G-100

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 the classical repertoire, the flat pedalboard, drawbars, key presets, lack of couplers, etc. were simply too different for the performer than the radial arc pedal clavier, pipe stops, preset studs, couplers, etc. of a true pipe organ console (See the reasons why ClassicalOrganistsDislikeMostHammonds).

The G-100 was very large instrument with fifty stops divided into four tonal divisions:

• Swell 19 stops (Upper Manual)
• Antiphonal 9 stops (Played on the Swell Manual)
• Great 14 stops (Lower Manual)
• Pedal 8 stops

Unlike the ConsoleOrgans preset keys (which can generate truly awful sounds if more than one preset key is pressed 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 18 thumb studs. These stop combinations could be recalled at any time and 17 different stop combinations could be changed 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 8 toe studs, six that duplicated combinations stored on 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 provided a mixture on each manual using pitches up to the 26th harmonic. The components of each mixture were separately derived.

The Grand 100 had a 32-note, concave and radiating pedal clavier exactly like the conventional AGO pedal clavier in use on all pipe organs. A 32-foot stop was Included in the pedal and volume of the pedal was controlled by the Great expression pedal. The pedal tone was fed into both the Pedal and Great tone cabinets.