Hammond XK5 | Pipe Organ Sounds Demo

[@B3burner]

Thank you for showing us the pipe organ features of the xk5. This organ style is probably the most overlooked, so it’s nice to see it highlighted. Keep up the good work.

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch - yes, there's so much more than meets the eye with the Hammond XK5. Such a wonderful instrument and the pipe organ bank is a wonderful bonus option.

[@clisma]

Respect for this Tones

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@Rainbowsandswirls47]

Thank you for a really great video showing us all those fantastic organ voices, you're a very gifted musician 😊

[@brew2019]

Thanks so much for stopping by to watch and your kind comments!

[@Musician-Lee]

Really interesting. I have a Nord C2D and as you rightly say, the pipe organ simulator is not as good. I’m driving a Hauptwerk through mine, which is spectacular

[@alphonsotate2982]

Wow ! I love the church sound

[@brew2019]

Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!

[@almeisam]

That's some really good samples!

[@brew2019]

I'm enjoying this part of the Hammond XK5. Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@ianfantomx7]

its not sampled it’s modelled

[@chrisway7113]

Great sounds, great explanation, great playing, great video!

[@brew2019]

Thank you kindly and much appreciation for stopping by to watch and comment!

[@vitaliebuhna1148]

I´m planning to buy the XK-5 system. Excelent demo!

[@brew2019]

Glad you found the video helpful. The XK5 has been a great addition to my setup. Hope you enjoy yours when you get it. Happy playing.

[@jrzzrj]

👍 Really great sounds. Almost, but not quite as pure pipe as I could detect. Most unusual for a Hammond. I have home model Hammond XE-1 and I love to combine any one of a number of Hauptwerk organs with it's pipe organ tones. You can only imagine the jillions of tonal combinations I can come up with. thanks for the Demo.

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch. Hauptwerk is fantastic and a fun experience for sure.

[@giussepemusicgaudenzi]

Amen!! Thnks for this video

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@mfurman]

Thank you. Very helpful for me.

[@brew2019]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for stopping by to watch.

[@adrianmorris8576]

Very interesting demonstration Art. I hadn't realised that the XK-5 has a specific setup for pipe organs sounds although I knew that Hammonds origianlly to claimed to be comparable to a pipe organ in years gone by. You surprised mew with the comment about being able to use Hauptwerk software on the XK-5 - I didn't know that at all and that hugely expands what an XK-5 can really do - ah the wonders of modern electronics!. Great video and well presneted. Thanks

[@brew2019]

Thanks so much for stopping by to watch and sharing your comments. The XK-5 is a wonderful and versatile instrument indeed - if not a tad awkward for me to move around on my own. So it mainly stays home.

[@garysmith8455]

Nice to find this.. I come from a long playing history with the Hammond organ. From taking lessons at a Hammond organ dealer in the mid 60ies (4 years!) when ALL the Hammond models were brand new on the showroom floor. And my folks purchasing an E-100 in those days. Fast forward a bit, finds me working for a pipe organ company now in my 34th year this June. My loyalty has always been with Hammond through my days playing in a career rock band. Later blues group with an XK-3c with lower manual and B3 Guys stand. Currently still enjoying the SK-2 and Leslie Studio 12, a killer combo for sure! I have it set in B2 mode with all the crosstalk and leakage cranked and a bit of key click in both directions including in the pedalboard (O: The SK-2 be believe has the ability to couple the accomp. (great) manual to the pedal, so I will see if it is possible to couple the swell to great for you. I know the voices are all independent because you can play both manuals in the same octave and the 'classic' pipe voices DO overlay or combine. There is a slight detune when you do this which gives it a bit of natural 'animation'. Thanks again!

[@brew2019]

What a wonderful background. The coupler information would be useful for the XK5 if you come across that. Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@garysmith8455]

@@brew2019 LONG STORY........but, Thanks for your kind words and reply Art ! Your video has prompted me to dig into the main 'pipe' menu on my SK-2 and I found some rather interesting things you can do with the pipe samples ! (I am sure the same exists on your 5. You can adjust the tuning, volume and FILTERING among other things for each stop! I know you were a bit put off by the 2' super octave. You can easily take that back in it's forwardness by volume or filtering a bit so it would blend better in the principal chorus and with your audio system. Please give that a look and see how you can 'tame' it a bit. Love to know how it worked for you. Also, the interesting problem with play back systems is TWEETERS and how they make things 'brighter' then they are especially when it comes to mixtures. I am listening to mine with the Leslie speaker, which is not as bright of course... Some history.... I had in my home a concert model Allen (ADC-5000) which was their flagship two manual of 54 stops and over 20 toe studs - drawknob console. This had SIX channels. I sold all of the large speaker cabinets which had 15" drivers and such in each. Since I had an AGO spec Conn 645 theater organ, I decided to keep ALL the pipe speakers from it when sold, and used them on the Allen. Since there were NO TWEETERS and all 6X9'" drivers speaking through 'tubes' which did have a dimensional scale with cabinets much like 'offset' pipe chests, the effect was fantastic! Organists that came to play said it was one of the finest Allen's they had ever heard from the mid 80ies. There were no digital artifacts or harshness due to the simplistic full range speakers without high frequency drivers. Mind you, this instrument had THREE principal choruses and mixtures in all divisions. It really was a warm and full sound even Sfortzando did not hurt the ears LOL. Of course, with TWO 32' stops in the pedal and a big subwoofer filling out the low end, really rounded things out. (6 channels of independent reverb put the finishing touches). Wish you could have played it. Please write when you get a moment.

[@garysmith8455]

@@brew2019 And now..............I feel rather foolish having JUST discovered your video from some 11 days ago looking at the very menu I mentioned.............Sheesh, sorry about that. Hope you get a smile from my Allen story at least ((O:

[@8308776]

I was so glad to finally see something like this. I play a C-2 in Church. Try as best as I can, I can not get a true pipe organ sound of of that thing. It makes a great flute sound, but as far as strings or reeds, I just can't seem to get that. Any drawbar settings you can suggest to get me closer to where I might be happy? I've heard a few Hammonds of this age make a rather convincing pipe sound, but I have no idea how they did it. Thanks.

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch. I'll see about making a video about the pipe organ registrations I use on the XK5. In general, for church hymn accompaniments, I pull 8' and 4' stop options (from the pipe organ bank). The string tunes (just as when I play an actual pipe organ), I don't use for accompanying congregational singing. Mixture stop I might add on the last verse of a hymn - similar to a reed stop (if used at all). The reed options on the XK5 are acceptable, but I find it a nice option as a solo stop (upper manual) when playing an instrumental piece (e.g., if I use an 8+4 registration on the lower manual). The pipe organ sounds from the XK5 come from a dedicated bank - not from the traditional Hammond Organ drawbar sounds that you otherwise would have on a tonewheel organ.

[@mickelachlan]

Wonderful! Thank you. Are the same pipe organs available in the XK4 as well?

[@brew2019]

I took a quick peak at the XK4 user manual. It looks like the XK4 has an expanded set of pipe organ sounds compared to the XK5 (though I believe you only have one keyboard on the XK4 versus the option of 2 on the XK5)

[@mickelachlan]

@@brew2019 Thanks! :)

[@cooltrades7469]

Really great sound.

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@timothysobina6777]

Hello, I loved your explanation of the pipe organ sounds. I remarked on your other videos as I loved those as well. I have an XK5, and I try to get onto it, but I have been primarily playing piano at church and also at 4 - 5 nursing homes as well, and I had/have some questions pertaining to the presets, etc. If it's ok with you, I would like to ask you a few pointers regarding the XK5.

[@brew2019]

Absolutely - happy to try and answer any question.

[@helgemk6343]

Very much like your demo. I wonder if the stops available for both manuals could be combined by leveraging on midi - i.e. by sending midi messages from the lower to the upper manual. What do you think?

[@brew2019]

That would be interesting to try. I don't know that I could figure that out myself - but it would provide an even larger spectrum of sound if the manuals could be coupled. Maybe it will be a future enhancement that Hammond can offer. Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@donleino]

awesome demo thanks, very nice pipe sounds. im looking at a SKX Pro and it appears they share the same pipe engine. trying to find info and comparing hammond suzuki products is quite tricky! thanks again!

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch. Yes, I believe the pipe organ sounds between the XK5 and SKX Pro are the same - that's my memory when I played both at NAMM a couple of years ago. The SKX is a nice keyboard as well and was in the running when I made my purchase.

[@donleino]

@@brew2019 hey thanks for getting back to me :) nice to hear from someone who has played them both. i certainly would appreciate the keybed in the XK5, but the SKX pro for me would be required for velocity based multi-timbral playing and composition. also as a fan of lowreys the theatre organ also intrigues me . one disappointment would be the extra voices on the SKX , hammond hasnt quite figured it out yet , but alas im buying for organ and it has a midi out :p

[@7649angel]

Wonderful

[@brew2019]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@lrblouie]

Awesome video, thank you! I learned a lot.

[@brew2019]

Wonderful - thanks so much for stopping by to watch!

[@BrandonKraemerbk]

great demo!

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@davidlane1169]

Pipe organs were excedingly simulated throughout the 90s decade even before the advent of the DX7 which introduced digital sampling. The excedingly inexpensive commonplace algorythm synths very likely had samples of many various pipe organs, my Yamaha DX 27 mini-keyboard simulated over 400 voices with complete clarity. A novice of the era knows this much. I believe you may have missed the entire midi saga of the era & the direction we were forced into trying to learn abour how to implement MIDI with no internet to educate us with.

[@brew2019]

I was there in the beginning through the beginnings of the midi era and still have several instruments from the early 80s when pipe organ sounds made their way into romplers and FM synthesis. As a player who sits at the real instruments on Sundays, the electronic imitations have typically centered on tutti registrations, that might sound good in a new color in a prog rock sound or stage show. Though their usefulness for playing pipe organ repertoire achieved the potential. Alesis had a chance when they developed a pipe organ Q card for their QS series (I have that too) and that turned out to be a disappointment in a big way - again, from the perspective of usability with traditional organ repertoire. At least today, there is Hauptwerk - I have about two dozen organ sets for that software and at least for me, its the only home option that achieves quality of pipe organ sound reproduction along with the ability to dial in individual stops - something that no mainstream keyboard manufacturer (e.g. Roland, Yamaha, etc.) offered during the midi era. Hammond on the XK5 (along with Nord on their organ and Dexibell today offer 9 stop per manual options that come in handy for practice in my opinion). Happy music making and thanks for watching!

[@ianfantomx7]

dx7 wasnt samples it was fm synthesis

[@davidlane1169]

@@ianfantomx7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980s, the synthesizer market was dominated by analog synthesizers : response from a computer query.

[@davyydsummers]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Do you know if the pipe organ tones will be sent to a leslie 3300 over the 11-pin jack? The manual states that "Leslie" is disabled when using the pipe organ, but that may be the internal simulator.

[@brew2019]

Hi David, I don't have a way personally to validate this as I don't have a Leslie at my house. My suspect the manual comment is in reference to the internal simulator as you mention. I suppose spinning tones from the pipe organ bank would be an interesting effect. Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@MisterRorschach90]

I have the dream of taking one of these and Frankensteining one of the new Rhodes mk8 under or on top of it, and topping it off with the control panel from a 16 voice moog one. All modified so that each keyboard can control the others. I think it would be really fun to be able to use the organ pedals for a poly synth like that. Would be even cooler if it had a Leslie next to it or a small one built in.

[@brew2019]

That sounds like a bunch of fun. Before my Hammond XK5, I had an older Alesis synth topped with a DX7II over my pedal board as my frankenorgan contraption.

[@Jenairaslebol27merde]

thank you for this awesome demonstration of the pipe organ sounds of the xk5, i've never really heard them before! the arrangement of the stops and their sound is quite decent, but of course there is also room for improvement. as the xk5 has 4 sets of 9 drawbars, why not just use all of them? like: 2 sets (total of 18 stops) for great, 1 set for swell (or maybe just vice versa or something in between, as swell often happens to have more stops than great..) and 1 set for pedal (just 2 stops as it is now is just not enough - more flutes and principals needed and of course some reeds, at least a solid 16' trombone or something). and as you said, couplers are also a must! (percussion buttons could be used for this. aaaand the vibrato buttons for tremulant et voila :) ) maybe this could be a polyphony problem (i do not know what the max polyphony in the xk5 is, but i have a roland c380 and it has 512 tones of polyphony and this is really not so much as it looks...). but should hammond plan to release an upgraded version of the xk5 - this is some of the things i'd like to see :)

[@brew2019]

Great idea about employing both sets of drawbars at the same time. Who knows, maybe someday the Hammond engineers might figure out how to do that. In the interim, I enjoy this “light” option when I don’t have time to move my gear to dial in my Hauptwerk setup. Thanks for watching.

[@TonyLeva]

It’s also very good!

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@ambarabuana1327]

Beautiful voice 💝👍🙏

[@brew2019]

Thanks a lot

[@mariodimanno-o8k]

very nice sound actually a fantastic sound . but what about the foot pedals , are there any ?

[@brew2019]

Foot pedals are an option for the Hammond XK5. The pedalboard sold by Hammond for this organ is a 25-note model. I purchased a midi pedalboard from Classic Midiworks that provides an AGO 32-note compass that allows me to explore the classical repertoire.

[@mousepaws]

I wish they would replace the 16' on the swell with a Nazard 2 2/3 on the XK5. It's used -so- often, while a 16' on the swell isn't.. Also, like you mentioned, they should have offered an option to couple ranks between manuals. Very nice video!

[@brew2019]

A coupler would be wonderful - maybe on a future upgrade - fingers crossed. Thanks for watching.

[@t.m.7712]

Very nice! Homemade music stand?

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by. The music stand was purchased online from Mister Sandman Musicstands - www.misterstandman.com/.

[@pastorwaltercross3891]

Thank you for a very fine presentation very interesting have you tried the Hammond XK pro two manual supposedly has the same chjpplus a theater or sample I would like to hear you 😊

[@brew2019]

I'll need to explore what Hammond has for theater sounds. I often connect my computer with a program called Hauptwerk on which I can trigger some Theater organ sounds. Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@MG-Nordster]

Thanks for the in depth explanation on the organ. I was just wondering, it seems that it has way many more octaves of keys, than you needed to use. How many octaves are each manual? i was wondering, i saw most of the highest sounds were probably 2 octaves lower than the highest note. What type of sound would they even make? IYO, do you feel that there TOO many octaves of keys given there is no need to split the manuals as there is in single manual Nords, Yamahas, etc?

[@brew2019]

The Hammond has five octaves of playable keys - the black key octave on the bottom don’t play notes, they trigger sound combinations - so the range is comparable to standard church/pipe organs. This video wasn’t intended to showcase the playability of the pipe organ ranks but rather just showcase the sounds Hammond chose to use on this organ. As for octaves per manual, I suppose it depends on the needs of the player. I need five octaves per manual for sure. Wouldn’t be able to play the works of Widor, Mendelssohn, Buxtehude etc without a full compass available. Thanks for watching!

[@MG-Nordster]

@@brew2019 I understand, it just looks wider than my CV. Looked like it had extra octaves of white keys. I'm aware of the reverse keys functions. But thanks for the video. You sound great playing it. Way above my abilities! Thanks again.

[@gerritveldhuisen7748]

Great Thanks Art

[@brew2019]

Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!

[@michaelschmeiser1069]

So the XK5 you need to buy both manuals separately but the SKPro it comes with both manuals. Right? I’m only interested in the pipe organ sound. Michael Palm Beach

[@brew2019]

The XK5 is a single keyboard and many people buy just that piece. To have a two-manual Hammond organ of the XK5 variety, one would add the XLK-5 lower manual. You are right the SKPro is two manuals in one (and much lighter weight and easier to transport). You might also take a look at the newly released Hammond XK4 - also a lighter double-manual instrument that features the pipe organ sounds.

[@anorganlover6281]

Why haven't HAMMOND XK5 owners read their instruction book thoroughly or seen demonstrations - either live or KZbin to know what it can do - regarding pipe organ sounds ?

[@brew2019]

Thanks for stopping by to watch - lots of capabilities under the hood of the XK5

[@angel006a]

Is the organ sound through the line or is there a microphone lying around?

[@brew2019]

The organ sound itself was captured directly through a line from the Hammond into a digital recorder.

[@karlmhoon]

Awesome but what was your drawbar setting

[@brew2019]

So almost every demo was each single drawbar to highlight the tones in the pipe organ bank - and as noted in the video, on the pipe organ bank - these are binary (on/off), versus the gradual volume change available on the standard Hammond tones on the XK5. If there is a specific section in the video for which you have a question of the combination of stops that I used, I can probably recall that for you - but again most were just the single stops. Thanks for stopping by.

[@karlmhoon]

@@brew2019 ok I have a XK3C

[@Seoras111]

As an organist I must say I am impressed with the pipe organ sounds of the Hammond, thanks for sharing. But my goodness, the reverb is not impressive at all. Sounds cheap and nasty. I would be tempted to get an external reverb like a Strymon or similar and run it through that instead.

[@brew2019]

Yes, I don’t recall how much of the reverb I dialed in from the Hammond on this video, probably halfway. To your point, it is limited. I do own the Strymon Big Sky Reverb - very nice and versatile - though I usually have it connected to my DX7 (painfully dry without effects). Thanks for watching!

[@zerobeat2020]

@@brew2019 I would love to hear the Hammond pipe organ sounds through the Big Sky!

[@joeanderson8839]

I have never been impressed with any digital recreation of an analog keyboard.

[@brew2019]

Yup agree - ain’t nothing like the real thing. But this comes in handy for me for weekday practice before my Sunday church gigs. Thanks for watching!

[@socialite1283]

The "Oboe" stop sounds more like a Horn stop to me.

[@brew2019]

I find the Hammond's Pipe Organ "Oboe" stop a bit less aggressive than its trumpet stop. Serviceable enough for practicing when I'm too lazy to connect my computer to trigger Hauptwerk from the Hammond. Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@LarcR]

The "pipe organ" stops sound thoroughly electronic to my ear, like a real pipe organ only in a limited imitative sense. Overuse of reverb may be partially responsible.

[@brew2019]

Agree, these pipe organ tones carry an electronic nature. When I seek something more authentic at home, I always turn to Hauptwerk which is probably the best one can get for pipe organ emulations through software in my opinion. Still, I'll use the built in pipe organ sounds of the Hammond Xk5 when I need to get in a quick practice for my Sunday morning church gig (and don't want to bother with connecting my computer to my DAC, then to my organ and sound system for the otherwise much better Hauptwerk experience). Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@horsebassoon]

I agree - meh. Stick with the Hammond sounds for what it does best, and hook it to a computer with Hauptwerk for better pipe sounds.

[@brew2019]

Yup agreed - for the best of both worlds, that’s my approach. And this little beast does traditional Hammond better than any other organ I’ve played apart from tonewheel originals. It’s a great instrument. Thanks for watching!

[@peteverhelst2088]

Still sounds electric. Not real pipe sounds. Sorry doesn’t do it for me

[@brew2019]

It’s why I use Hauptwerk when seeking authentic pipe organ sounds. But when I want to access a quick approximation - usually early Sunday morning for quick practice before the Sunday morning gig, this is fast and does the job for that purpose. Thanks for watching.

[@clarktrent8952]

meh

[@brew2019]

Thanks for checking it out anyways

[@gsten2116]

Interesting choices that hammond made. They sound ok, but many of the vsts sampled for the hauptwerk sound much more authentic imo.

[@brew2019]

Agree. Hauptwerk offers substantially better samples and up to 24-bit quality, plus isn’t limited to only 9 stops per manual (as is Hammond given the drawbar limit). Plus with Hauptwerk manuals can be coupled, and with a third or fourth keyboard, a player can develop an impressive organ simulation at home for a fraction of the cost - even when compared to digital church organ offerings from Rodgers or Allen organs. Still, the Hammond option in my house comes in very useful when I need a quick practice session before my Sunday church gig (as for my Hauptwerk configuration, I need to move my computer and DAC - maybe 5 extra minutes of setup, but for the XK5, I just turn it on, set the dial to pipe organ and am ready to play). Thanks for watching!

[@jerry1963ish]

Some parts sound like a pipe organ, some sound like an electric organ. But nice video.

[@brew2019]

Agreed - certain stops are better than others. Definitely not a replacement for the real thing, but it comes in handy at the house for practice. I am a big fan of Hautpwerk - which seems to be as authentic as you can get when access to real pipes isn't possible. Thanks for watching!