Hammond Organ

Almost Enough · 09-10-2008, 02:58 AM

I got a free Hammond B3 organ that "works".

It's been in a garage for a long time, so I'm going to clean it up and kill any bugs, but it does make noise, and there's a Leslie speaker in it!

I'm psyched...

More later...

**Rainer.** · 09-10-2008, 11:41 AM

Awesome!

I'd love a Hammond if not for the bulkiness of them.

Almost Enough · 09-11-2008, 10:57 AM

Sorry...not a B3.

(note to self - avoid late night posting)

Still awesome, though! Sounds great, just needs to be cleaned.

Note to Mods: can I change the thread title to Hammond organ?

**Rainer.** · 09-11-2008, 11:40 AM

What model you got?

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 09-11-2008, 11:47 AM

is it one of the old tube powered ones?

Almost Enough · 09-11-2008, 01:16 PM

I don't know what model it is yet.

I'm not finding much useful information online without having the serial numbers. I'll look at them on my lunch break. Chances are, the thing isn't worth a ton of money or anything, especially in the condition it's in, but I still want to use it!

**Rainer.** · 09-11-2008, 01:19 PM

Who cares? As long as it sounds good!

Almost Enough · 09-11-2008, 01:27 PM

Got a horrible cell phone pic for right now.

MrCrabby · 09-11-2008, 03:29 PM

A few months ago, my roommate acquired a 1950's-era B-2. The thing was incredible, but we just had no room for it, so we sold it to a church for about $600.

Almost Enough · 09-11-2008, 03:58 PM

Got another bad cell phone picture. This time it's a picture of the model and serial numbers.

Looks to me it's likely a later model, transistor based (as opposed to the Tonewheel), and was probably manufactured for the home-organist. It's probably at best worth $150 if it were in good condition.

I'm still going to clean it up and play it. I want to use it LIVE.

Almost Enough · 09-11-2008, 08:53 PM

I cleaned it up and put it back in my house. Now I have mixed feelings.

Firstedly, there's still cockroaches coming out of it every once in a while. It's ok, though, I bought Raid.

Second of all, it sounds like a Hammond (YES!), but the speakers=teh suck. Would want to replace if I used.

Thirdly, there's about 4 keys that are out of tune. From what I hear, that's fairly good for the condition it's in (some people have to retune the entire thing), but that still means I have to fix it. There's also a few scratchy buttons and some lovely "I have really old components that are dusty" sounds. Again, some work to get it up and running.

Fourthly, the front legs are coming off. My friend is a carpenter and says he could fix it for cheap/free. Again, time and effort.

I'm having mixed feelings. It's going to take some research and time to fix, and it has bout ten cockroaches inside that are trying to kill me. I enjoy fixing things, but this thing is not the most desirable Hammond organ in the world. The most I've seen a similar model go for is $175, and it was in primo condition.
I'm wondering if it's worth my time/effort, when there's a bunch of people ditching these things for prices from $100-$500. Then again, I really want an organ for my band. I've been considering getting a digital keyboard and then this fell in my lap, and is something I've always dug (that and a Rhodes).

What do you guys think?

PianoMan · 09-12-2008, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almost Enough

Note to Mods: can I change the thread title to Hammond organ?

Done.

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 09-12-2008, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almost Enough

I cleaned it up and put it back in my house. Now I have mixed feelings.

Firstedly, there's still cockroaches coming out of it every once in a while. It's ok, though, I bought Raid.

Second of all, it sounds like a Hammond (YES!), but the speakers=teh suck. Would want to replace if I used.

Thirdly, there's about 4 keys that are out of tune. From what I hear, that's fairly good for the condition it's in (some people have to retune the entire thing), but that still means I have to fix it. There's also a few scratchy buttons and some lovely "I have really old components that are dusty" sounds. Again, some work to get it up and running.

Fourthly, the front legs are coming off. My friend is a carpenter and says he could fix it for cheap/free. Again, time and effort.

I'm having mixed feelings. It's going to take some research and time to fix, and it has bout ten cockroaches inside that are trying to kill me. I enjoy fixing things, but this thing is not the most desirable Hammond organ in the world. The most I've seen a similar model go for is $175, and it was in primo condition.
I'm wondering if it's worth my time/effort, when there's a bunch of people ditching these things for prices from $100-$500. Then again, I really want an organ for my band. I've been considering getting a digital keyboard and then this fell in my lap, and is something I've always dug (that and a Rhodes).

What do you guys think?

Here are my thoughts... If you have time, it could be a really great learning experience in reconditioning and retuning and such as a dry run for a nicer one later. Personally, a digital keyboard will in my opinion not get you the same vibe at all. But I would be willing to guess that it would be great practice for a hammond B3 or nicer and that many skills acquired in restoring it would transfer, which means if you wanted a better one later, you could buy one that needed work with confidence. If something goes horribly amok n this one... Oh well.

Almost Enough · 09-12-2008, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PianoMan

Done.

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

Here are my thoughts... If you have time, it could be a really great learning experience in reconditioning and retuning and such as a dry run for a nicer one later. Personally, a digital keyboard will in my opinion not get you the same vibe at all. But I would be willing to guess that it would be great practice for a hammond B3 or nicer and that many skills acquired in restoring it would transfer, which means if you wanted a better one later, you could buy one that needed work with confidence. If something goes horribly amok n this one... Oh well.

That's what I'm thinking. I've got a long day ahead of me here at the library, so I'll do some research on tuning/fixing these things.

Oh, and by the way, no tubes

.

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 09-12-2008, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almost Enough

Thanks.

That's what I'm thinking. I've got a long day ahead of me here at the library, so I'll do some research on tuning/fixing these things.

Oh, and by the way, no tubes

.

yeah caught that, unfortunately, that would seem to make the restoration harder, as tube technology is pretty simple.