Synth Site |  Hammond | Novachord |
Novachord At a Glance |
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Released: 1939
| Specifications
User rating: 5.0/5 | Read reviews (1) |
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Marc R. A. Doty writes: |
The Novachord was first marketed in 1939. 1069 of them were made. The Novachord is often mistaken for an organ because of it's general appearance, age, and brand name, but it more accurately could be described as an early synthesizer. It uses tube oscillators (12 of them, one for each note of the top octave... then uses dividers to create the rest of the octaves) It was not only the first marketed synthesizer, but the first fully polyphonic synthesizer... all 72 notes can be played at once. It's housed in a piano-like walnut shell, and weighs 500 pounds. It uses over 160 tubes to generate and amplify it's sound. The Novachord is a rare instrument, and has a very distinctive sound (if: a. you can get one working, b. you can tune it). If you know of one, please register it at www.museslave.com/novachord! Comments About the Sounds: The Novachord doesn't have specific sounds that it mimics (although you can mimic instruments with a little imagination), it, like early synths, merely presents you with controls to alter it's sound. |
Links for the Hammond Novachord There are no links for this model. Try the Hammond links page, or submit one here.
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