HAMMOND XM-1

The unmistakable Hammond sound is unsurpassed in popularity & praised by both professionals and leisure-time musicians.

Easy-to-use controls give you almost unlimited different tonal variations.

Although the X-series of Hammond keyboards have been favourably received world wide, there seems to be definite improvements in this modular version. The sound appears clearer, and it can be tailored in much greater detail to your exact requirements. The simulation of the Leslie speaker has incredible realism and a depth you will find hard to believe. A special Leslie driver socket on the rear of the module hooks up to the genuine article as well.

There are two parts to the XM1 package. A tone module contains the working guts of the instrument and a separate drawbar unit (XMc-1) that can be placed separately, has a full set of drawbars and controls. The two units are linked with a special 9 pin cable which can be increased in length by an optional extension lead. A rack mount kit is also available as an accessory.

On powering up, the module displays a representation of drawbar positions, this can also be shown numerically. All sound editing takes place on the module itself as does the Reverb level. On the Drawbar unit are buttons to control 2nd and 3rd percussion, 3 stage vibrato with or without chorus, 5 drawbar presets, Leslie on/off and fast/slow and controls for volume and overdrive. All controls are flagged with LED's and the Leslie light actually flashes in time with the rotation' speed of the speaker. The 5 presets can be customized and overridden with the flick of the controls or drawbars.

Although it may appear at first that the XM1 is just a simple one keyboard module it is actually a complete three manual organ. Three buttons corresponding to Upper, Lower and Pedal manuals select which manual you are setting up. The manual connects up to your controller instrument working on the principle that a modern organ transmits on separate Midi channels for each manual usually 1,2 and 3. A zoned single keyboard will also allow three separate sections to be played and with the new upgrade software the module will be able to split a single channel keyboard.

The XM1 has 100 factory presets which cover all popular playing styles by both category and performer plus 28 user presets. A preset sets up the whole instrument. One reason why the sound is so authentic is the extreme care and precision with which it has been sampled. However it is also due to the incredible versatility of the unit which enables you to literally create your own Hammond and Leslie unit. Add to this the sound variations of the drawbars themselves and you have a very powerful instrument.

To edit a sound you use a combination of multiple buttons on the front of the module. There are 4 levels of key click, 4 levels of sustain and 3 types of tone wheel generator for Upper and Lower manuals! You can choose between either a B-3, a pure sine wave or "Brite" where the higher pitched drawbars have extra frequencies added. If you are using B-3 tones then you can also choose whether or not to have fold-back', which will add extra bite to certain key areas.

The 2nd and 3rd percussion can be fine tuned by decay length, tone and volume. Again copying the older Hammonds they can either sound only on the first key taken down or on every key. They can even be velocity sensing unlike old Hammonds. Some old models used to borrow the 8th harmonic drawbar to create the percussion, this is another choice to make. On older models the percussion volume would reduce the higher you played and this too, can be mimicked if you wish. As well as the general Vibrato presets, their speed can be fine tuned with 5 preset speeds to choose from. As well as the reverb depth on the module there are four reverb settings, all are fully adjustable, and a 15 stage overdrive setting to imitate the typically rock and jazz Hammond that overdrives the amplifier and speakers.

There are five preset Leslie unit simulations; 122,147,710,760 and 850 plus a further five user programmable. The detail in which you can construct your own Leslie simulator is quite incredible. The speed of the rotors for bass and treble is fully adjustable as are the accelerations and slow-down times. On top of this you can adjust the time it takes for each rotor to achieve a dead stop (Brake Time). The balance between the treble and bass rotor is fully adjustable and you can even simulate the distance and angle a stereo pair of microphones will make to the sound, thus imitating exactly the sound of a Leslie in a concert hall or recording studio.

If you want to blend more contemporary features into the traditional Hammond then After touch can be assigned to Leslie or Pitch Bend. You can also set up Modulation and Pitch Blend controls as well and there are similar and well thought out options for foot pedals.

Any manual can be allotted any MIDI channel. As well as being able to select preset sounds using MIDI an advanced function will let MIDI alter the drawbars individually particularly when utilizing a customized Mixer Map controller page on a sequencer. It is possible to record all drawbar and control changes in real time so that a MIDI sequencer will reproduce a performance exactly.

This module is a triumph for Hammond. It has the feel and character of its forebears and if you are the least bit serious about having a drawbar sound you would be mad not to buy this!

FEATURES

NEW SAMPLING TECHNOLOGY

Now the all-new VASE-II + DRB sampling technology captures the sound and feel of the incomparable Hammond B3. The idea of sampling a B3 has been around for a long time. So has the notion of making a Drawbar Module. But just sampling and having Drawbars was not enough. Hammond has also recreated those idiosyncrasies of the tone-wheel generator that have eluded all previous digital systems.

SOUND EXPERIENCE

The XM1 Drawbar Module flawlessly generates the pure flute sound of the B3 and then goes on to add other variations such as Drawbar fold backs at the top and bottom octaves, variances in key click, and the effect of overdriving a tube amplifier. The total effect of the XM-1 Drawbar Module is the sound experience of the B3.

The XM-1 can perform in virtually any MIDI environment. This 3 part multi-timbral module also offer you the possibility to define upper, lower and pedals.

PATCH LIBRARY

 The XM-1 contains a built-in library of 128 patches.

LESLIE

 Built-in programmable Digital Leslie with double rotor simulations. (10 presets).

DIGITAL REVERB

 Built-in variable reverb. 4 programs : Room, Live, Hall and Church.