I will definitely ask them Diki.

Regarding the illusive "Hammond Sound", having worked for Hammond for 13 years and now with KeyB (My Father imports them into the UK) I can testify that...

Chas is totally right...and also totally wrong.

I quickly learned the Hammond sound is different from one person to another. For instance the retired Gentleman who owned a Hammond Elegante for 40 years will have a very different 'benchmark' to the young wippersnapper who owns an L100 and a beaten up 145 leslie running to the point of signal breakup (overdrive) and very different to the middle aged guy who used an X5 with a 760 for 10 years in the 70s.

And then you also have to consider the benchmark of the old Korg BX owners, XB2 owners etc.

So chas is right..peoples 'benchmark' of the Hammond sound (just like the electric Piano sound) is something personal to each player depending on their own instrument and favoured artis (e.g. Jimmy Smith vs Klaus Wunderlich)...but..

In dealing with literally hundreds of players across the face of the earth, there is one truth, one undeniable fact that all agree on and not a single one of these players will argue that a nice condition B3 through PR40 does not have the Hammond sound. And there is your point of reference. Even before the Leslie is added the fundamental sound generation has to be addressed.

Any Hammond clone needs to first emulate everything about the analogue nature of a B3 (or A100/C3), not just pure sinewaves as the B3 was anything but pure, but all the tiny details that build up the sound (the sligh random slap of the currect as contact touches bussbars, the gentle overtones as signal leaks through the resistance wires etc, etc, then effect such as vibrato and chorus need to be properly addressed. Only then can you think about simulating or reproducing the final effect..a Leslie.

So is Chas right when he says the Audience does not know when your using a reasonable hammond immitation? Yes he is right!

But, you put that exact same Audience in front of a B3 and Leslie and watch the difference in their response to the sound..boy do they know it! They might not know why its different, or even what is different but the reaction is completely tangible and electric. I have seen this happen so many times over the years.