Hammond Instrument Company Novachord Synthesizer (1939-1940)
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Item #2880
Hammond Instrument Company Novachord Model Synthesizer, c. 1939-1940, made in Chicago, with Original "Manual for the Service Technician".
The Hammond Novachord may well have been the first electronic keyboard synthesizer. It certainly was the Hammond Organ Company's first electronic tube based instrument. Designed by Laurens Hammond and C.N. Williams, the Novachord was offered by Hammond for a very limited time, from 1939 to 1942. Only 1,096 Novachords were ever manufactured.
Unlike its younger sibling, Hammond's other electronic instrument, the Solovox (1940-1948), the Novachord looks very much like a full-sized parlor organ. It has a 72 note keyboard with a pressure sensitive system that allows for control over the attack and timbre of the note. 169 vacuum tubes control and generate sound while a series of 12 oscillators gives it a six octave range using a frequency division technique. The Novachord was one of the first electronic instruments to use this technique which would later become standard in electronic keyboard instruments.
The front panel of the instrument has a series of 14 switchable rotary knobs to set the timbre, volume, 'resonance', bass/treble, vibrato (six modulation oscillators are used), and 'brightness' of the sound. A set of 3 foot-operated pedals controls sustain and volume, the third pedal allowing control of the sustain by either foot. The final signal is passed to a preamplifier and then to a set of internal speakers.
The Novachord was designed to produce a range of sounds imitating orchestral instruments, such as the piano, harpsichord, stringed and woodwind instruments, as well as a range of its own distinctive sounds.
The Novachord we're offering comes with its original "Manual for the Service Technician" in a loose-leaf binder.
Call or email us for additional technical information
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The Hammond Novachord may well have been the first electronic keyboard synthesizer. It certainly was the Hammond Organ Company's first electronic tube based instrument. Designed by Laurens Hammond and C.N. Williams, the Novachord was offered by Hammond for a very limited time, from 1939 to 1942. Only 1,096 Novachords were ever manufactured.
Unlike its younger sibling, Hammond's other electronic instrument, the Solovox (1940-1948), the Novachord looks very much like a full-sized parlor organ. It has a 72 note keyboard with a pressure sensitive system that allows for control over the attack and timbre of the note. 169 vacuum tubes control and generate sound while a series of 12 oscillators gives it a six octave range using a frequency division technique. The Novachord was one of the first electronic instruments to use this technique which would later become standard in electronic keyboard instruments.
The front panel of the instrument has a series of 14 switchable rotary knobs to set the timbre, volume, 'resonance', bass/treble, vibrato (six modulation oscillators are used), and 'brightness' of the sound. A set of 3 foot-operated pedals controls sustain and volume, the third pedal allowing control of the sustain by either foot. The final signal is passed to a preamplifier and then to a set of internal speakers.
The Novachord was designed to produce a range of sounds imitating orchestral instruments, such as the piano, harpsichord, stringed and woodwind instruments, as well as a range of its own distinctive sounds.
The Novachord we're offering comes with its original "Manual for the Service Technician" in a loose-leaf binder.
Call or email us for additional technical information