Here’s someone who really, really loves Native Instruments’ B4 (II) software rendition of the Hammond B3 organ. The work of Markus Berger, this dead-ringer for a real B3 is actually a carefully crafted replica with elaborate MIDI control inside. The body is built by hand from cherry wood. Electronics were prototyped with the open source Arduino platform and implemented with electronics from Doepfer, then finished with manuals (that’s “keys” for you non-organists) from Fatar (as seen in Nord’s organs). Authentic-style drawbars finish the project. Correction: I got my wires crossed and originally claimed this had Fatar drawbars, but it’s Fatar manuals. Thanks to comments for spotting that.

The integration of the hardware design with the B4 is extraordinary: the creator notes that every single function is perfectly replicated, so you never have to touch a mouse or look at a screen. Of course, you can then make meticulous models tweaked on the B4 software that wouldn’t have been possible on the original hardware – and this hardware, while substantial, should be dramatically lighter.

More on those custom electronics:

The main controller electronics were actually custom developed and prototyped with Arduino. They were complemented by electronics from Doepfer for the two manuals.

Most of the electronics had to be custom developed as there was and still is nothing available to cover all the functionality of a classic Hammond B3 with the full drawbars set, preset keys and all the switches.

And yes, the bottom line is that this puts every controller for everything I’ve ever seen to shame. Thanks to Germany-based Twitter reader tillephone for sending this my way.

B4 Controller Project Page

I hesitate to even suggest this, but – is a Leslie cabinet next?

More photos after the jump:

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed never to make anything as cool as 17th Century keyboard makers.

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announces (via its Twitter feed, no less) that it has gotten its Musical Instruments collection online. Over 800 inspiring objects of all kinds are available with photos, maker information, and historical notes, making this an extraordinary tool both for serious research and discovering wonderful designs.

The best place to start is the Musical Instruments department page, which includes links to highlights, how to find the gallery in the Museum (believe me, you may need that), publications, and other details. You can also search the database, picking out a keyword like “drum.”

Incredibly, this is only a fraction of what the Met has in their collection. The department has 5,000 pieces from every continent except Antarctica, with pieces dating back to around 300 BC, from Stradivari’s violins to rare African percussion.

Of course, seeing instruments isn’t nearly as meaningful as hearing them. The department offers concerts through the year, including an annual concert on its 1830 Thomas Appleton organ. Sadly, the works database doesn’t include sound samples yet; perhaps that can be the next step. (Anyone feeling generous and want to donate to them?) But this is the one case in which an art museum audio guide is a must-have; you can hear descriptions and brief sound samples when you visit the collection here in Manhattan.

Digital instrument makers and software designers often look only to the future or the recent past for inspiration, which is a pity: there’s plenty to learn from historic instruments. As a keyboardist, of course, my favorites tend to be the collection’s wildly imaginative keyboard instruments. One of my favorites of the museum is the 1598 Claviorganum, pictured above, which built an organ and a virginal into a tabletop chest of drawers. I always thought the idea of being able to pull a virginal out of a piece of furniture was somehow magical. It seems there’s no better time than 2009 to resurrect some of these ideas as people build their own instruments and digital technology allows new flights of fantasy. Bring on the Neo-Baroque Digital Age.

Updated: The museum sends us this video of a Strad performance, in case you want to know what a highly valuable instrument sounds like.

One of the wonderful things about control data is that there’s no saying you only have to interface with software and digital worlds: you can connect directly to the real world, too. Digitally-sequenced music can use acoustically-generated sound. 20th Century technology, meet 19th Century technology. CDM reader Gareth Edwards writes to let us know about his current project:

Just wanted to let you know about a wee toy we’ve just finished building here in Edinburgh. We are a group that is part of the dorkbot movement (http://dorkbot.org/) and have just finished hacking a robotic MIDI retrofit onto a 1890s Gray and Davison 16′ pipe organ using mainly surplus components.

Video here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8R9lAIS1l4w

Main page here:

http://dorkbot.noodlefactory.co.uk/wiki/WaldFl%C3%B6te

Now, I got this while I was traveling in Berlin and my connection was so slow, I couldn’t even watch the video, so if you’ve seen this item elsewhere, no complaints please, okay? I haven’t dug out of RSS feeds yet. (Hey, the organ is from 1890 — I’m not that late.)

It’s quite brilliant work. We’ve seen organs before — anyone else care to comment on other examples of MIDI-powered organs?

Another video — with a Dueling Banjos cover, no less:

MyHome 2.0 is a promotional site for Verizon FIOS that’s enlisted some very talented DIYers. They’ve got a couple of pretty impressive interactive music projects — this is not the sort of stuff most people would take on. The Pipe Organ Chair isn’t a digital project per se, but we all love sound here, and who’s to say you couldn’t integrate bellows into your next digital instrument? The basic idea is to force air through pipes using butt-powered bellows, requiring, of course, a fair bit of assembly.

How 2.0: Pipe Organ Chair from My Home 2.0 DIY on Vimeo.

Pipe Organ Chair Project Page

The other project, by way of the multi-talented Allison Lewis (the creator of SWITCH, a DIY show for young women, and some brilliant fashion + technology work), is a wall harp. Think infrared sensors plus MIDI, using the MidiTron kit by Eric Singer, which is seen regularly around these here parts.

How 2.0: Build a Digital Wall Harp from My Home 2.0 DIY on Vimeo.

I wish that, in addition to the DIY portions, they had spent more than two or three seconds documenting the results. But I think this may be in New York, so maybe I’ll have to go over there and try it out myself.

If you’ve got your own favorite projects involving pipes or infrared sensors, let us know. And maybe this will inspire some of your own work.

Side note to Verizon: please stop torturing us poor New Yorkers with how awesome Verizon FIOS is when we can’t get it. Hurry up with that build-out, already. I can send you my address. You can come over with the fiber optic cable today, even; I’m pretty good with a wire crimper.

The Clavia booth showcased the new Nord C1 combo organ (the product says C3, but they’re changing it to C1), featuring two sets of digital drawbars for the keys and a third one for bass pedals—in this case a Roland PK-7A connected via MIDI.

Emulations include the B3, Vox Continental, and Farfisa, which are based on the most intimate mechanical details. (Nice playing, dude—and the wheel crosstalk and coil energy robbing in your sound was hot!)

There are built-in rotating speaker effects, as well as a real 11-pin Leslie output. The C1’s Half Moon Switch (at the far left of the bottom keyboard) controls the speed of both.

The C1 is scheduled to ship in April with an MSRP of $3600.

Ed.: Back to the future seems to be the theme of this NAMM, between retro electric pianos, new, real Rhodes, new Waldorf synths, and more. But, Clavia, could we have a MIDI controller-only version? I love the two registers! -PK

Nord C1 Product Page
Clavia main site (currently showing NAMM show report — Stevie Wonder on the Nord Stage Compact? That’s some celeb sighting!)