loaded into the C1 but that was not destined to happen. On the other hand when they updated from the C2 to the C2D the newer OS was backward compatible with the C2 and I was able to enjoy the benefits of the new functionality. I very much appreciated that! But I also appreciated that it seemed as if they must have built the C2 with a little extra horsepower, and perhaps they were thinking ahead!

 

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I doubt that whatever new functionality exists in the new XK product (whatever it's called) will be backwards compatible. But who knows.

 

Craig

[burningbusch]

Does Hammond have a download library like Nord? If so, could someone point me to it as I couldn't find it on their site.

 

Thanks.

 

Busch.

[JMcS]

The downloads are for the SK's only. The US site's download links seem to not be working properly. The libraries are available here:

 

Hammond EU

 

[JMcS]

In the Organ Division DSP... drop down section of the XK-3c information page it mentions a number of effects that are available in the SK series but not yet in the XK series. I don't know if the new effects will be installable into the current '3c's as a software update or not. It would be great if they could be but if they require a more powerful DSP than what is in the current model they may not be. We '3c owners can hope since it isn't being called the XK-3ce (for enhanced).

 

The information on the Hammond US product page regarding these effects is incorrect.

 

Also, the digital Leslie pedal is a Hammond US product, it doesn't come from H/S Japan. I don't have any more information than that yet.

[Brad Kaenel]

No need to repeat myself. KLONK

[dta3923]

I was at the Hammond Booth today and was told the digital Leslie box is a "product still in development". The one they had at the show was being demo'd by a guitarist and they had another musician on an SK-1 accompanying him as a duo.

 

 

 

[Mitch Towne]

I just watched part of a product demo for the new Leslie pedal. The demonstrator actually said, "Unlike other Leslie simulators, this is the real deal!"

 

As I said above, Hammond is obviously doubling down on its marketing spin that since it says "Hammond" (or, in this case, "Leslie") it's not a clone.

[dta3923]

I was told the focus of this pedal, for the moment, would be for guitar.

[Josh Paxton]

I got to play the new 73- and 88-note boards at the night time show, using the 88 on bottom for piano, and the 73 on top for organ. It dug it. With the obvious caveat that the 88 is an unweighted action, it was comfortable to play piano on. I had no problem getting a full range of dynamics out of it, and that was just playing it cold, without messing with the velocity curves. Also they had obviously done some tweaking to the piano sounds, which were noticeably improved over the ones in my first-gen SK1. I was able to just sit down and play and enjoy it, without having to think about the technical side -- which, believe me, was exactly what I needed when going onstage to play solo piano/organ right after Larry Goldings had torn it up with his trio.

 

I know the SK waterfall action has its detractors, but frankly I don't get them. Of course it's a subjective thing, but I find the action to be one of the board's strong suits. Last year when I got together with my friend for our big Hammond/Nord/Mojo shootout, we both liked the SK action best out of all of 'em.

 

As for build quality, I've been slinging my SK1 around for almost a year and a half now, and I've had exactly zero issues with it. In contrast, my Stage 2 (with its reputation for being "built like a tank") has been in the shop three or four times in that time frame, for individual key velocity problems and faulty pots. Whatever materials Hammond is using, they get the job done.

[Jim Alfredson]

I like the action, too. A lot. It's bouncy and reacts more like a real Hammond console than the XK3, and I came to really like the XK3 action as well.

 

I'll tell you one thing, though: After playing both the XK3 and SK2, going back to my real console is a breeze.

[HSS]

Also they had obviously done some tweaking to the piano sounds, which were noticeably improved over the ones in my first-gen SK1.

Hopefully Hammond will make the new tweaked piano sounds available for download for the first generation SK1's.

 

Like you, I've had no quality / durability issues with my SK1. I've played the hell out of mine since I bought it used about 5 months ago and even flown twice with it.