Using divide-down oscillators (the world's first?), the Novachord was fully polyphonic. These pass through resonators, hi-and lo-pass filters and a simple but effective envelope shaper. What is particularly impressive is that the Novachord had LFOs and envelope shapers for every one of its 72-notes so that the instrument was TOTALLY polyphonic! This is actually very impressive as even string synths 40 years its junior such as the ARP Omni, Moog PolyMoog, etc., were paraphonic - i.e. all voices sharing a single LFO/envelope. This means that combined with the huge polyphony, six octaves and a superb sustain control, you can combine massive chords and arpeggios with no chance of note stealing. The electronic architecture that makes this possible is beautifully elegant too.

It also has vibrato but not like the type found on analogue synths - instead, the modulation is polyphonic which imparts a rich ensemble effect to its sounds.

Click to see a larger panel image

The technology of the time, however, was such that inside her there is a staggering number of valves (163) and capacitors and miles of wiring. To get a sense of proportion, to the right is a picture of Laurens Hammond calibrating one board of a Novachord! Click to see a larger image.

But reaction to this magnificent instrument was mixed at the time.

Traditional musicians couldn't grasp the concept because it wasn't a piano (even though it looked a little like one in its magnificent wooden cabinet) and those who had embraced Hammond's tonewheel organs were confused because it wasn't an organ either. As such, most people didn't know quite what to make of it or what to do with it.

However, it was a sure fire hit with the movie and TV industry who used it in soundtracks primarily for the eerie sounds it could create and its haunting sound could be heard in movies as diverse as 'Gone With The Wind', 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'Rebecca' to sci-fi classics such as 'It Came From Outer Space'. 'This Island Earth', 'The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms' and others. It also featured in TV programs such as 'The Twilght Zone', 'The Outer Limits' and 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea'. It was also used in 'Hawaii Five-O'. Book him Danno!

Despite all this, unfortunately, like the Theremin, it failed to gain 'serious' musical credibility because it was seen as something of a novelty. However, Dame Vera Lynn, the forces' sweetheart, was acccompanied on one by Arthur Young in several of the wartime songs she recorded including 'We'll Meet Again'. Arthur Young along with Dimitri Tiomkin, Elmer Bernstein and Jerry Goldsmith took the instrument seriously and Goldsmith was using one as late as 1966.

Only 1,069 were ever made. Production stopped in 1941 when parts were difficult to get hold of due to the war effort of WWII. It never went back into production after hostilities ceased. Unfortunately! Imagine how electronic music might have been had Hammond continued with this amazing instrument - it would have had a 20 year head start. Like so many innovations, it was ahead of its time and most people couldn't understand it.

Very few remain today and even fewer are in working order.

However, Hollow Sun is dragging this phenomenal instrument into the present day in its unique sample set which brings the rich and haunting sonorities of the Novachord into the 21st century ... where (arguably) it belongs.

It is unknown how many working Novachords are in existence today but this is almost certainly the only one in the UK.

He has already put in hundreds of hours into the restoration and progress is good. In fact, the fiirst audio demo above is actually Dan noodling around on his Novachord, played live with the pieces segued together. Some modern reverb processing has been added but otherwise, you're listening to the sound of a unique musical innovation from 70 years ago. Yes - 70 years ago!

The textures are unbelievable - quite unlike anything we've heard, Vaguely familiar and reminiscent of modern synths but with a 'quality' that, like this library, is totally unique.

Please also visit our sister site, novachord.co.uk, for more information on this unique project.