Hammond XK3 System

HAMMOND XK3system Details

XK System Includes:

XK3 Keyboard
XK System Cabinet w/ Lower Manual
XK Stand
C-3 Style Pedals
XK Pedal Board (25 note midi)
XK Bench

The XK3 is undoubtedly the most 'full on' Hammond single manual we have ever seen or heard. From turning on the power the organ delivers the most powerful and authentic sound imaginable. This is a Hammond for the most serious and demanding of players, and without a doubt it is the real deal.

This instrument is definitely the way forward for anyone who needs authentic B3 sound and feel. At just over 19 kilos, XK3 represents the ultimate compromise for the touring musician. Improved digital Leslie means your completely self contained and can just set up and play. Coupled with a Leslie 21 system it is the definitive Hammond setup.

Tone-Wheels
The new XK-3 contains (96) independent oscillating digital tonewheels for accurate reproduction of the B3 sound. Importantly, this keyboard has full polyphony.

Vacuum Tube preamplifier
The XK-3 is equipped with a vacuum tube preamplifier for warmth and rich overdrive. The overdrive circuit consists of two bands. Thus even if the sound is overdriven, you can still obtain purer harmonics.

Custom Tonewheel (and transistor) templates

There are a number of Custom Templates pre-loaded into the XK3 as follows:

B-Type

Real B3

This template is the classic B3 model. When purchasing a B3 you would maybe try three or four to find the best one of the bunch (they were all slightrly different from new- some great, some good, and some not so good)...well this is the best of the B3's

80s Clean

The 80s gave us sampling technology, and with it the 'clinically clean' 'Organ sound'. Basically take a Hammond B3, record it digitally, get rid of all of the grunge, noise and imperfections picked up in the sampled sound...hey presto... 1980s Hammond.

Noisy

Take an A100 and stick a couple of micrphones in front of the speakers..all that noise!, motor hum, leakeage..etc..etc. This is the sound most Hammond Clones try and replicate.

Mellow

Full Flats

Tonewheel generators are somewhat random, take out that 'randomness' and give each tonewheel a mathematical formula and this is the result. (Somewhat like a late 70s/early 80 Hammond Console/Spinet. e.g Concorde, Elegante, Aurora Classic.

Husky

Dropped Middle Ranges- accenting the high and low frequencies

Flute Lead

opposite to Husky- Bass and treble dropped.

Brite

Classic X5

Infamous Hammond X5- dull triangle waveforms and flat output levels on every frequency.

Vox Full

Very Brite- the manual says "suitable for surfin' music", amusing...but try it and you will soon realise Hammond dont mean surfin' the net.

Cheap Transistor ..or cheesy organ (italics ours)

The manual says 'junk transistor organ, it contains insufficient bass and treble'. What they mean is nasty..but incredibly cool late 60s/early 70s combo organ.."you beautiful stranger, light my fire before the sun rises over that house."

Hammond XK-System Cabinet

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Wooden cabinet and lower manual and music stand for XK-3.
Keyboard- 61 + 12 (preset keys)
Panel Controls- Power on/off
Terminal- AC input, MIDI out, Headphone
Dimensions- 48 inch (W), 25 inch (D), 8 inch (H) (without music rack)
Weight- 67 lbs

Hammond XK-Stand

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B-3 style folding stand for the XK-System.
Dimensions- 48 inch (W), 25 inch (D), 30 inch (H) (set up)
Weight 36 lbs

Hammond C-3 Style Panels

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C-3 Style panels to be used with XK-Stand to create the C-3 appearance with the XK-System

Hammond XK-Pedal Board

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25 note MIDI pedal board for the XK-System.
Kedyboard- 25 keys
Terminal- MIDI out, Expression pedal out
Dimensions- 42 inch (W), 37 inch (D), 6 inch (H) (without expression pedal)
Weight 55lbs

Hammond XK-Bench

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Collapsible bench for the XK-System.
Dimensions 36 inch (W), 15 Inch (D), 23 inch (H) (assembled)
Weight 29 lbs

HAMMOND XK3system Specs

Specifications:

Sound Generator

• 2x Vase III Digital Tonewheel

Keyboard

• 73 keys (61 +12 preset keys), Waterfall with velocity

Harmonic Drawbars

• Upper

9 pitches, B type/Mellow/Bright

• Lower

9 Pitches

• Pedal

2 Pitches, Muted/Normal/Synth.

Percussion

• Tabs

Second On, Third On, Fast Decay, Soft

Tuning

• Master

430 - 450 1 Hz steps

• Transpose

-6 -0 +6 semitones

Effects

•Internal Leslie

On, fast, Brake. Digital, 2 rotor.

• Vibrato and Chorus

V1, V2, V3, C1, C2, C3

Upper & Lower On/Off

Speed: 5 (6, 10 -7.25Hz)

• Pre-amp

Preamp On, Overdrive

Vacuum tube amplifier

• Equalizer

3 bands

• Reverb

10 Programs

• Sustain

5 Lengths (Pedal)

Internal Zone

• Tabs

Split

Manual Bass

• Adjustable

Map Low, High

Split Point

Lower Octave

Pedal Top Key

Combination presets

• 12 Banks x 11 Presets + adjust B

Switchable: Link/Independant

Controllers

• Switches

Power On / Off

•Rotary Controllers

Master Volume

Tube Overdrive

Tone

•Wheels

Pitch Bend

Modulation

Display

•20 characters, 2 lines with 9 control switches and Rotary encoder.

Storage

• CompactFlash card slot

MIDI

•Template: 3 Modes, Zoned 3 Parts and Keyboard Channel

Connections

• AC inlet

• MIDI In 1, In 2, Out

• Expression Pedal 1, 2

• Foot Switch 1,

• Effects Send, Return

• Line Out L/Mono, R,

• Headphone

• 11 Pin leslie

Dimensions

• 119(W) x 40(D) x 12 (H) cm

Weight

• 19.5kg

HAMMOND XK3system Documentation

XK3 Brochure (pdf)

HAMMOND XK3system Demos

For immediate & free access to the MP3 demonstrations page please complete the registration form. You will be directed to Hammond.

HAMMOND XK3system Review

Hammond-Suzuki XK-3
Hammond-Suzuki's XK-2 earned a Key Buy in 1999, and was the first portable clone to feature waterfall keys, an all-important tactile aspect of the original. It had its devotees and detractors; I actually preferred the Roland VK-7 at the time. I'm happy to say the XK-3 should be approached with completely fresh ears. It picks up where its predecessor left off . . . but then runs a marathon.

The sound engine is completely new, it uses the same “long loop” sound sampling as the New B-3. But the XK-3 is digital only, whereas in the New B-3 and Porta B, there are analog elements introduced by the nine busbars and the key click mechanism. Control layout mimics a full-size B: drawbars above the manual, vibrato on the left, percussion on the right, and so on. A second set of drawbars has been added (so has a pair for the pedals); the sets can control upper and lower parts or follow the A# and B preset keys like on the real thing. Speaking of preset keys, they're here in all their reverse-color glory. Hold one down a second or so, and the drawbar settings revert to what's physically dialed up, but all other aspects of the now-loaded preset remain the same. Equally nifty is that lingering on any button calls up a relevant edit menu in the LCD: Sit on a percussion button, up come the decay parameters, and so on.

Even if this entire feature were devoted to the XK-3, there wouldn't be room to do justice to how deeply its sounds can be edited. This is the first B-3 clone ever where a graphic editor-librarian might come in handy. Most notably, the 96 virtual tone wheels are adjustable individually for volume and filter settings, making it possible to model any vintage tone generator you may have in your mind's ear. Variable leakage is offered, in the form of tone wheel sets like “Real B3,” “Clean,” and “Noisy.”

Pedal sustain is available for the string-bass feel that organists used to criticize the B-3 for lacking, there's a “muted” mode, even a squishy Moog-like pedal sound as a bonus. Two MIDI inputs accommodate a lower manual and pedals, but you can play all three parts from the XK's 61 keys. “Split” works as you'd expect, but the “Manual Bass” button is really ingenious: It couples the pedal part to the bottom two octaves, monophonically, with low-note priority. This means the pinky of your left hand can kick bass while the other fingers comp on a light, flutey sound, leaving the upper registration to your right hand.

The XK-3's naked sound, which worship-music veteran Don Bosco found “very convincing,” is voiced just right for real Leslies old and new. Leslies are supposed to roll off some high end and “smear” things a bit, but on some clones, this can mean loss of clarity between drawbar tones that you can't EQ back in, especially when heard next to a real B. The XK-3 and new B-3 led the pack in terms of avoiding this. Likewise, key click didn't need to be maxed out to stay articulate in the big wooden boxes.

Onboard Leslie emulation got mixed reactions. “It's definitely better than my XK-2,” observed Eppley, “which I've never used with the internal effect. I'd use this.” Roger Smith described it as “cool, with some depth to it. But you don't really get a sense of circular motion . . . it's more back-and-forth.” In the edit menus, slightly lowering the rotor speeds and widening the mic angle improved things, but not as dramatically as heaping on C3 chorus. “Wow, what a difference!” exclaimed Eppley. “That really gives you the . . . I want to say, ‘the ocean.'” Smith agreed: “Now I hear circles.” Working late one night, I had the demo songs playing as I paced around the Keyboard studio, and the rotary effect seemed sweeter than in my seat right between the speakers, as though it had more space to develop. Another detail: On many vintage Hammonds, the vibrato circuit boosts the treble more or less sharply depending on the model, year, and condition. On the XK, the V settings do this just a little, the C's noticeably more, with C3 the most in-your-face.

The final feature to cover (though we've left a few out) is the dual-tube output stage, which can be set to overdrive two frequency bands independently. Don Bosco felt that the default settings in the presets he tried were “great for that Jon Lord sound, but unless turned down, too grungy for what I do.” In its favor, the circuit is as programmable as everything else, so you can certainly get subtlety out of it.

There's no question that the XK-3 is the best single-manual clone ever from Hammond-Suzuki, but that's not saying enough. It's so well-thought-out and just plain musical that calling it a “real Hammond” is fully reverent of the name's legacy.

HAMMOND XK3system Hear this Product

Listen to XK3

Acid Wash
Cookin
Crazy
Shooting Star

HAMMOND XK3system How to Choose

Other views of HAMMOND XK3system (Click to enlarge):

Hammond XK3 System

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Bench

Cabinet

Panels

Pedal_board

Stand

XK3

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