Nord User Forum

[kbrkr]

For all you key click aficionados who "need more click (not Cowbell)", why don't you try using the synth section and use a waveform and filter to create a very short attack / decay / sustain to emulate the "blip" key click sound and then just adjust the volume to taste? Just try different waveforms for the correct timbre.

[analogika]

I'm thinking of trying this experiment: Sample the lowest organ note with only the 16' drawbar out; EQ the sample to try to effectively eliminate all the tone of that low C (a narrow band parametric EQ would probably be best, since the tone is close to a simple sine wave), so that basically all that all that is left is the sound of the click. Then make a Synth sound out of that click sample, and layer it with the organ, and I could dial in whatever amount I want.

Having no access to the real thing, I'm curious: is the click a constant pitch across the keybed, or does it change character depending on that, and/or active drawbars?

In an organ, the tonewheels are constantly spinning and constantly producing sine-wave-like signals.
The click is a result of the key contacts closing without regard to the phase of the signal. (The tonewheel signal oscillates through a wave between positive and negative values, and each cycle through positive and negative values and back up to zero is called a “phase”. If you jump into a signal whose voltage isn’t exactly at zero, it will give an audible crack.)
In addition, there are nine contacts underneath each key, and depending upon wear, dust, and normal variation, they will not all close at exactly the same time, which further pronounces the effect.
Actual dirt/oxidation/dust on the contacts will also result in a louder click.

This also means that the intensity of the key click is dependent upon the drawbar settings.

People love the key click because it gives the organ a clear attack and bite.

[Bjosko]

On a clone (and also sometime on my Hammond), I am often using the C1 (C3 often feels to wobbly) to add some “dirt” to the sound. The chorus amplifies the click to some extent.

[anotherscott]

For all you key click aficionados who "need more click (not Cowbell)", why don't you try using the synth section and use a waveform and filter to create a very short attack / decay / sustain to emulate the "blip" key click sound and then just adjust the volume to taste? Just try different waveforms for the correct timbre.

The waveform that would come closest is Noise. Otherwise it would be pitched (more like a percussion setting, than a click). But it still won't be right. As analogika alludes to, the click isn't really a single percussive sound, it is a "smush" of a whole bunch of separate little noises.

[elsongs]

I set mine on Low. Even then it's kind of annoying.

I don't own a real Hammond, but I have access to a C3 at my church and a B2 at a center for the blind that I volunteer at. I don't really notice the key click at all when I'm playing those...the Leslie isn't really a hi-fidelity speaker (which is part of its charm), and a real Hammond sounds more warm and mellow sounding than the biting tones that the Nord and other digital clonewheel keyboards offer.

[anotherscott]

a real Hammond sounds more warm and mellow sounding than the biting tones that the Nord and other digital clonewheel keyboards offer.

It depends on which real Hammond you play. I had an original Hammond C from about 1940, it was wonderfully dirty and biting.

[elsongs]

a real Hammond sounds more warm and mellow sounding than the biting tones that the Nord and other digital clonewheel keyboards offer.

It depends on which real Hammond you play. I had an original Hammond C from about 1940, it was wonderfully dirty and biting.

I meant "biting" as in exaggerated bright overtones, not the funky growly bite from a classic actual Hammond. Two totally different things.

[anotherscott]

Still, if you listen to ELP-style Hammond, "mellow" would not be the first word that comes to mind.