Hammond SK Pro 61 Portable Organ

Organ section
SK Pro features the state-of-the-art Modeled Tone Wheel 1 (MTW1) sound engine pioneered by Hammond XK-5 and widely recognized as the standard in digital tone wheel sound. The Virtual Multi-Contact function replicates the keyboard performance of a vintage Hammond Organ, allowing the player to experience distinctive Hammond feel in every detail. In addition to great drawbar sounds, SK Pro also models Italian, British and Japanese transistor combo organs as well as a full range of classical pipe organ voices and, for the first time in any modern keyboard, a range of theatre pipe organ voices.

Organ effects
The built-in digital Leslie brings deeper authenticity including the airflow of Leslie rotors, faithfully reproducing the Leslie’s unique tone and three-dimensional effect, while an improved tube modeling system provides the essential Hammond ‘tube warmth.’ A special system emulating the ‘matching transformer’ of a vintage Hammond organ adds striking authenticity to drawbar tones.

Piano and Ensemble sections
SK Pro contains high-quality samples of the world’s leading grand piano sounds, including a new ‘S’ sample of a legendary European piano. 162 high-definition digital voices (upgraded in resolution from previous SK models) provide a wide variety of additional tonal possibilities, many new to the SK series. All Piano and Ensemble voices can be fully edited: sample choice, EG, filter, LFO and other parameters are now in your control and can be saved as a patch. 12 sub-category buttons allow easy and instant tone selection. Hammond’s exclusive ProChord feature is available on many voices, letting the player reproduce complex harmonies by playing a single-note melody while playing chords with the left hand.

Mono Synth section
SK Pro incorporates a physical modeling synthesizer that faithfully reproduces the sounds of classic analog mono synths. Six different oscillator configurations are provided as well as controls for filter and amplitude, allowing the player to create and tweak sounds in real time just like on a classic analog synth.

Patches and Combinations
SK Pro’s basic voice unit is a Patch, storing source sounds and all parameter programming, with both factory and user patches: 100 of each for the Organ and Mono Synth sections and 300 factory, 100 user for the Piano and Ensemble Sections. SK Pro introduces Combinations, encompassing Patches from any or all of the four voice sections along with performance parameters; you can also incorporate external MIDI instruments into Combinations. 200 Combinations are available: 100 factory and 100 user.

Allocate and Favorites buttons
Using the four centrally-located section-enabling Allocate buttons a player can call up any part of a combination in real time, effectively providing four discrete, instantly-accessible keyboards per combination. Any ten combinations may be assigned to the Favorites buttons for instant access, with ten banks of ten Favorites each available.

Effects
In addition to the dedicated reverb effect control on the top panel, each of the four voice sections can receive overdrive with four models provided as well as two types of comprehensive DSP multi-effects, including chorus, delay, tremolo, phaser, flanger, wah, ring modulator, compressor and auto-pan options.

Performance controls
SK Pro incorporates pitch bend and modulation wheels for expression. Each voice section has its own volume control for realtime section mixing and balancing.

Connections
In addition to its dual stereo 1/4″ main output and 1/4″ stereo headphone output, SK Pro has two additional 1/4″ outputs assignable to any of the four voice sections, discrete 1/4″ organ pedal and rotary outputs and a 1/8″ stereo external audio input with gain control. SK Pro has an 11-pin Leslie interface (cable sold separately); when using the Leslie output Organ sounds will be removed from the main stereo output. Using the USB-to-device port, SK Pro can save Patches, Combinations and other data to USB memory, while MIDI can be transmitted and received via either 5-pin connections or the USB-to-host port.