The Definitive Hammond for the Tonewheel Purist
At Sweetwater, the name Hammond commands respect. It’s synonymous with the classic tonewheel organs, such as the B-3, that played an outsized role in the music revolution of the 1960s and ’70s. In the digital era, Hammond assumed a leadership role in developing cutting-edge “clonewheel” organs with advanced sound engines that deliver those legendary organ sounds. Now, the B-3 experience reaches a thrilling new level of verisimilitude with the Hammond XK-7 single-manual organ. Complete with a selection of Italian, British, and Japanese transistor combos as well as classical and theater pipe organs, the Hammond XK-7 is a stunning achievement and a worthy inheritor of the title, “King of Instruments.”
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Packed with the latest Hammond technologies
The XK-7 features a single-manual implementation of Hammond’s newly developed, proprietary 6 Contacts Long (6L) keybed, which employs six mechanical contact points under each key and duplicates the exact physical dimensions of classic Hammond keyboards to deliver authentic vintage B-3 feel in both touch and response. Powered by Hammond’s next-gen Virtual Electro Mechanical (VEM) sound engine and equipped with four sets of Harmonic Drawbars, Chorus-Vibrato, Touch-Response Percussion, and a new digital Leslie rotary speaker emulator, the XK-7 is the definitive Hammond for today’s tonewheel purists.
Absolute sonic authenticity
The Hammond organ was groundbreaking when it was introduced in 1934. Its sounds were indeed revolutionary but included unavoidable sonic artifacts, given the technical limitations of the era. These quirks were soon embraced by the new generation of organists, who saw them as enhancements rather than flaws and integrated them into their playing techniques. Reproducing these imperfections, which have become intrinsic to every musical genre, in the digital domain is a critical measure of modern clonewheel organs, and, of course, a Hammond specialty. In the XK-7, the company’s state-of-the-art Virtual Electro Mechanical sound engine meticulously replicates the original tone-generator chain to capture the iconic sounds and idiosyncrasies of the company’s electro-mechanical marvels of yesteryear.
Enhanced real-time tweakability
Equipped with Hammond’s powerful Virtual Electro Mechanical sound engine, the XK-7 brings sounds to life by meticulously reproducing the 91 tone wheels that drove vintage Hammond organs. This advanced technology re-creates imperfections such as subtle pitch variations, volume fluctuations, and even the characteristic noises that gave vintage Hammonds their distinctive sound. It also gives you unfettered freedom in customizing your tone. Hammond’s latest tube modeling system reproduces coveted vacuum tube warmth, while vintage Hammond “matching transformer” emulation fleshes out the sound with fullness and harmonic richness. Add in the tactile control of real drawbars, and you have the hands-on ability to tweak your tonewheel organ sounds to perfection in real time.
Accurately replicates the signal chain
The key to nailing the sounds and behaviors of vintage Hammonds lies in the modeling technology used to reproduce the electro-mechanical signal chain in the digital realm. Not surprisingly, Hammond has been on the leading edge of this for decades now, and its design engineers have it down to a science, always leveraging the latest technology to achieve ever-greater accuracy and realism. Tracing the signal in the XK-7, we start with the sound generators — 108 digital tonewheels (including the five extra “high” wheels and 12 “pedal” wheels) — which are routed through the Matching Transformer into the Preamp, and then into either the Digital Leslie or the 11-pin jack to feed a physical Leslie cabinet. The latest Digital Leslie algorithm onboard the XK-7 painstakingly models the airflow of Leslie rotors, faithfully reproducing their unique tone and 3-dimensional effect.
Hammond XK-7 Features:
- Single-manual digital organ
- Also available in a dual-manual model, the XK-7D
- 6 Contacts Long (6L) keybed with the physical dimensions of iconic Hammond keyboards
- 6 mechanical contact points under each key facilitate classic playing techniques, including glissandos, squabble, and machine gun
- Next-gen Virtual Electro Mechanical (VEM) sound engine
- Authentic modeled signal chain
- 108 digital tonewheels (including the 5 extra “high” wheels and 12 “pedal” wheels)
- Matching Transformer, Preamp, and Digital Leslie
- 11-pin jack for connecting a physical Leslie cabinet
- Expanded tonewheel parameters allow for deep editing and customization
- New XPK pedalboard with 3 mechanical contacts for precise response
- New dedicated Key Click and Leakage controls (XK-7D) with default assignments on knobs
- New Preamp function models the characteristics of vintage Hammond AO-28/AO-29 preamps, including tube and stompbox modeling
- Separate Bass output, switchable to either Pedal output for bass amp or sound reinforcement
- Lowpass filter available on full-frequency output for routing to a powered subwoofer
- Ultra-accurate digital Leslie with Gain control for overdrive
- Large color display provides easy navigation through menu-driven features
- New enhanced Transistor (combo) organ division, Japanese “Ace” model added to existing Italian (“Farf”) and British (“Vx”) voices
- Enhanced Pipe organ division (Classical and Theatre) now features 40 virtual Ranks with more voices and tremulants
- Enhanced DSP functions with dedicated Reverb/Delay controls on the top panel
