A recreation of this legendary tonewheel organ that was created by Hammond. Features include drawbars, two manuals, and the Leslie rotating speaker effect.
The ‘organ’ is played via your mouse which you drag or click across the onscreen keys. Alternatively, you may prefer a more hands-on approach by playing on your computer keyboard. The interface attempt to recreate the feel of a real B3 organ. This allows you direct control of sound effects including modulation, percussion, and tone all from within your browser.
How to Play the Organ
This is a keyboard. What we have here is the keyboard divided into two section. There is one section for each hand, and the upper (right) hand section is known as the ‘manual’. That goes from C4 to C6. The lower or left-hand section are called the ‘manual’ and covers the range from C3 to C5.
If you look at your computer keyboard then the number keys corresponds to the upper manual. Q is for C4, followed by 2 (C sharp), and then W (D). Keep going along and they reach I which is C5. The lower manual correspond to the Z row and the keys just next to it. The sequence starts again with Z, which is C3. When using a touchscreen device, you are able to perform multi-touch chords. Using your physical keyboard, you’ll need to hold the key down to sustain notes. A glissando effect is achieved when dragging the cursor around the screen. This enables smooth slides from note to note.
These are drawbars. The heart of the organ sound lies in the drawbars. You’ll have two banks of them; one on each manual. Each of the nine long vertical sliders control a harmonic overtone. Each drawbar corresponds to a pipe length: 16 feet, 8 feet, or 1 foot, and so on. Pulling down on a drawbar increases that particular bar and adds the corresponding harmonic to your sound. Below you will see the registration displayed. It’s an old-school number system showing you what you’re currently using. By tweaking the drawbars, you can alter the sound from mellow and warm to biting and bright. Preset buttons on the interface feature popular settings including Gospel, Jazz, and Classic. They will automatically set all the drawbars for you.
The drawbars are just part of it. There are some effect settings that allow you to put your own stamp on what you play. These add a percussive sound to the notes on the top manual. Choose between 2nd and 3rd to get a harmonic ping at the beginning of every note. That’s an important element in authentic rock organ parts as well as gospel.
Leslie/Vibrato: These control modulation. Leslie is a simulation of the rotating speaker cabinet. Tremolo is a faster more dramatic spin. Chorale is a slower, chorused effect. They can be switched while playing, giving you an opportunity to listen to how the simulated motor changes speed.
Other features also make it simple enough to try things out without having to play each chord individually. On the bottom there are Chord buttons that produce sustained voicings on the lower manual. Tap any of these; click C, F, G7 or Am and hear the chords ring out. You can then concentrate on your melody using your right hand. If you’re new to playing with both hands this might help you get an extra boost. There is even a button to play a two-handed Gospel riff: press it and hear how the instrument sounds played within a more typical setting. It will also give ideas for how you might improvise over it yourself.
The volume slider allows you to adjust the level. And the fullscreen button increases the size of the widget giving you a bigger space to play.
Here’s what works best. Activate the Leslie effect first. Set it to a suitable preset; perhaps Gospel? Pull the drawbars of the top manual down to 8-foot and 1-foot. This is a bright lead tone. On the bottom manual pull the drawbars down to 8-foot and 5-third foot. These offer a warm base for your bass sound.
The Chord buttons make this a good instrument for working through chord progressions too. Just play melody lines above and they will hold the chords so that you can experiment with ideas. If you are sat at a desk try using the computer keyboard mappings. These make it easy to change chords and play faster.
It is a neat little widget that packs the key controls of a pro organ into a space friendly, online form. No more messing around with hardware and routing. Just perform and create tones. The controls are immediate and intuitive. They work whether you’re an interested amateur wanting to learn more about the organ’s sound or a performer wishing to work on organ technique. Play around, change the effects, see what drawbar blends suit you best. Once you have found a voice that works, start performing and let it tell you where to make changes.