Updated Hammond B3 - Csound emulator

   This morning, I spent some time with the emulator and the Csound and CsoundAV software.
   I had forgotten much of what I had to do to get the setup working. This was almost a new beginning for me.
   What I found was that some of the older program aids I had used were now antiquated and would not work in the Windows 10 operating system. Eventually, I found a similar software that was compatible with the current version of Windows. Still there was much to do.
   The B3 emulator is a program that consists of a list of parameters and commands, including some for the GUI(Graphical User Interface) (emulated knobs and switches on a control panel). I had to tweak the command line options, known as 'switches', to get the thing to run in CsoundAV. The command line options can be, and are in this case, included at the top of the instrument/score file. The command line I ended up using is:
-+q0 +p1  -m0 -+O -+K -b400 -+P

   There was another problem. The control panel for the emulator has a page for loading, setting, and saving lists of presets. Presets are lists of settings for the virtual organ. The settings are for all the knobs and switches on the control panel, similar to the ones found on a Hammond B3.

   I tried to load the set that comes with the emulator. They're contained in a file:"b3_snap.txt" that is read into the program when the load button is 'clicked.'

   When I tried to select a preset from the loaded file, CsoundAV would crash/close. I tried moving the file out of the Program Files (x86) directory used by the o/s since there are usually permission issues to deal with when accessing that directory, issues that do not exist outside of that and one or two others. That didn't work. What seems to work is changing the name of the file and the default name in the CsoundAV settings panel. CsoundAV no longer crashed. I don't know why.

   To run the Hammond B3 emulator, download Gabriel Maldonados CsoundAV, his free version of VMCI (v2.2), and Josep Comajuncosas DirectHammondv2rt.csd file, along with the presets file mentioned. Locate a midi driver such as loopMIDI.

   The package will install itself. Run the program. Locate the Hammond file. Set the defaults in CsoundAV, Load and run the Hammond emulator with the command line switches listed and you should see a panel pop up, brown. Wait a second and another panel will open up to allow you to select the input source. Wait another 10 or fifteen seconds and an output panel will pop up. I select 0 and 5 respectively. The VMCI will give you a virtual midi driver and a virtual keyboard to play the organ with. I use Midiox. Midiox is a versatile piece of software designed to do the same thing but has more features. The keyboard icon has too be 'clicked' for the computer keyboard to play notes.

   Midiox must be opened/run first and left running, of course, and the focus must be shifted to Midiox before the computer keyboard can sennd midi signals to the CsoundAV software running the Hammond B3 emulator.

   I haven't got the emulator to work with the current version of Csound proper, which now also, has a virtual keyboard for computer keyboard input. That may come later. I'm running the 64-bit version of Windows 10 Pro, and the 64-bit version of CsoundAV, and Csound. I don't know if the same setup will work in a 32-bit environment.
   Csound now incorporates a Real-Time feature. Gabriel Maldonados software is not necessary.

The nature of instruments and their effect on music; a brief disourse

   Several years ago I began studying the potentials of computers in relation to music. I explored midi file composition using several software programs. As mentioned before, I used  the computer to record organ compositions on my 1968 Hammond H-182. When I discovered Gabriel Maldonado's CsoundAV for real time performance, I had no way to input note data to the computer software. I discovered a couple of pieces of software that would, together, allow me to do that.
   This introduced me to the use of a computer keyboard as a musical instrument. After some time, I began to dwell on the differences between instruments and the nature of the physical possibilities and limitations in playing them.
   One of the advantages of a computer keyboard over the standard 88s is the small physical space of the keyboard corresponds to a greater musical space. For example, octaves are mush easier to play on a computer keyboard than the 88. A guitar can only be played six notes at a time, thus the keyboard, of any kind, tends to be an advantage over the fretboard. The fretless nature of classical string instruments can have certain advantages over the fretboard.
   All of these differences affect the writing and performing of music. I would even suggest that some music, read in notation form, can infer some things about the instrument for which the music was written.
   This is another indication of the potentials and limitations of the nature of the instrument and their effects on musical composition and performance. There is a reason why I prefer the keyboard over the guitar. There are many more possibilities due to the nature of the instrument alone.

1968 Hammond H182 organ

   In 2006, I was making my rounds of the thrift and collectibles shops. I entered a branch of the Salvation Army thrift store chain and spied an old organ near the entrance. I knew immediately, I wanted the organ. I had watched desirable potential purchases disappear overnight because I hesitated. This time, I bargained to purchase the organ and pick it up within a week.
   I built a platform for transporting the organ from one inch thick plywood, four three inch casters, two with locks, and some tie down, rachet controlled, straps. I found later the organ with bench and pedals weighs over 425 pounds.

   After I managed to get the thing home, I replaced a cracking power cord with a new one. I opened the back and found a long tube of the manufacturer's original lubricating oil in a position on the inside side wall. I got on the web and spent some time googling for data. Eventually, I found a handful of invaluable sites that left me with a full set of schematics and block diagrams.
   There were a couple of other problems. One of the keys sat about a few millimeters higher than the others. I let that go for a more serious problem. On the left side of the lower manual are a set of keys of reverse color, black is white and white is black. These keys manipulated the sound of the music from that manual. A manual is what is thought of as a keyboard. The Hammond has two, an upper and lower manual. Both have the reverse color keys on the left. The lower set would not stay pressed keeping me from using the lower manual.

   I studied the diagrams and schematics. I found a web site where a similar organ was partially dismantled and got an idea on how to go about the repair. I did not have complete information, but figured I could pick up what I needed along the way.
   Eventually, I got the keys unstuck. A simple bending of a piece of metal corrected the sticking action.
   I read how to oil the organ and used the discovered oil to finish that task.
   The organ has an extensive control set which can make testing the organ an exhausting and tedious experience.

   I worked with the organ and got to the point that I could use everything but the celeste function. The celeste, like the artificial Leslie built in, uses an electro-mechanical scanner. A rotating drum that contains a series of capacitors that effect the electrical parameters of the sound. I would have to remove and disassemble, repair and reassemble and re-insert the device. I decided to forgo that pleasure, at least for the time being. I weighed the value of the celeste effect against the cost in time and labor and decided to pass over that repair.
   I got the spring reverb to work by 'jiggling' a couple of electron tubes in that circuit.
   I spent, by far, the most time in learning how to use the organ. As I said, there is an extensive control set. Switches, knobs, pedals and buttons to go with the keys.
   The Hammond H series has been referred to some as Hammond's effort to build a super B3.
The built-in electro-mechanical Leslie effect, the built in power amplifier and speakers(3), and the electro-mechanical vibrato, along with other features make the H series a competitive model.
   The disadvantage is the weight due to the extra hardware and the omission of some controls considered less than important. The famous B3 'waterfall' keys were replaced by a 'diving board' set of keys.
   One thing I eventually discovered is that I could attain that well known, growling distortion by overdriving the built in amplifier.
   I sat for days discovering the different controls and what effect they had on the sound.
   I experimented with miking the organ for a different sound. I used a cheap battery powered, stereo microphone that I plugged into my computer. I used ordinary stereo sound recording software to record session. Really beats lugging around a thirty pound reel to reel tape recorder.
   The number represents the model and cabinet style. The 182 is Italian Provincial Walnut. Mine was made in 1968. At that time, electronics were moving from electron tubes to transistors. The Hammond H182 was a hybrid containing both.
   What follows is a description taken from the site www.theatreorgans.com:

"

Model H-100 Series

Production Years:	1965 through 1974
Cabinet Size:	50 1/2" wide, 26 1/2" deep, 50" high with music rack, 445 lbs with pedals and bench.
Finish:	H-111 Traditional styling in Mahogany H-112 Traditional styling in Walnut H-133 French Provincial in Cherry H-143 Early American in Cherry H-182 Italian Provincial in Walnut H-195 Mediterrean in Oak H-262 Institutional Model with locking roll top...Walnut, some preset and other differences. H-324 Comtempory in Pecan with built-in Auto-Rhythm H-382 Italian Provincial in Walnut with built-in Auto-Rhythm H-395 Mediterranean in Oak with built-in Auto-Rhythm - HX100 like H100 in X66 cabinet
Manuals:	Two 61 note manuals with overhanging keys. 25 note detachable pedalboard.
Controls:	One expression pedal effecting both manuals and pedals...tone compensated photo-cell type. Kick switch mounted to pedal cancels vibrato "immediately". 9 presets and 2 adjust keys for each manual. 2 sets of 11 drawbars for upper manual, 2 sets of 10 drawbars for lower manual. 4 pedal drawbars. 28 tabs for percussion, vibrato, sustain, reverb, etc.
Amp/Output:	Stereo amplification plus a bass channel. Two 8" speakers and one 15" speaker. Mixture of solid-state and tube circuitry.
Features:	96 tonewheel generator with self-starting synchronous motor. Tones go up to a high B (around 8,000Hz), then foldback. Foldback note: 16' goes all the way down, the higher harmonic in the mixture drawbars does not foldback. Reiteration, percussion touch control, harp sustain, string bass, lots of vibrato/chorus controls, reverb controls."

   I had some free time and spent a lot of it exploring composition on the organ. I would write an album of instrumental music dedicate to and name after a memorable young woman named Erin. The album title is 'Erin Song.'

   As a precursor, let me reiterate, these blogs are for intelligent people with a university background and courses in mathematics, engineering, physics and other of the hard sciences.

   I mentioned previously, that I had discovered and explored the free scientific audio suite,Csound, from some people at M.I.T.
   I also mentioned one of the uses I found for the software, namely recording 78 discs at 33 or 45, and using the software to speed up the recordings without altering the pitch. Thus, I simulated a 78-rpm record player using Csound.
   I also mentioned setting up my computer to play a Hammond B3 organ emulator written by one of the contributors, Josep Comjuncosas, using my computer keyboard, using a version of Csound written and built for real time by Gabriel Maldonado, another contributor.
   There is something else I did. There has been a musical instrument harmonic database, known as the SHARC database, compiled by Gregory Sandell,  floating around on the net, for years. I located a copy, in the original format, and converted the files into a Csound instrument set. The database can now be incorporated into classical music instrument emulations using Csound. I was able to ;play' those on my computer keyboard as well. Viola, Cello, Trombone, and so on. The set included pizzacato files.
   Csound uses scripts to run functions, similar to other script based engines such as PHP, Python, PERL, and Javascript. One of the first such engines was for the BASIC programming language. That language was built into IBM personal computers in the early stages of personal computer evolution. Script engines are a popular way to implement a symbolic processor, as opposed to a compiler based engine such as C, C++, Java, and Pascal. Compilers create an independent executable code that is portable without the compiler. A script always requires the engine in order to run.
   The Csound script consists of two scripts that can ber merged into one. An instrument file and an orchestra file. The first defines the instrument and the last defines what 'music' is to be played.
   Note that, ordinarily, the output from cSound is usually written to a file in audio format, e.g. .wav or .mp3, or .ogg. That's why Gabriel Maldonado's work was important. The artist could move from composition into performance, in real time. I could take my laptop and an amplifier up onto a stage and perform any of the works that I've written. Including MIDI files (.mid). Remember midi music?
   Now you can see why a knowledge of mathematics and the physics of music are so important in using Csound. Many of the functions are mathematical. The average person would not know what their purpose was when reading their names. Some are more familiar to musicians. Chorus, reverb, echo, phasing. All of these functions are available in Csound. A musician could make some sense and possibly some use of Csound, but not as much as one with a knowledge of mathematics.
  

  

   I've spent a lot of time studying and learning personal computers, and related technology. There is a vast array of software available, and much of it free.
   One of the most fascinating works is a suite called Csound. Csound was founded by professors Vercoe and Boulanger at M.I.T, Mass.
   The software can do almost anything imaginable with sound. There are many contributors to Csound, which is also an open-source project. Mathematical models of real instruments have been constructed. Models of synthesizers such as the Moog and Korg have been done.
   My favorite is an emulation of a Hammond B3 by Josep Comajuncosas.
   I developed a cojuple of applications for my own use.
   I have some old 78-rpm records that are old and scratch from age and use. I no longer have a record player, or turntable, that has a 78-rpm setting. I decided that I could convert 78's recorded at a different speed to 33 or 45 speed. That's where Csound comes in.
   Csound has functions that will speed up a sound without altering the pitch. You would not get that 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' sound you would expect.
   After making the conversion, I was able to apply advanced filtering algorithms to clean up the sounds.
   Another use involved the B3 emulation I mentioned earlier. Another one of the contributors is Gabriel Maldonado. He wrote a Csound version that could run Csound in real time. I combined that with the emulation and a digital loopback connector and computer keyboard MIDI instrument program to 'play' the B3 emulation using my laptop's keyboard. The software could be set up to use a real MIDI keyboard instead.
 Csound is a great tool for exploring sound and music, when thought of as sound. A knowledge of the physics and mathematics of music goes a long way in Csound.

...Facebook is a form driven social media. That means if you can't say it in a form. it doesn't get said.

... I'm taking this opportunity to write a little about my musical interests.

...I began, like many of my age and in my neighborhood, under the watchful eye of Mr. Kates. Mr. Kates would come to the elementary schools in my town, and maybe other places as well, and give lessons in music. In early grade school, we participated in music by playing simple instruments in simple tunes. I liked the triangle and the wood block, but yearned to get my hands on the tamborine.

A year or so later, Mr. Kates informed everyone we would be learning to play the flute. More specifically, the Flutophone, was the instrument of choice. White plastic body with transparent red plastic mouthpiece. We learned to keep time and do simple sight reading of sheet music on memeograph paper with purple, slightly faded notes and staff. I remember Christmas, one year, we learned some Christmas carols. Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and We Three Kings were among the ones I remember.

...Later, in Junior High (T.A.Dugger Junior High, on the hill by the Masonic Lodge), I would attend classes in a cast after an operation on my left leg. A childhood friend taught me a few of the basics of the drum. Not until high school would I learn another instrument; the guitar, then the keyboards. I would play guitar intermittently, for the next 25 years, and not pick up the keyboards again until 2006.

Mrs. Musick, the music teacher ( and I've wondered if her interest in music had anything to do with her name) said a I had an attractive baritone voice ( the sex hormones had started kicking in on everyone) and suggested I take singing lessons. I was more interested in 'cool' things then, though I understood the value of singing lessons and there relation to my interest in popular music, though I did not avail myself of the opportunity at that time.

...Sometime in high school, I picked up the guitar from another childhood chum. I played rythm because I thought lead was to complicated and did not understand the role of lead guitar. I realize now, the role of lead is often mis-interpreted and badly done. Too many clich'es and formulae. Lead guitar, done the way I understood music, would have been difficult and complex. Most over simplified the field, but that was pop music. It wouldn't be until 2006, when I found a 1968 Hammond, dual manual, H-182 with built-in power amp and speakers, in a local second hand store, and purchased it, that I would take the time to do music the way I thought it should be done. I avoided popular clich'es and themes. I probably fit into the Alt Music genre.

The platform I had to build to move the organ, cost more than the organ itself. The thing, seat and pedals, weighs in at over 300 pounds. Needless to say, I rarely take it anywhere. Not like you can sling it over your back and head for the park. I made some repairs and oiled the organ and got it working in fine order.

One of the things I discovered in my exploration of the instrument was minimalism. Phillip Glass is well known for his experiments in minimalism. I would take two notes, close together, musically and physically, and exhaust the musical possibilities before changing a pitch, or adding another note. There's more that can be done with two notes than you may think.

...I began music traditionally and moved into other genres in high school, and after. In my late twenties and early thirties, I explored country, bluegrass, and some folk but mostly bluegrass. By the time I reached my fifties, I had explored most significant genres including Jazz, Folk, Blues, R&R, Classical, Flamenco and gospel. I found others interesting but never took the time to investigate more deeply, e.g. Dixieland, Big Band, Swing and older pop formats.

...I eventually wrote and recorded an album of my music on a couple of DVDs. Instrumental music, with homebrew production techniques, but a good sketch book of what interested me at the time.