We Bought a Hammond

[DanL]

This guy who my brother used to play with had 2 of those Equinox boards. I don't think I ever heard a worse hammond sound in my life. There's a reason they were discontinued that goes beyond lack of sales. If it sounded good, it would sell.

 

Jim I completely agree on your comment that if a 40lb board that sounded even 90% as good as a real Hammond/Leslie combo was available "back in the day", like we have now, then we all would have hauled one of those vs the real thing. No one wanted to haul them, but you didn't have much choice if you wanted a good sound.

[Joe Muscara]

If you're going to own a real console, you might as well get a real Leslie, too. A sim like the Ventilator would do a fine job with the proper amplification, but if you're gonna go for it, then go for it!

To paraphrase a famous quote, I'm gonna need a bigger house...

 

[i'm also looking at the thread with people's pics of their home rigs and going, "yeah, I wish."]

[kanker.]

But anyway... the point is it doesn't make much sense to haul around a tonewheel console these days. Many times I prefer my XK3 and 3300. In fact, I kinda wish I had used them at the festival in Wheeling, WV tonight. The real B3 they supplied as backline was anemic and got into overdriven sludge way too early in it's very limited dynamic range. My XK3 and 3300 smokes that B3, no contest.

I forgot about that, should have warned you. Probably the same one they used a few years ago. I remember that organ sucking pretty seriously, and anemic would be exactly the word I'd use. That and it seems most backline Leslies distort a lot earlier, and a lot nastier, that one would really want. Shame, because it's a great festival.

[Outkaster]

I CAN'T believe people are still drawn to the original Hammonds, what with all of the technology that has produced clonewheels and synths/samplers that duplicate ANY possible combination of drawbars, effects, Leslie models, etc. that you could EVER want or need, sans the 300-400lbs of dead weight, sensitive tone generators, tubes, and 40-80 year old technology. I could understand the "purist" attraction to the old wooden boxes to some extent but for the performer--who schleps equipment in and out of $100 a night gigs--there's no way I'd ever consider "purity" over "function and form".

 

I've owned two B3s and one old model A (not A100s, etc, a true Model A, built in 1936 and in my estimation, better than a B3 for my purposes), a ton of Leslies, over the years and shook all that weight and "purity" when GeneralMusic came out with their S2 and S3 synths back in the early 90s. For the first time, an authentic replication of the Hammond settings were incorporated into a synth that also provided 800 factory samples and sounds that could be altered at will and then saved for future retrieval. The Leslie effect was always the elusive aspect of modern keyboards however. GeneralMusic again did a great job with their "Rotary" effect on the newer Equinox models that were introduced in the late 90s and continued through 2002 when they were discontinued, due to lagging US sales. I bought three of them when I heard GeneralMusic was stopping production--just so I could guarantee myself sufficient inventory in the future. To this day, I still feel GM constructed the best combination of 1. Hammond settings, 2. Leslie slow-to-fast effect, AND 3. other sounds (1100 in this case) of any currently produced keyboard.

If I were a "purist" at this time--and money was little or no object--I'd probably pick up an XK3c for around $2000 and a Leslie 3300 for around $2400 and essentially replace any remnant of lament that I might have for not having the "real thing".

I guess the only value that the "real thing" would have for me--and maybe for those of you out there that are buying those old Hammonds and Leslies--is that it makes for a more traditional look in your living room or den at home. If I were still a performer who gigged out however, that traditional rig would never leave my house.

 

What a jerk. How are you going to come on to a forum like this and make statements to a bunch of pros?

[HammondDave]

My band plays at the Doheny Blues Festival ever other year and the B3's they supply on both stages are great! No problems whatsoever...

[Zydecat]

Hey guys,

 

Cool discussion, as always. My brother-in-law and I moved the organ, uneventfully, Friday pm. Thanks to the good advice, we secured the generator and moved the beast secured upright in my pickup. We had help from one other guy on each end of the move. I'll be reconnecting everything Tuesday evening. Seller had tested the tubes, and said one was weak - a 6SC7. I'm going to try to find one in Lansing today.

 

Just to clarify, there is no way I would hump this thing for a gig. The Wheatland Music Organization (traditional music) bought the organ (admittedly at my urging). It will be moved infrequently, and even then, only from one stage or building to another on the Organization's site. My purchase proposal to the Board was based on the Hammond's use for jams, no more backline rentals for our annual festival, and preserving and presenting an instument rooted in several American musical traditions.

 

For myself, my basic gig rig is a P120 and EMU B3 through an older Barbetta. I recently played the Flint Blues Festival with that setup, and I think I held my own. I'd love to upgrade to a better organ module or clone - for the drawbars and improved B3/Leslie emulation, but I'm content waiting til budget and opportunity converge.

 

I've never owned a tonewheel, and am looking forward to spending some get acquainted time with the beast.

 

 

[mate stubb]

I predict your EMU module will lose its appeal...

[B3Nut]

Congrats, and don't pay any attention to the naysayers. When I can get away with lugging the furniture, I happily do so. My B-3 is incredibly intoxicating to play live, and the A-100 I just got promises to be all that and then some, that box gives me a huge grin. I want to gig the real thing as much as I can while I'm still young enough to get away with it...I'll regret it later in life if I don't. YMMV. Everyone's path is different, but you have to be true to your true path. Life's too short to do otherwise.

[CEB]

The only organ cooler than a Hammond is:

http://www.combo-organ.com/Vox/Riviera/Riviera2bT.jpg

The Vox Riviera with the Vox gyrotone cabinet.

[NewImprov]

The only organ cooler than a Hammond is:

 

The Vox Riviera with the Vox gyrotone cabinet.

 

Now that is a sexy, sexy machine!

 

Some years ago, I turned down a cheap/possibly free Hammond X77:

 

http://www.hammond-organ.com/Museum/image_directory/X77-5a.jpg

 

I still wonder if I made the right call on that one...

 

[B3Nut]

I'd have grabbed that X-77, but then again I've a soft spot for oddballs.

[shughes]

how much is a X-77 worth? I know someone who has one but believe the percussion parts are not working correctly.

[Outkaster]

Not a lot. My buddy had two and two matching Leslie's and finally someone bought them for parts.

[AnotherScott]

Jim I completely agree on your comment that if a 40lb board that sounded even 90% as good as a real Hammond/Leslie combo was available "back in the day", like we have now, then we all would have hauled one of those vs the real thing. No one wanted to haul them, but you didn't have much choice if you wanted a good sound.

Heck, I stopped hauling around a real Hammond when Korg came out with the original (analog) CX-3! And my biggest complaint about the CX-3 wasn't even the sound, it was that the darn keys kept breaking, they weren't built to handle the force of side-swiping. I travelled with extra keys and got quite good at being able to quickly replace them...