The Hammond Organ - Beauty in the B: Second Edition (Keyboard Musician's Library)
by Mark Vail

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Book Reviews of The Hammond Organ - Beauty in the B: Second Edition (Keyboard Musician's Library)

Book Review: Comprehensive Hammond and Leslie Info Under One Roof
Summary: 5 Stars

Playing this role is exactly the point, though, when you have a book to sell, and Vail approaches this task with a thoroughness, integrity, and love of the subject that make this one of the best books of its kind. No. it's not an exhaustive technical reference, nor the end-all of any debate about the Hammond. It's not meant as such, any more than a docent-guided tour of a famous museum is meant to replace a PhD in art history. Rather, it's the beginning of a journey, and for this subject, a better beginning than we've ever had.

Among Vail's many sources are longtime Hammond exec Alan Young, who also shed light on the legacy of John Hanert, the engineer who made many of Laurens Hammond's ideas work, rotary speaker inventor Don Leslie, and a who's who of the jazz, rock, and gospel players that imprinted the Hammond-Leslie sound on our consciousness to the degree that even people who've never heard the name of the instrument recognize "that sound." While I haven't fact-checked every page, it is simply absurd to suggest any generalization that the sources are suspect or the information inaccurate.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and informative read that can save you a ton of legwork in approaching the realm of the mighty Hammond. The better part of a century lies between us and its conception, and some current repairers and restorers scrape part numbers off components so their work can't be duplicated. In such a world, Vail's book is as objective as it gets.

Summary of The Hammond Organ - Beauty in the B: Second Edition (Keyboard Musician's Library)

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