Hi,
I'm Cliff Unruh. Within a year following the introduction of
the Hammond New B-3 in 2002 we began to see the need for a second
alternative to the aging and, unfortunately, failing vintage Hammond
Organs of yesteryear. While the New B-3 is the perfect
replacement for its original namesake, budget concerns often color one's
options. Three years ago, we began having serious
conversations with Dennis Capiga, Peter Nguyen, and Jay Valle of
Hammond Suzuki, USA about the need for an instrument that could compete
in price with the very best of the vintage B-3s out there yet offer the
dependability and factory warranty our customers demand. We
asked for an instrument that had "the look and feel" of the New B-3 but
with a price to fit modest budgets. What we got is the result
of numerous conversations and conference calls and I'm happy (if not
proud) to say that Hammond Central had a hand in this organ's
development. Thank you, Dennis, Peter, Jay, and everyone at
Hammond Suzuki for giving us such a fine product! Product
Overview:
Based on the technology of the ever-popular Hammond XK-3C, the Hammond
Mini B is a two-manual organ in a furniture-grade cabinet.
The bench is essentially identical, except for wood and
finish, to that of the B-3, as are the legs of the organ.
Players will appreciate the fact that the Mini
B's menu
defaults to the transposition page (6 half-steps up or down) and that
the entire menu can be locked out (a Hammond Central contribution to
the design) to keep non-players with "heat seeking fingers" from
inadvertently changing the instrument's parameters. Like the
New B-3, the music rack is detachable and stores inside the bench and
the heel rest is integral to the bass pedal board.The Mini B is offered by Hammond Suzuki only through its full-line organ dealer network and comes fully assembled by the factory with a full three-year warranty. In addition, Hammond Suzuki has announced that the Mini B will only be sold together with a matching 971SE (Special Edition) Leslie with a second 971SE available as an option, of course.
MIDI
:
The Mini B
has one of the most powerful MIDI implementations to be found anywhere
on a church organ with 6-channel MIDI keyboard control
capability on the front panel. Leslie®
Ready :
In
addition to the special edition Leslie included with the Mini B there
is a built-in electronic Leslie simulation that is state of the art.
This Leslie simulation is available both at the line outputs
of the organ as well as at the headphone jack; a nice feature for
private practice and recording without microphones.