In his latest video, synthesist Hainbach explores the Hammond Novachord, a unique early synthesizer from 1939.

“I got to cross an amazing instrument off my bucket list, the Hammond Novachord, a proto-synthesizer from 1939,” he notes. “It is a 250KG vacuum tube monster of an electronic instrument, with a very lush and deep sound. Only a handful are around that are known to work, and I got a to play it at SMEM in Switzerland this winter.”

“This was a true bucket-list instrument for me to enjoy, and I spend as much time as I could with it. Here is the video I filmed, with music, function overview and a bit of history.”

Hainbach has released an album, Novachord Experiments, that’s available on Bandcamp. You can preview it below:

Synth Or Glorified Organ?

While the Novachord does not offer deep synthesis capabilities, it’s a powerful and unique instrument, featuring full polyphony, envelopes, LFO modulation and filters.

Something that’s interesting about the Novachord is that modern users approach it as a synthesizer, exploring sounds and music that go beyond how early users approached the instrument.

Here’s a contemporary demonstration of the Novachord by Billy Mayerl. Mayerl approached it as a keyboard capable of making a variety of imitative sounds, and his performance sounds very much ‘of its time’:

And here’s a modern performance, by Bert van den Brink, that showcases the Novachord in a traditionally-styled performance:

Finally, here are a couple of modern performances, by Phil Cirocco, that showcase how ‘synthy’ the Novachord can sound, when played with a more contemporary sensibility:

Check out the videos and share your thoughts on the Novachord in the comments!