Hammond XK-5

The XK-5 features our very best Leslie® speaker simulator to date with adjustable Slow & Fast Speeds, Rise & Fall Times, Horn/Drum/Subwoofer Volume Balance and custom microphone settings.

The XK5 is one our newest additions to the Hammond family and has already been dubbed The New Original™. In large part, this is due to the way it sounds and feels just like an authentic Hammond organ from back in the day. One of the most significant challenges faced by modern organ manufacturers is how to replicate the sounds and tones of a mechanical instrument with digital technology. With the XK5, we believe we've come closer than ever to reproducing that iconic Hammond sound. From redesigning the keyboard action for that real sense of heft, bounce, and key dip, to the introduction of a part-mechanical, part-virtual key contact system, we’ve integrated revolutionary new technologies into the XK5.

However, this isn’t an entirely new instrument. Many established features and finishing touches that have become hallmarks of the Hammond style remain. This includes integrated Leslie™ sound technology, customisable virtual tonewheels, and dedicated octave shift and transpose buttons. We want to give you the best, most authentic sound possible and have taken feedback and advice from several professionals and Hammond Organ enthusiasts to ensure that we’re staying true to our original sound. If you want to replicate the famous Hammond B-3 look, feel, and tone, you’re not going to get any closer than the new Hammond XK5.

One of the significant innovations in the XK5 is the brand new sound engine. The original Hammond tone wheels were designed as spinning discs on shafts. ‘Teeth’ were cut into the edge of each of these disks, with the pattern made by these teeth, along with disc’s speed of rotation, determining the pitch that was played. An authentic, early Hammond contained 91 of these discs – all of which have been reproduced in the XK5 through a combination of modelling and sampling. This all-new sound engine constitutes an incredible leap forward in organ technology and has resulted in one of the most appreciated organs of modern times – the XK5.

Complete Customisation

The new sound engine isn’t the only attraction, though. The XK5’s distinct sound can be customised to an almost endless degree. Our early reputation was built on the fact that, though all Hammond organs sounded incredible, after a few years of use, no two sounded identical. The wear and tear these instruments experienced resulted in organs that developed their own idiosyncratic sound as they aged, with some models and specific organs becoming famous for their unique tone. With the XK5, you can customise the instrument’s properties to achieve a ‘just out of the showroom’ or ‘stage-battered’ sound. By adjusting the leakage between pickups, or setting the purity of the sine wave, you can programme your XK5 to duplicate iconic organs of the past. There are even presets for those Hammond organs that passed into legend. With the push of a button, you can sound like Dr Lonnie Smith or the Rolling Stones' Chuck Leavell.

Hybrid Multiple Key Contact System

One of the most exciting innovations found in the XK5 is the Hybrid Multiple Key Contact System. The original Hammond organs employed a system by which every key that was played closed nine mechanical contacts, with each of the contacts being released at slightly different times if you depressed the key slowly. This influenced the sound of the organ in an incredibly subtle way, though it played an integral role in defining the Hammond’s soulful flavour.

With the XK5, a new Hybrid Multiple Key Contact System has been implemented. This avoids the issues faced by modern MIDI note-on systems, by linking each note to three mechanical contacts, each of which is linked to another three virtual contacts. This results in a playing experience that perfectly replicates the B-3 and is also completely customisable. Players can programme the time-spread between the ‘note-ons,’ as well as the order in which you hear the harmonics sound. It’s this ability to shift and alter the traditional sounds of the old Hammond organs, which makes the new XK5 such a joy to play.