Hammond Organ Clones

Hammond Organ Clones

I have been shopping for a Hammond Organ Clone for over a year now. Wow, it's been a mind twister.  I know that I would like a dual manual with waterfall action keys and not too much non-organ fluff.

A friend of mine said "Why not just get an old Hammond M-111 used on Craigslist?" So I went ahead, brought home this dusty old beast, and realized there is no way that thing will fit in our music room. So now it sits in our garage until I can find another buyer.

Here's the list of Hammond Clones I put together.  For now I'm making due with my Logic virtual instrument organ and cheapo M-Audio Keystation. It's not fancy but it gets the job done 🙂

1. Viscount Legend

A duel manual Hammond clone with all the bells and whissles.  Made in Italy.
Viscount Legend on Hammond Central
Viscount Legend on Kraft Music

2. Hammond XK Series

People on this chat at OrganForum.com prefer the Hammond XK over the SK.

3. Hammond SK Series

This article at Sound On Sound Magazine has some good information on both XK and SK. The note that the SK has omitted some of the extra stuff to make the SK more of a "pure organ" as opposed to a jack of all trades.
Hammond Keyboard Product Lines at Hammond Central

4. Nord C2D

Now discontinued.  Maybe a replacement on the Horizon.  To me this seemed like the perfect Hammond Organ Clone although  Sweetwater said that the keys are weighted but the Nord site said waterfall action.  Maybe a typo on Sweetwater's part but even one of the reviews mentioned weighted keys so that was a little confusing.
Nord C2D on Sweetwater
Nord C2D Sound On Sound

5. Crumar Mojo 61

I've learned that although a duel manual is what I need to get the full organ experience, a single manual sitting on top of my Crumar 7 Rhodes clone might be a better fit for our small music room. The Crumar Mojo 61 could be a great fit!
Crumar Mojo 61 at Kraft Music
Crumar Mojo 61 at Sweetwater

6. Crumar Mojo XT

Crumar's dual manual clonewheel. Not sure if this would fit comfortably on top of my Crumar 7, but seems like a fun board.
Crumar Mojo XT on Sweetwater
Crumar Mojo XT on Kraft Music

7. Yamaha YC61

Single manual keyboard with drawbars and waterfall action keys.  I've heard that Yamaha boards can be a good long term investment because the parts are readily available if a repair is needed.
Yamaha YC61 KraftMusic.com
Yamaha YC61 at Guitar Center

8. Roland VR-09-B

The rice is right here but maybe too many bells and whistles for my taste.
Roland VR-09-B at Sweetwater
Roland VR-09-B at Guitar Center

9. Roland VR-730

Another waterfall action drawbar board from Roland, this one has more features and $500 more expensive.
Roland VR-730 at Sweetwater
Roland VR-730 at Kraft Music

10. Dexibell Combo J7

Another Italian keyboard company.  That makes three that I know of: Viscount, Crumar and Dexibell.  Dexibell clonewheel boards have flying faders, fancy!
Dexibell Combo J7 on Kraft Music
Dexibell Combo J7 on Sweetwater