Introduction

The Hammond Novachord was the world's first synthesizer, and really came sooner than the world was ready for.  Employing 169 vacuum tubes and circuit ideas borrowed from ENIAC, the world's first computer, it was far ahead of its time.  Production began in November of 1938.  They were revealed to the world at the 1939 World's Fair, where four Novachords played a special musical arrangement along with a Hammond Model A.  The Novachord became commonplace for a short time on motion picture soundstages and in radio studios.  The eerie sounds of the Novachord graced many a horror film, Disney production and radio show.  However, very few players understood how to play it because it wasn't a piano, nor was it an organ.

The Novachord also encountered a great deal of resistance upon its introduction.  The experimental, avant garde music community rejected it because it was "too traditional."  For all the hype, they expected something with a radically different interface.  The traditionalists rejected it because of how strange it was.  Nevertheless, the Novachord did manage to make its own mark on history and still has a distinctive sound that has never been mimicked.

Production was ceased in July of 1942, when it became too difficult to get materials because of World War II.  Production was originally planned to restart after the war, but never did.  Only 1,069 of them were produced, and very few survived because they were problematic from the start because of the wax capacitors.  Many have been discarded, or poorly taken care of.  There are still several around, but very few of them are functional.