Moving an A100 • dB vs. Hammond

[GRollins]

Run for the hills--I'm known for long posts and this one will be no exception. Them what's got older eyes (like me), might want to go get your readin' specs.

 

Oddly enough, I've been running in parallel with this thread, almost to the day...just didn't have the thread as a reference, as I just became a member yesterday. Some random points to add:

 

1) I bought an A-100 in splendid condition off of Craig's List for [redacted--an embarrassingly low price], but needed to get it home. Money is an object with me. I was born with Scottish ancestry and had a relapse at age twelve. I'd rather save the money paid to movers (who might very well bash the thing around, anyway) for buying more gear. Checked into U-Haul trucks and trailers, looking for a lower deck than the bed in my Tacoma. No dice. Their "low decks" are about the same as my pickup. Add Tacoma to the checklist for moving day.

 

2) Clearly needed a dolly of some sort. Roll-Or-Kari? I wish. I don't know anyone who has such a thing and they cost more than I paid for the organ. Non-starter of an idea. What I do have, however, is a willingness to build or adapt things. I cut a piece of 1/2" scrap plywood to a little larger than the dimensions of the base of the A-100. I screwed 2" x 4" braces to the perimeter of the plywood, then took 3" casters off a dolly I made years ago for a bass cabinet and bolted them to the corners. Instant dolly for zero outlay. Add dolly to the checklist.

 

3) After searching high and low on the Interwebz for the weight of an A-100, I ended up more confused than enlightened. I saw figures anywhere from 220# to over 400#. Screw it. Removed the pedals and carried them and the bench out to the truck. Lifted one end experimentally. Hmmm...not filled with helium, but not too bad. I'd guess somewhere in the 100-150# range for one end. So, I lifted my end and had the fella I was buying it from slide my dolly under that end. Then I lifted my end again and had my wife and the seller lift the other end together. One of my kids slid the dolly into place. Perfect. (Note: I'm in decent shape, but not a weight lifter and I'm going to be 60 in a little over a week, so this is doable for the average person.)

 

3) The thing rolled easily on their hardwood floor (no carpet--yay!). The threshold at the front door had to be dealt with by lifting one end, then the other over the bump. Done.

 

4) There were four or five steps down to their front walk (concrete--yay!). My wife had borrowed an aluminum ramp from work, which saved me from having to spring for ramp rental from Home Depot. It's an 8' ramp and I was concerned about the slope, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I feared. I took the entire load without a problem. I wasted more energy worrying than I did getting it down the ramp. (Concrete driveway, too--yay!)

 

5) Reversed the process to get it up in the truck bed. Again...doable.

 

6) WARNING: This is what I had not foreseen...the bottom of a Toyota Tacoma has a corrugated bed. The spacing of the corrugations was just a little wider than the spacing of the wheels on my dolly, causing them to splay outwards a little. Hmmm...file this under the "devil's in the details." I'll cut this short by saying that the dolly (and the A-100) survived.

 

7) Lashed the organ to the truck (yes, I had locked the tone generator) with the organ still on the dolly.

 

8) Drove all the way across town at reduced speed in rush hour traffic. Pissed off a few people. Apologies to all concerned.

 

9) Getting the organ in the house was a little more difficult. My driveway is gravel and partly washed out. A couple of old 2" x 12" boards provided a smooth surface for the dolly, and the ramp got the organ in the house.

 

10) All said, I got a 9/10 condition A-100 home still in 9/10 condition. Cost: nothing that I hadn't already spent plus gas.

 

What I don't have is a Leslie, so I'm on the internal speakers. One or more are blown, but it's not noticeable until I hit the pedals. I haven't stopped to mess with them yet.

 

What no one has said so far is that the reverb circuit feeds a dedicated single 12" driver on the right. The two 12" drivers for the dry signal are on the left. As you play, then release a note, there is an obvious physical displacement of the signal as the dry channel stops and the sound moves to the right reverb speaker. Freaky cool effect. Almost stereo.

 

So...a week later, a Kronos comes up, but I'll leave that story for later...

 

Grey

[Dave Bryce]

NICE!!!

 

It's an experience, eh?

 

 

Did you have Ken go over the rig, or are you just getting used to it?

The latter.

 

dB

[GRollins]

I'm in the "getting used to it" phase, myself. All I've done so far is clean (apparently someone in the seller's household was a very heavy smoker) and lube mine.

 

Besides one or more drivers being in poor condition, I'm not aware of any problems. Other than lubrication and possible tube replacement (my kids were kind enough to destroy my tube tester), are there any other maintenance items I should attend to?

 

Grey

[mate stubb]

The thing that's hard to explain to people that come to a real console late is the joy that your ears experience.

 

You can spend all day just noodling around on 888000000 and never a tired ear - just glorious sound. Clonewheels still don't have that.

[Dave Bryce]

The thing that's hard to explain to people that come to a real console late is the joy that your ears experience.

 

You can spend all day just noodling around on 888000000 and never a tired ear - just glorious sound. Clonewheels still don't have that.

No, they don't. I'm realizing how critical the sound system you use with your clonewheel is, though. I can see where it'd be pretty easy to get lost in that search.

 

The funniest thing was when I first started cranking the volume to the point of that glorious edgy distortion, my initial reaction was to back off because I might hurt something. Took me a sec to realize that's the drive parameter....

 

My happy place seems to be around 888 754 332, with the Third percussion on.

 

Speaking of which, dopey question if I may: the percussion only works with the second set of drawbars (B black key) for the upper manual, not the first set (Bb black key)?

 

dB

[GRollins]

It said something like that in the manual, but for the life of me, I can't find it now to verify.

 

Grey

[Markyboard]

 

Speaking of which, dopey question if I may: the percussion only works with the second set of drawbars (B black key) for the upper manual, not the first set (Bb black key)?

 

dB

 

Si.

[mate stubb]

 

Speaking of which, dopey question if I may: the percussion only works with the second set of drawbars (B black key) for the upper manual, not the first set (Bb black key)?

 

dB

 

Si.

 

Also don't forget you lose the top drawbar when you switch percussion on. Try 888000008 and switch percussion off and on. Old organist trick to add the sizzle when you cancel percussion without having to change registration.

[WesG]

And the overall level of the upper manual will go down on when you flip the percussion on. IF that bothers you, there is an easy fix.

[Dave Bryce]

Also don't forget you lose the top drawbar when you switch percussion on. Try 888000008 and switch percussion off and on. Old organist trick to add the sizzle when you cancel percussion without having to change registration.

Yep, that one I know...but great info to add to this thread for any who may not. Thx, Moe!

 

And the overall level of the upper manual will go down on when you flip the percussion on. IF that bothers you, there is an easy fix.

Doesn't really bother me any more than the volume dropping when I turn the V/C on for either manual...but what's the fix?

 

dB

[WesG]

There is a resistor in the matching transformer housing you can jumper across. It is enabled by a little switch under the B preset key. I forget which resistor it is, but it's easy enough to find; likely mentioned on Jeff Daikiri's Hammond wiki.

 

[WesG]

PS - if your volume is dropping with V/C, you have a minor AO28 issue. Try switching around the two 6AU6s. If the problem inverts itself (weak channel follows specific tube), you have a weak tube and should order two new ones.

[Dave Bryce]

PS - if your volume is dropping with V/C, you have a minor AO28 issue. Try switching around the two 6AU6s. If the problem inverts itself (weak channel follows specific tube), you have a weak tube and should order two new ones.

That may be it. I only did the tubes on the AO39. The volume only drops a litte, but it is noticeable.

 

Thx, Wes!

 

dB

 

 

[B3Nut]

If it still drops after swapping the 6AU6's around, the plate and screen resistors feeding the vib channel's 6AU6 are going up in value and will go open altogether at some point. I'd have the plate and screen resistors for both 6AU6's replaced next time it's serviced, and other resistors that carry B+ are good candidates for replacement even if currently working with the exception of the wirewound power resistors in parts of the circuit, those are usually fine.

 

TP

[tfort]

KC 1961 A100 collective FTW!

s/n 4564 here.

 

dB

I just looked up a serial number. Based on the list here, it looks like yours was made in 1960 Dave. Maybe purchased in '61?

 

You should add yours to the registration.

[MotiDave]

If it's a one and done move (staying where you're moving it to), rent the ROKs instead. If gigging it, you'll need to buy/find a set.

gigging an A100 ... in 2019? Is he playing with The Boss?

 

better men than me ... I won't even bring a second 15 lb synth to a gig anymore

[area51recording]

A guy that I knew back in college gigged with a B3 and 122 that he moved himself. He had the dollies, and built himself a nifty ramp that let him get it in and out of his van pretty easily. No idea what he did if he encountered stairs when he got to the gig....

[WesG]

Once you have the transport issue sorted out -- dollies, wheels, van, ramp -- gigging an organ really isn't much harder than electronic keys, and setup is faster.

 

Stairs are trickier, and this is why you need to check the venue out ahead of time. Call and ask if the stage is wheelchair-accessible.

 

I have a four-step limit. More than four stairs, and I don't play organ on the gig. This is seldom a problem. Three to four stairs, I use my 8' aluminimum tri-fold ramp. One or two steps, I just do a lift/tippy-tippy thing.

[Outkaster]

I have seen Wes' rig and it works well. He has it down to a science.

[Dave Bryce]

Did you have Ken go over the rig, or are you just getting used to it?

The latter.

 

dB

...until now.

 

Ken Rich has has it for about a week and a half. He's completely cleaning it up and doing a few fun mods to it including (but not limited to) the reverb tank being routed to the Leslie as well as its dedicated onboard speaker (switchable, of course) and footswitch rotor speed.

 

Can't wait to get it back.

 

dB

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Did you have Ken go over the rig, or are you just getting used to it?

The latter.

 

dB

...until now.

 

Ken Rich has has it for about a week and a half. He's completely cleaning it up and doing a few fun mods to it including (but not limited to) the reverb tank being routed to the Leslie as well as its dedicated onboard speaker (switchable, of course) and footswitch rotor speed.

 

Can't wait to get it back.

 

dB

Hmmmm those sound like some desirable A100 mods... :wink: By the way, this thread was also very helpful when I was dealing with moving mine, so, I'm glad to see you reviving it!

[Doerfler]

the reverb tank being routed to the Leslie

 

I remember reading a Benmont Tench interview where he discussed his appreciation of reverb swirling around in a leslie.

[Dave Bryce]

The parts list from the upgrade:

 

50/30/30/10 25-350 VDC

AO28 supply Multilitic 40/40/40/475 VDC

50/30/30/10 25-350 VDC

RC Upgrade Kit

RV-1B Reverb System

6AU6

Hammond AO28 Tube Damper Kit Custom Switch control For Internal Speakers / Leslie Out and Variable line output

Isolated jack with plate for footswitch 6550 Output Tube EH Gold Matched EP 6 Pin M Chassis Mount

EP 6 Pin F Chassis

EP 6 Pin M Cable Mount

EP 6 Pin F Cable Mount

Rotor Cover for Leslie Motor

Lower Motor Rebuild Kit

Large motor isolation Grommet Lower Bearing

Upper Bearing

SSR-147 Solid State Relay Pack Upper Motor Rebuild Kit

220 Mfd 50 VDC Axial

50 Mfd 50 VDC Axial

 

Should be back tonight.

 

dB

[Doerfler]

Hammond AO28 Tube Damper Kit Custom Switch control For Internal Speakers / Leslie Out and Variable line output

 

trying to understand some of the parts list, is this a second half moon switch that toggles between the internal speakers, the leslie speaker, and both (center detent)?

don't remember if that existed before on yourses, I have one on mines and love it. Crank that shit up with your good arm when it gets home.

[Dave Bryce]

trying to understand some of the parts list, is this a second half moon switch that toggles between the internal speakers, the leslie speaker, and both (center detent)?

The old one was not - just fast/slow. We'll see when it gets here. You don't tell Ken what to do...you give him your instrument and stay out of his way, answering his questions when he asks. He sees these projects as works of art...

 

Doesn't really matter much to me. I'm not much for braking. I love slow rotor.

 

dB

[Doerfler]

Understand about fast /slow. I actually have 2 half moon switches, that's what I was asking. I know you won't know until it arrives. My second half moon has nothing to do with speed. It toggles between the internal speakers of the A100 and the leslie, internal on the left, external on the right, mix in the middle. As for my chorale/tremelo half moon, it's the same as yourses. If I want stop (I do), I just unplug the connectors in the leslie, plug 'em back in when I want chorale.

 

[Dave Bryce]

I believe I'm getting individual kill switches for the Leslie and internal sound system in addition to a Line Out. New reverb will now feed all outs.

 

dB

[Doerfler]

Line out with reverb, add some ring mod, got you some Jon Lord.

[KuruPrionz]

The parts list from the upgrade:

Should be back tonight.

 

dB

 

Not a single tube? Extraordinary!!!!!

 

There's like, umpty bajillion tubes inside a Hammond (don't ask a guitar player how they know this...) - runs away....

[SamuelBLupowitz]

the reverb tank being routed to the Leslie

 

I remember reading a Benmont Tench interview where he discussed his appreciation of reverb swirling around in a leslie.

I have also read that interview â it"s cost me a lot of money. :wink: