Produced from 1963 to 1965, the G-100 (The "Grand 100") was Hammond's attempt to produce an electric organ as similar as possible to a classic pipe organ. For a pipe organ performer, the flat pedalboard, drawbars, key presets, lack of couplers, etc. of the Hammond was simply too different for the performer used to a concabe radial pedal clavier, pipe stops,combination studs, couplers, etc. of a true pipe organ console (See the reasons why ClassicalOrganistsDislikeMostHammonds).
The G-100 was two manual instrument in a VERY large console with fifty stops divided into four tonal divisions:
<pre> Swell Stops Antiphonal Stops Great Stops
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Geigen Diapason 16 ft. Open Diapason 8 ft. Bourdon 16 ft. Bourdon 16 ft. Gedeckt 8 ft. Open Diapason 8 ft. Diapason 8 ft. Salicional 8 ft. Melodia 8 ft. Geigen Principal 8 ft. Viola da Gamba 8 ft. Grossflute 8 ft. Concert Flute 8 ft. Gemshorn Celeste 2 ranks Dulciana 8 ft. Aeoline 8 ft. Principal 4 ft. Cello 8 ft. Dulciana Celeste 2 ranks Flauto d'Amore 4 ft. Octave 4 ft. Gamba 8 ft. English Horn 8 ft. Gedeckt 4 ft. Octave 4 ft. Trumpet 8 ft. Nazard 2-2/3 ft. Gedeckt 4 ft. Tremulant Fifteenth 2 ft. Nazard 2-2/3 ft. Mixture 4 ranks Flautino 2 ft. Pedal Stops Trumpet 8 ft. Tierce 1-3/5 ft. Contra Bourdon 32 ft. Harp Larigot 1-1/3 ft. Gedeckt 16 ft. Chimes Mixture 3 ranks Bourdon 16 ft. Great to Great 16 ft. Vox Humana 8 ft. Violone 16 ft. Great Unison Off Oboe 8 ft. Principal 8 ft. Great to Great 4 ft. Clarinet 8 ft. Gedeckt 8 ft. Swell to Great 16 ft. Clarion 4 ft. Super Octave 4 ft. Swell to Great 8 ft. Swell to Swell 16 ft. Trompette 8 Ft. Swell to Great 4 ft. Swell Unison Off Great to Pedal 8 ft. Swell to Swell 8 ft. Swell to Pedal 8 ft. Tremulant Swell to Pedal 4 ft.
Unlike the ConsoleOrgans preset keys which were intended to be used only one at a time, the organist on a Grand 100 could combine any of these stops.
Another key feature of pipe organs is the ability to save combinations of multiple stop settings that are recalled by the performer with thumb studs under the manuals and toe studs above the pedals. On the Grand 100 there were eighteen thumb studs. Seventeen studs stored different combinations of stops that could be recalled at any time simply by pressing a stud. The stop combinations could be changed and stored at any time, even while playing. The eighteenth thumb stud was a preset sforzando combination for "full" organ. The stop tabs automatically moved on or off as combinations were recalled. The organ had eight toe studs, six that duplicated combinations stored on six of the thumb studs, one for the sforzando combination and the eighth was a Great-to-Pedal coupler.
To further improve the tone, to make it even more like a pipe organ, the Grand 100 organ had 144 tonewheels to provide additional pitches up to the 26th harmonic. It also required _two_ tone cabinet and amplifiers to split the Great/Pedal and Swell/Antiphonal and into separate channels.
The Grand 100 had a 32-note, concave and radiating pedal clavier exactly like the conventional AGO pedal clavier in use on nearly all American pipe organs. A 32-foot stop was Included in the pedal. Three expression pedals controlled the volume of the Great and Pedal, Swell and Antiphonal and Crescendo.
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