HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: We're back at NAMM 2008 with the famous Tony Monaco on the Hammond Organ, standing with the new XK-3C. What have we got here first, Tony?

TONY MONACO: Hey. This is the new XK-3C which is the new generation from the XK-3, and it's really been revamped a lot, so they put a new engine inside of it. They've made it more like original organ where we have controls for upper manual, lower manual, adding vibrato/chorus. It's got a lot more MIDI functions, so in other words you can hook this up to a module or to like a computer like if you're using a Mac or PC, and you can control other things with it. But the most important thing is it's a Hammond, so it sounds like a Hammond. That's what important.

So, I wrote this little thing called Gospel Time. We should do a little gospel, right?

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: Sure.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

TONY MONACO: Now, I split the manuals so I can play bass left with my left hand...

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

...so you can get that old sound, you know.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

And the drawbars are always working like the real organ.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

So, I'm going to pull them all out now.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

Add a little percussion.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

Take the Leslie speed.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

What's nice about this is it's got the traditional sound but yet it's got the modern controlling capabilities, so it's got the best of both worlds. The simulator inside of here has been so drastically improved that a lot of times when I'm recording in the studio, when I'm doing projects, instead of having to hook up four microphones on the Leslie, I just take the line out of here. And with the reverb, you can tell the reverb you want it to happen post or pre the Leslie effect. So right now, I'm flipping the switch so we can get the Leslie and the reverb.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

So I can go in here and I can tell it whether I want this on the reverb on the Leslie or off. Now I turned it on, so when I turn the Leslie on, you'll hear -- well, you won't because I got the Leslie on. But if this was a simulator, you would hear the reverb coming out of the Leslie itself -- of the simulator.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

Hear that [IMITATING REVERB EFFECT]?

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

And that's important because Leslie after the signal is not the way it really happens. If we have like back in the old days, if we had our spring reverb, it was going to go through the Leslie before the Leslie effect.

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: So more authentic sound?

TONY MONACO: Yeah. Very much more authentic, and here you can actually get in there and change the characteristics of the cabinet. You can change the speed up time, the slow down times, the wind down time, when it stops.

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: What about the overdrive? I can see that you're working that pretty good. Is that part of the change as well.

TONY MONACO: Yeah, a lot. Major. Major. This has two tubes in it, not one anymore. It has a 12AU7 and a 12AX7, or so you can use one 12AU7 or one 12AX7 or it allows you to put them in series. So, you can put the 12AX7 first and the U7 second or vice versa. So when you get into that, and you can really dirty this organ up pretty bad. So, here's what we'll do. I;m going to use a 12AU7 first, and then an AX7 second, AX7 second. I'm going to turn it all the way up.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

Now, what I'm going to do is turn the reverb down.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

Turn the volume down.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

You can get that.

[TONY MONACO PLAYING ON THE HAMMOND XK-3C]

Real trashy, you know.

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: Reminds me of old Deep Purple.

TONY MONACO: Yeah. It's so cool, isn't it?

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: Beautiful. Thanks, Tony.

TONY MONACO: My pleasure.

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: I have one question for you. Does this still work with the completer kit if you want to go to a two manual?

TONY MONACO: That's right. This is the main brain.

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: Right.

TONY MONACO: So, if you can come and walk over here with me. This is what we call the Pro K system where it uses the XK-3. This is the same keyboard right here attached to the bottom end. You can add pedals, short pedals, full pedals, and then of course the famous 3300 Leslie. You got to hook an organ up with a Leslie but that was a good question you asked me. The simulator in here, I definitely use it in the studio for tracks, and I just use this. It's so easy. You just take the left and right out, it's really nice.

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: It's beautiful. Thanks, Tony.

TONY MONACO: Thank you, guys.

HAMMOND REPRESENTATIVE: Take care.