This cloudcast features instrumentals by some of today's artists who care enough about their sound to record and tour with a Hammond B3 organ. It is a roadie’s nightmare. A Hammond B3 organ, bench, and pedalboard weigh a total of 425 pounds. Throw in a Leslie Speaker and you’re carting around another 150 or more.
Why do they go to this trouble? The B3’s grungy mechanical sound breathes soul into music with a distinctive vibrato. Pair it with the Leslie's tonewheels and the Hammond organ simply cannot be emulated by a modern keyboard.
The B3, introduced in 1954, was the result of 20 years of tinkering with the already hugely successful Hammond organs. As their manufacture was discontinued in 1975, they are highly prized today.
