Electone is the trademark used for electronic organs produced by Yamaha. The classic Hammond electronic organ, invented in the 1930s and popular for decades thereafter. ... The Yamaha Corporation (ヤマハ株式会社) (TYO: 7951) is a Japanese company with a large number of product areas. ...

A modern Electone.

After Hammond pioneered the electronic organ in the 1930s, other manufacturers began to market their own versions of the instrument. By the end of the 1950s, familiar brand names of home organs in addition to Hammond included Conn, Kimball, Lowrey, and others, while companies such as Allen and Rodgers manufactured large electronic organs designed for church and other public settings. promotional photo of newly released Yamaha Electone StageA electronic organ. ... promotional photo of newly released Yamaha Electone StageA electronic organ. ... The Hammond organ is an electric organ which was designed and built by Laurens Hammond in April 1935. ... The classic Hammond electronic organ, invented in the 1930s and popular for decades thereafter. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Kimball may refer to: // Places Kimball, Wisconsin Kimball, Tennessee Kimball, South Dakota Kimball, Nebraska, the county seat of Kimball County Kimball, West Virginia Kimball, Minnesota Kimball Township, Minnesota Kimball Township, Michigan People Heber C. Kimball Spencer W. Kimball Thomas Kimball - Omaha architect Companies Kimball International Schools Kimball Highschool This is... Allen is the name of a number of places in the United States of America. ... Rodgers Instruments designs and manufacturers classical organs, using digital technology and sometimes incorporating traditional wind blown pipes. ...

History of the Electone

The Yamaha Electone series debuted in 1959 with the D-1, a home instrument. This was a bad moment to enter the market; as early “home entertainment centers,” electronic organs were facing heavy (and strengthening) competition from both television and high fidelity audio systems, neither of which required any musical skill, unlike the electronic organ. But by the 1970s, with the market waning sharply, and some manufacturers ceasing production, the Electone line, as did its competitors, embraced digital technology. This would be the key to the Electone’s survival as the traditional home electronic organ market dried up. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... High Fidelity is also the title of a book by Nick Hornby and a film directed by Stephen Frears, based upon Hornbys book. ... Audio can mean: Sound that can be heard. ... A digital system is one that uses numbers, especially binary numbers, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (an analog system) or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

By the 1980s, many of the most famous names had ceased home production, but the Electone successfully translated into the modern world of digital synthesizers, now competing with such new electronic products as Moog, Wersi, and later Kurzweil. Electones were to be found not only in homes, especially in Japan and elsewhere in the East Asia, but also in bands and other solo and group public performances. The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ... Moog is usually referring to one of the following two people: Robert Moog, a pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. ... Kurzweil Music Systems is a company that produces electronic musical instruments for professionals and home users. ... Geographic scope of East Asia East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ...

Modern Electones

Modern Electones and their competitors are best described as synthesizers rather than electronic organs, since they can imitate the sounds of many orchestral instruments, singly or in combination, through the use of digital sampling; nevertheless, in their basic configuration and operation they continue to resemble the organ. This is largely because the organ-style interface, while the most complex of all musical instruments and requiring the most training and skill, also allows the player the greatest possible flexibility and control, which is necessary given the Electone's vast capabilities. The interface includes thee keyboards--two manuals and a pedalboard, each of which may be configured to play a different registration or emulate a different instrument. The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ... The Casavant pipe organ at Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, Montreal The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the western musical tradition, with a rich history connected with the Christian religion and civic ceremony. ... This electronic organ has two offset, four-octave manuals, a typical configuration for a great many popular home and professional instruments. ... Pedalboard is the name of a large keyboard at the base of an electronic or pipe organ console that the organist plays with her feet. ...

The Electone may be configured both before and during playing to mimic a wide variety of instruments, up to and including a full orchestra. Various conveniently-located contols allow on-the-fly changes in configuration. Depending on her selections, the performer may produce the sounds of, for example, a piano at one moment and then a string section the next, followed by more exotic instruments. Most of these selections are ones that she has programmed in before playing.

STAGEA

The newest model Electone, STAGEA (seen above), is distributed in Japan and Asia only. It uses all AWM (Digitized) voices and features over 180 digital effects, built-in registration menu, VA voices, and a Style File compatible expanded rhythm and accompaniment section. There are four models currently including the ELB-01, ELS-01, ELS-01C and ELS-01X. The ELB-01, also called Stagea Mini, is the entry level model, the ELS-01 the standard model, and the ELS-01C the so called custom model, carrying a larger number of voices and other features. The ELS-01X takes the ELS-01C and adds 61-note keyboards, a full-sized 25-note pedal board and XLR external audio jacks. Digitized is a method of creating sprites to games using live video footage. ... The XLR connector is a rugged electrical connector design. ...

Because STAGEA is only officially distributed in Asian countries, those wanting to update to the newest Electone model and living in other parts of the world must import the instrument. This is often called purchasing "grey market" goods. As documented on the Electone community web sites below, many enthusiasts have been highly successful importing instruments. Buying instruments this way is completely legal in most countries including the UK and US. The grey market (in U.S. spelling, gray market) refers to the flow of goods through distribution channels other than those authorized by the manufacturer or producer. ...

Playing the Electone

Playing the Electone is a physically engaging activity requiring considerable dexterity and coordination. The performer sits facing the console at a comfortable distance, with the lower manual at about elbow height and with her feet suspended slightly over the pedals. Her right hand typically plays the upper manual, while her left hand plays the lower manual, though in practice both hands may often play the same manual, especially if each mimics a different instrument or orchestral section. As she plays, she may change registrations with conveniently-located finger controls located near the manuals. Her left foot plays the pedalboard with dancelike motions that can range from lively to langourous depending on the character of her music, Meanwhile, her outstretched right foot rests firmly on the expression pedal, which she pumps gently in order to change the instrument's overall volume or to accent her music’s dynamics. When she wishes to make more pronounced dynamic changes, she simply uses firmer heel or toe pressure on the pedal. She may also occasionally play the pedalboard briefly with both feet. (Many Electone performers play barefoot so as to achieve greater precision with the pedals.) Some Electone models also include a second expression pedal, known as an effects pedal, which can produce changes in pitch or other effects; toe switches on the main expression pedal with which the performer can change registration; and a knee lever, operated with the right knee, with which the performer can sustain notes (as with a piano’s sustain pedal) or produce other effects. In addition to these controls, modern Electones also have data storage systems, LCD screens, and Internet connectivity. Expression pedal is a control pedal found on electronic and pipe organs and many digital synthesizers. ... In music, dynamics refers to the volume or loudness of the sound or note, in particular to the range from soft (quiet) to loud. ...

While the traditional home electronic organ is a relative rarity today, the Electone’s late twentieth-century transformation into a true synthesizer, capability and portability led to its becoming, along with its competitors, the successor in many ways to the famous Hammond electronic organ models of mid-century.

External links

• Electone Station (Japanese) - The official Yamaha Corporation Electone web site. Includes software updates for the new STAGEA instruments.
• Yamaha America Electone Product List - A page showing the Electone instruments Yamaha America supports currently. Note that the models shown are not current production models.
• Electone Zone - The first Electone web site ever on the web. Now a full community portal, serving Electone enthusiasts all over the world.
• Zona Electone Italia - The most important European Electone site. Community members, News,Photo Gallery, Audio and Video download and many others resources for Electone players.
• Electone Society - Based in the UK with many people from all over the world on its newsletter list, the Society (mirror site) reaches out to people of all ages and background. Look out for the Open Competition and Open Concert series with players from Europe (including the UK), USA and China.