Quote:


Now if you can't tell a B3 and a Pipe Organ apart, yer deafer than John.





In 1937, Laurens Hammond was taken to court by the US Federal Trade Commission. brought about by various members of the pipe organ mfrs and community, and an investigation, complete with federal judge, was launched into whether or not he would be allowed to continue to call his invention an "organ."

This investigation went on for about a year before Laurens Hammond proposed that a blind test between his instrument and a real pipe organ be used to solve the problem.

A live comparison with the E.M. Skinner pipe organ at Chicago's Rockefeller Memorial Chapel was allowed, with a panel of judges that included leading well known pipe organists. conductors and music authorities, some PhDs were in that bunch, John.

Hammond put one of his electric organs inside the same chapel, powered by several of his own Tone Cabinets - no Leslie speaker, Laurens did not like the Leslie speaker, believe it or not.

Long story short, the distinguished panel of musicologists were unable to identify the Hammond organ over the Skinner pipe organ. Matter of fact, the results were all over the place.

The "experts" could not tell the Hammond from the Pipe Organ.

Hammond won the right to call the instrument an organ, However, it was also stipulated at the same time tht he could not claim "an infinite number of tones" in advertising, as only 253 million combinations are actually possible.

1937 The model E, designed to be used in churches, is introduced. It is the first Hammond with a full 32-note pedalboard, built according to American Guild of Organists.


Of course, pride and prejudice still live in the hearts of many, facts have nothing to do with it...


--Mac


sources:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/HISTORY+OF+THE+HAMMOND.-a0200786721

http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/M-H/HamOrg-inv.htm

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