Paul Henry

It was set at 0 so It dropped the horn setting down -3db and that seemed to help the horn to woofer ratio. EQing also did a good job of taming the shrillness. I believe that an Organ Grinder would warn things up a bit but at this point I'll keep the $200 in my pocket.

The 8 Ohm Xover I am using has that capability built in, I'll check that again to see where I set it for the horn. Thanks Paul

This Leslie came with what looked like an Atlas PD-5 in it although there were no markings on it and it OHM'd out at 4ohms so who knows. I wanted an 8 ohm driver and woofer to match the new Mark Bass power amp so I tried several top drivers from Amazon just because of the easy return policy. This Leslie was "free" but did not come with the 145 tube amp, the stock Xover, the stock speakers. Just a basic box with the motors. I used the Mark Bass Amp for power, a Fishsticks motor controller box, a Skar PD-1 top driver, a 800Hz crossover, and a new 8ohm 15" speaker. Now I have what I have knowing that it was a crap shoot for what it would ultimately sound like, I have about $950 into as of now and that's acceptable. After adjusting the EQ a bit more I'm liking the tone better. It was never meant to be used with a real Hammond so that's the direction I took this project. It was just fun to have a spinning speaker in my studio to play with after over 50 years without one.

No my 145 is using a 250w Mark Bass head so no tubes there. I will not be using this setup with monitor speakers just farting around with the Leslie in the studio for jamming. A little more info for you: I am using outputs 1&2 for all sounds other than Organ. The Organ is sent to output 3 direct to the 145 with the Mark Bass amp that is built in.. This only works when the Leslie SIM is turned off/disabled so I can't use the OD effect of the Leslie SIM. I did just try noodling with the EQ to try and get the high end shrill out of the top octave. there a a couple of notes there that will make you ears bleed if I'm not careful. I'm sure that using a 145 tube amp would straighten things out but that's never going to happen.

Thank you all for your input. I guess it is what it is for now. You guys saved me the trouble of buying and being disappointed with the results. That's why we are here. And I saved $400 to boot.

I'm using a Nord Stage 3 compact and running it through a 145 Franken Leslie with non-stock speakers and a Mark Bass 250 head. While it sounds good, it's only about 80% there. I do not play out with this I only use this to jam with folks at my practice/jam space. The OD of the Nord to my ears just adds noise but not a nice warm OD. I'm not looking for the Jon Lord sound just hoping to make it a bit less digital sounding. The Tall & Fat and/or the Organ Grinder seem like the pedals of choice for the task. What are you folks using, and what do you suggest would work best for me given my situation? (I don't need Stereo) Thanks Paul

I agree that Sam Ash and GC have had little to no selection of Pro level keyboards for the last decade. I've read that since the main man has passed that the sons are doing what they think is best in this business climate. All my main musical purchases have been with Alto Music in Middleton NY. I am from Rhode Island and I feel the six hour round trip is worth my time to be able to check out pretty much any top tier keyboard out there. Everything is setup and ready to demo and if it's not they get it ready to go. When I was looking to buy my Nord Stage3 they went and grabbed a fresh one and opened it for me to try out first. Yes that was three years ago, so maybe that's frowned upon now. They also give me the best deals on any and all equipment, guitars, keyboards, mixers, PA speakers, studio monitors, E-Drums.....I've bought everything from them in the past several years. I guess I'm a fan and YMMV but it's worth a shot since all these other stores are closing. Paul

When I started back playing in the 80s, I got a Korg DW8000 so I got used to the joystick and that worked for me with all the subsequent Korgs I owed after that. I did have a Yamaha with wheels and I just couldn't get used to that arrangement. My Fantom 7 has both so that is a nice compromise. Paul

I replaced the springs on my Nord Stage 3 compact (Fatar keybed) with lighter ones (PC3KC) from a Kurweil. I got the replacements from Syntaur.com in Texas. It is where I want the action now (Lighter) since I use it mostly to play organ on the Nord into a Leslie 145. As I've said before it's a fairly easy swap and you can always go back to the originals if you so desire. Paul

This will fill some ones void for a Hammond clone, but don't forget the VELCRO cause at only 8lbs this baby will fly off of anything you place it on if/when the going gets rough. Just sayin' Paul

Thanks for the replies, I figured that there would not be a 76 key controller board with that exact keybed. Paul

Quick question: Does anyone here know if any other Roland keyboard product has the exact same keybed as the Fantom 7 ? As I've mentioned here before this action is my favorite, but I feel my Fantom 7 is way under used as it's kind of just used mostly as my main controller board. If some other Roland board, perhaps a controller had this same action, I'd could sell the Fantom 7 and get that board. Thanks Paul

Excellent idea, and at only $2000 it will be the cheapest Nord product.

I did this to my NS3c and it's much easier to play organ with now. Again not sure if the springs are the same as what's put in the newer MoJo. Got them from Syntaur for around $50 and I believe they came from a Kurzweil PC3 model. Paul

I don't believe they are . The LS has "piano" looking keys were as the Nautilus has diving board keys. The Nautilus 61+73 have decent actions but as someone mentioned they are not as nice (solid) as the Kronos 61. Certainly not flimsy like the cheaper Kross or Krome type keybeds. My Fantom 7 has the best, for my taste, action of any board I've played in a long time. I liked older Motifs and Tritons (synth actions) and the Roland reminds me of those to a reasonable degree. Also got an email from Korg indicating these discounts. Paul