WesG

I think the other advantage of over-the-ear is that there is some weight relief; the ear bud is supported by your ear rather than the fit in your ear canal. This means they can use larger (heavier) drivers and so on.

Two Tickets is still on my play list.... always wanted to work up "Take Me Home Tonight"....

Delaware Dave -- FWIW the M3 (all the M series) is missing both the 5 1/3' and 16' drawbars, i.e. both browns. The 8th drawbar, a unique feature of these organs, is "black with a red dot". This is a mixture drawbar which is the same as the two black side-by-side drawbars (1 3/5' + 1 1/3'), but up an octave.

You can pair a vintage unit to your Mojo without a lot of difficulty as well. Budget $400 for this plus $100 for a cable and you'll be in safe shape. I'd recommend a two speeder with treble horns and a tube amp. 122, 142, 145, 147, also the 251 if you can do basic electronics work (or if BookerLab starts making 251-ready products). And for the record, there ain't NOTHIN' like moving air.

Thanks, folks. So many great comments in here. I am feeling more and more positive about taking this on every day. The "stage piano" requirement is nice and easy for me, given that I already own an RD800 and a CP4. Both count. Two manual clonewheel is a funny one...I don't think the business in my area would ever warrant that, and if it did, I suspect most players would be satisfied with a Hammond in its place. Great advice re. Motifs and Nords. The takeaway I get is to buy an XF7 unless an XS7/8 comes up locally really cheap. MotiDave - I'm not buying yet. Still have two organs to finish before I have enough room on the ol' credit card to indulge my GAS....er I mean capital acquisitions for the business. Reeze - re testing - I can't believe there are companies that bring broken stuff, but I am starting to see this more and more regularly! Generally, when I rent an organ, I'll play a gig or two on it to make sure it's ready, AND I'll set the entire rig up in my shop a few days in advance and play it, just to make sure it's ready to go. I actually own both an FC7 and an EV5, although I haven't seen the EV5 in a year....I hate it...should start locating stuff like this. BTW if you are electronically inclined, I can give you instructions for a better-than-ashby adapter for that FC7/Roland setup. You'll get a more usable mid-range out of it, rather than all the express being at one end of the travel.

I also see riders that list KC-series amps. I don't really need to buy one, do I? I own a bunch of powered speakers.

Good thinking on the plastic chassis avoidance. I got my CP4 the year it came out. It's on it's third chassis....yes, I'm hard on stuff.....I guess I'm a good test case. A local used market survey was interesting. Not a whole lot of Nord or Kronos on the used market, but a fair number of affordable Motif XS8s (and older Motif 8s also). I see an XS8 in my future this year....If I pick up an XS8, a Nord something, and a Kronos, one a year or so, I think I can be reasonably legit. Can somebody educate me re. Nords? I played one recently, a 6 something, that was really good. It has pianos, organ, and a lot of buttons so I'm guessing synth. Was that a Stage? Is there a point to owning an Electro (that's just pianos, right?) if I have a CP4? Dave - gigs in Delaware out of the question, I don't have a green card. Barry - good thinking on submixer. Something will pop up someday and I'll snag it. I can probably get by with a non-rackmount unit if pressed before then. I have a Mackie ProFX8, Soundcraft Spirit E16 and an X32 Producer. Actually, my Behringer MMX-8 would fit the bill, too, except it doesn't have any mic pres. Wes

The next time you have them out, could you snap a picture of the plate? That might be useful for a project I have been consulting on with BookerLab. They have a nice motor controller, but the motors aren't quiet enough.

Thanks, Reeze - Which Motif? Mo8? XS8? Ever seen a MOX? Rich - ironically, yeah, clonewheel organ would get requested a lot. I'm not sure I have the heart to buy one, though. LOL. I guess if I buy a Nord I'd have one, though.

moe - I'd like to know more about your motors?

Hey, Folks! I started an organ backline business about three years ago, and am doing okay at that. I'm still building inventory, but I have a couple of good A100s and Leslies on the go right now. My rebuild queue includes a '58 B3, a '62ish C3 and a '69 D152 with incredible manuals that I'm going to stuff into a basket case BC....hoping to finish at least one of those over the Christmas-March period next year. My business got a recent boost when I had to rescue the incumbent organ rental guy who supplied a non-working organ for a very high-profile show at the local Bluesfest where the star of the night was a seriously bad-ass organ player....the player called me and I happened to be in the audience with my van parked four blocks away...production company told me it was the fastest Hammond load-in they had ever seen and are happy as heck to know they have an option in my area now. Now I have contacts with those guys, the local theatre, the festival, etc. Yay me, lol. I'm quite confident this will turn in a bunch more business over the next few years. I have wanted that festival as a customer for some time. Chatting with some of these folks, I also discovered there is literally nobody doing backline keys for a hundred mile radius (or more). The population density here is low, so there isn't a /ton/ of demand, but there is some. (Huge shows, with significant backline requirements, are generally fed from large production companies in a nearby major city). The local music store will also supply out of their own inventory pretty cheap on occasion, but I think there is room for a dedicated company doing this. I have a CP4 and an RD800 (and a VR09 and a DX7 etc), which I guess could be the start of an inventory. What else would a small keys backline company own? I know I'd need a red one, but which one? How about things like Motifs? What's typically on riders these days? Wes

I gigged a DGX620 for a couple of years. If the 660 is similar, you can make it work. You can get a lot from 2 presets in 8 banks.

You need support from the PA in order to be able to use the organ to its fullest in a loud situation. Get a f--- ton of Leslie in your wedge, and make sure plenty is coming out the FOH. An organ that is playing balls out for the entire night just to keep up with the band is not being used to its full potential. I play a lot of classic rock. My go-to registrations are 8888, 888888888, 888, 008, 83888226, 668, and octave transpositions thereof (ie 00686 instead of 668). With and without C3. 888888 soft 2nd is worth mentioning, too. Stole that from Benmont (Refugee). I also like to solo with stuff like 0888 fast normal 2nd. The missing sub fundamental is wack.

Thanks, Jason. There are a couple of Celesta patches in there I will tinker with shortly. I just listened to every Jenco Celeste video on YouTube. I think maybe knowing what the un-mixed instrument sounds like will make it a bit easier. I love the sustain and bite on these things.

Don't forget to give The Glorious Sons a listen!

You don't want to be dicking with little nuts and screws on stage during setup and teardown every night anyhow - find a better way. If your stands are big, around 38mm, like lighting poles (hint hint), you can use something like these speaker pole adapters My front-lighting rig is based on those, I have two PAR38 cans cans on them, which are then mounted on poles that bolt into mounts which I made for the flypoints of my FOH speakers. Flat pars often use 20mm tripods, though. If you can a good want to mount your light, it should be safe if they are behind the band. Note that safety is really important, because lights need to be at least 8' off the ground to look good.

Hey, Folks -- I migrated away from a CP4+VR09 to a single top board on top of the organ this year, an RD800, for Classic Rock duty. I am still playing the CP4 for Grateful Dead and piano-centric gigs. For the most part, the RD800 is a big step up. It took me a while to build a decent piano, but I have one now. The horns and strings kill the ones in the CP4, although some aren't quite as good as some of the ones in the VR09. The VR09 has a much better effects setup, which helps a lot. But the layering capability in the RD800, especially coupled with more pedals, really makes a difference. The synths in the RD800 are also not as good as the VR09, but "good enough"....I play mostly stuff like "Just What I Needed", pretty basic needs. What's got me perplexed is bell tones, for tunes like "Born To Run". I can't figure out how to make something with a good "ding" and "ring" ... that cuts through the mix...I had something in the CP4 based on Round Glocken that was absolutely killer...in fact, my old DGX-620 had a good Round Glocken patch, too. The best I've found on the RD800 is a bit too "thunk" than "ding" and not enough sustain....does that make sense? Anybody ever had this problem, and solved it without bringing more gear to the show? I wish this thing had a basic FM synth in it.

Your CPA should be able to totally punish a 147. I have an LBB also, and am working with BookerLab. If you want to know anything, ask. BTW it sounds GREAT.

These are fantastic Leslies. I have one in my stable. No slow probably an issue with the Hampton. Bad sound could be many things. Are you using a device with a 6C pinout, for starters? Not the same as 122 OR 147....

Go ahead and move it on its back. It will be fine. BTW Tony Banks played those back in the day. As soon as you get it home, oil it and change the motor run cap.

That depends a LOT on what board youre playing. I use both Roland and Yamaha pedals, depending on rig. M-audio sucks.

I need talk to my friend Ed to find out what his secret is, A sax player in his 80s, he still brings game and plays a LOT of gigs. Always in good shape. Im 45 and starting to struggle, a lot. I turned the wrong way at work in early December and aggravated an old neck disc injury. I couldnt practice and could barely do my day job for two months. Actually, I did a lot of managing at work and took a coding break.....my right hand wasnt working right and I could barely hold my head up. I limped through gigs and begged no solos Last month, I turned the wrong way setting down an empty flight case at a show after moving 3000 lbs of shit earlier that day and collapsed, unable to get back up....back muscle spasm. Finally I was able to and had to play the show hunched over at 90 degrees from the waist. Running the PA wiring was fun. Took me almost two weeks to get back to normal. The shows in that time were okay but a challenge. Last Saturday, end of the night, I turned the wrong way after strapping speakers into the van...separating a rib. Now Im in agony every time I cough, which is a lot right now because my gastric reflux is acting up again. I would do almost anything to have my 20 year old body back again. At least I still wear the same size pants.

Hammond Organs

Feel is an interesting thing. There are players locally with far better chops than me, but I feel like they play the notes at the wrong time, particularly when comping regular quarter or especially 8th notes. It's so hard to describe. It's like they are way too uptight.

I play that song. I never noticed a bunch of different counts, but I agree that it's a masterpiece. I still can't get the horn stabs sounding full enough, though. I play them right over the piano section of an RD800, brought in with a damper pedal. I keep wondering if I wouldn't be better off just playing them on the organ, all 8s. I can only muster two fingers at a time in my right hand accurately...the top note and a P4th down. I wonder if I should cheat and transpose one of the horn voices up a major third? No....that would make M7 chords. Argh. Anyhow. I also play the version by The Box Tops. The guitar player in that band simply could not get the intro to start on the and of one until I counted it out about a hundred times at rehearsal one day. He always wanted to start right on the one....same issue with Baby Please Don't Go. I bet we could bring that one back into the repertoire now.