Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Looking at a Hammond A100 today


Recommended Posts



  • Replies 42
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Funny timing here.

 

We have a new bass player in the group, and I come to find out he's been restoring Hammonds and Leslies for many years. I went over to his house today, and he had no less than six Hammond consoles in his garage shop in various states of repair, as well as several Franken-Leslies that sounded great. One shelf filled with tone generators, another with various preamps, another with key actions and so on.

 

He also said he was involved with the Speakeasy tube preamps years ago, and had a few in various states of repair. He loves him a vintage Hammond through hot tubes.

 

I am not interested in maintaining one of these antique beasts on my own. But if I know a guy ... well, that's a different proposition.

 

And, yes, there was this cool A100 he was just about finished with. Reverb unit was busted, but everything else worked great. It played and sounded marvelous.

 

Resisting something like this is gonna be tough ...

 

 

hello there, my name is Larry, I live in Tequesta(Jupiter, Florida). I would be very interested in getting contact information for your bass player. I have a few things I would like to be repaired on my Hammond, thanx........954-274-6631

 

PM sent -- good luck!

Want to make your band better?  Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To zap or to clean, that is the question:

 

If you have metal dentrites, zapping can be effective, at least temporarily.

If you have just an oil soaked scanner, it must be cleaned.

 

In the one I cleaned, the initial zapping was ineffective because built up oil residue was the problem.

Moe

---

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have heard (maybe here) that techs usually have a scanner ready to go and swap it for one that's motorboating, and then clean the motorboating one at the shop later. Then that's ready for a swap when he needs one.

 

 

You mean like this one sitting on my shelf for 3 years waiting to be cleaned?

6ahtcXPl.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No aftertouch, escapement, OLED screen or 5-pin MIDI out. Not even a single AP patch. Sounds like a piece of garbage to me.

 

I would turn it down and get yourself a Nord Lead.

Yamaha U1 Upright, Roland Fantom 8, Nord Stage 4 HA73, Nord Wave 2, Korg Nautilus 73, Viscount Legend Live, Lots of Mainstage/VST Libraries

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No aftertouch, escapement, OLED screen or 5-pin MIDI out. Not even a single AP patch. Sounds like a piece of garbage to me.

 

I would turn it down and get yourself a Nord Lead.

 

And as a favor to a fellow forumite, I'll swing by in my truck and take that dinosaur to the dump for you. I know - I'm a giver in a world of takers.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice A-101. I have one that I've owned since 1988. Same motor boating C/V I've temporarily fixed with the 9-volt battery trick, but mostly avoid using it. Congrats!

 

Care to elaborate on the 9V battery trick? A quick web search didn't get me any clarity.

 

Several people have mentioned "zapping" the scanner and I think there are a few different methods. A Hammond tech showed me the 9V trick maybe 20 years ago. I am trying to remember it, as it has been a while. I believe it requires two small leads of wire connected to both terminals of the 9V battery and then twisted together with a little tail of wire that you then touch all around the scanner to "zap" the buildup inside the scanner. It tends to fix things for a while and then they revert.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... How intense of a job is this? Is it a DIY job for relative newbie? Looks complicated from what I have seen online, but I do want to learn more about see[ing these beasts running...

 

I rebuilt the one in my A100 following a guide from Bob Schleicher in the original Hammond-Leslie FAQ. How to Rebuild the Vibrato Scanner. I have repaired and rebuilt Hammonds and Leslies and even rebuilt scanners, but this is the only one I did by removing it from an otherwise functioning organ to fix a motorboating problem. So for me, the trickiest part was the actual removal of the motor/scanner assembly. The rest was very straight forward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cured mine A100 with the zap. 2 9 volts batteries in series ( gives 18 volt) , they click natural together, plus from one to minus on the others, then a cable from one off the poles to each connector on the scanner, one by one, the other pole touching the metal part of the scanner.

 

But, since this happen to mine, I took my scanner apart. Clean, and dry as ..... dry. Seems like it had been done before by previous owner. So I guess my problem might have been a dentrite in the switching somewhere.

 

Here are part of the zapping. However, he do not show how he connect the battery.

 

[video:youtube]

/Bjørn - old gearjunkie, still with lot of GAS
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, latest update, after 2 days of running it all day at the studio, the motorboating hasn't happened again, so I'm just kind of hoping it was a temporary thing, maybe triggered from moving or something. The organ is totally fun, and sounds great, and I'm waiting on a bench and the Leslie hookup from my tech, probably next week.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the motorboating isn't constant it probably just needs oiling. There's three areas to apply Hammond oil, don't fill up the metal bin for the chorus/vibrato! Just the felt pad needs to be soaked.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

slightly off topic , looking through the Benton Electronics link , i came across the two speed leslie conversion board they sell .

they can also be used to eliminate the slow speed motors . we used a 21H for a short time that had a conversion kit ( 20years ago , so was an older technology )

was miserable , sounded like a tugboat . is the newer stuff any good ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...