keyman27 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 What do you think of the A-100 half-chop idea? I already have mine in "B3-mode" -- speakers & reverb stuff all disconnected, just going straight into my Leslie 145. On the pro side, I think the half-chop looks pretty cool... a little more B3-like. It might be easier to move. It might be a fun project. On the con side: If I dared to do this, I'd be permanently modifying an instrument of which there are only so many left. The weight reduction might not be much of a difference. I might screw it up. It might drop the resale value. I might save the money & time, and put it toward an XK-3c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 The only B-type Hammond you have the forum's blessing to chop is the impossibly ugly A-102. I will demonstrate a rare bit of decency by NOT posting a picture of one. If you're looking to have an organ be portable, you're much better off with an XK-3c. You're not going to save that much weight with a chop, and the XK-3c sounds KILLER. Get a preamp pedal, run it into your Leslie, and you'll be in hog heaven. A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 What kanker said. Keep it greazy! B3tles - Soul Jazz THEO - Prog Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I toured with a portabilized L-100. I see no crime in doing it, as it sounds and feels exactly the same, with the difference that a couple of human beings can move it without getting an hernia. In fact, I would consider a portabilized Hammond more desirable than a regular one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I toured with a portabilized L-100. I see no crime in doing it, as it sounds and feels exactly the same, I agree, chop away at any spinet Hammond you care to - M, L-100, M-100, etc. Just leave the consoles alone, except for the afore mentioned A-102. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMike100 Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 It won't be 100 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Chops were in in the 1970s because these instruments were current - and those of us who were touring had no other decent options. Chops are out in the 21st century because these instruments are now vintage - and those of us who tour have other excellent options. I personally chopped an L-101 in the 1970s. I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzjazz Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I think we should hunt down all those A-102's and chop 'em all. Ugly little *uckers.... www.dazzjazz.com PhD in Jazz Organ Improvisation. BMus (Hons) Jazz Piano. my YouTube is Jazz Organ Bites 1961 A100.Leslie 45 & 122. MAG P-2 Organ. Kawai K300J. Yamaha CP4. Moog Matriarch. KIWI-8P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicale Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Really looks like a crafty job. Looking at the price and weight (assuming you're gonna travel with it a lot), I would seriously consider it. really when you think about it, and had a good eye for deign and excellent craftsmanship, you could pick up M3's etc. update them for the pro and sell them overseas for huge money. I bet with a nice chop you could buy a M3 for a 100 bucks and sell it for 3500, and reduce freight in the chopping process. Something to think about ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 What B3-er said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogmonkey Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I don't think A102's are ugly at all. It's a good organ, in a wood cabinet. Vinyl siding is ugly. Plastic christmas trees are ugly. Strip malls are ugly. Karaoke is ugly. A Hammond A 102 is a thing of beauty. A chopped Hammond on stage rocking a full house night after night is also a thing of beauty, even if it's in a plywood cabinet. That particular chop job doesn't seem that extreme. The cabinet seems to be intact. It probably saves a little weight, but I imagine you'd still need four guys to lift it, and it isn't any more compact. Just to offer another perspective, there are lots of guys out there touring with chopped Hammonds who love it and who sound great. The sentiment on the forum is very anti-chop, with plenty of good reasons, but I think chops are pretty cool. Two guys can move it. Ugggh I just moved my A100 today, from the recording studio back to my house, and I swore it would never leave the house again. I suspect my 3 helpful friends like me a little less now. The cabinet looks beautiful, and it sounds great. I wish I could bring the sound to the people, though. Contrast that with the guy I heard at the club the other night with a plywood chop playing to a full house and loading out with the help of 1 guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meisenhower Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 What Kanker, B3-er, Bill H and Sven all said! Yamaha C7 Grand, My Hammonds: '57 B3, '54 C2, '42 BC, '40 D, '05 XK3 Pro System, Kawai MP9000, Fender Rhodes Mk I 73, Yamaha CP33, Motif ES6, Nord Electro 2, Minimoog Voyager & Model D, Korg MS10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Never chop a Hammond. I saw someone due that to a C-2 a few years ago and ruined it. "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangefunk Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I spent yesterday hauling around a Hammond B3 chop in the snow for guitarist Jacob Young's band... two different gigs... can't imagine what it would be like to haul around an original... needs must I think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 FWIW The majority of technical Hammond questions at the organ forums seem to be related to chops that didn't go so well. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourniplus Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 If you already have the speakers, power amp and reverb amp removed, then I guess removing the speaker baffle would save you about 10 more pounds. I don't think that's a bad idea at all if you can do it without doing too much damage to the cabinet and if it stays solid without the baffle. "Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now, show me all the blueprints." My homemade instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 OK, having modified hammonds all my life, let me elaborate on my feelings: The biggest reason I am publicly anti-chop is, that MOST people who undertake such a project are not competent to complete it. Hence you end up with a ruined cabinet at least and a ruined organ at the most. It takes woodworking skills, soldering skills, planning skills, and a capacity to stick to the job when it drags out for months on end. In addition, if you want the result to look more professional than a hacked up box, add finishing skills and design skills to the list. If you don't have those skills, and want to mod hammonds, by all means use a spinet as your first experiment. They are plentiful and cheap. For a console, you should never destroy a cabinet in order to chop it, unless it is absolutely beyond repair. A new case should be built from scratch, which fortunately provides the opportunity to build it as light as possible. I could yak on for hours about this stuff, but I'll shut up. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3Nut Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I wouldn't. That said, I have an A-100 that this has been done to at some point in its life, and it is indeed surprisingly light for a console. With the dollies on it's a breeze to do the lift one end into vehicle/go lift other end and shove happy dance. But the baffle doesn't add much weight, and if you remove it you really need to brace the cabinet. Just take the internal speakers/amps out and put them away for safe keeping so you can return the organ to stock at a later point. A-100's are something special...got a nice stock one at the house and I'm prepping another one to take the place of my battered B-2 at church. TP --- Todd A. Phipps "...no, I'm not a Hammondoholic...I can stop anytime..." http://www.facebook.com/b3nut ** http://www.blueolives.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary75 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I had my A100 split in the late 90's by my father. I'm trying not to sound biased when I say he did a fantastic job to the point you couldn't really tell it was split. But there are people out there who presume you can hack away. Both of us moved the top section on our own reasonably comfortably. I don't own it any more, and I'd not gig with a chop anymore because of the great clones out there. Something that wasn't there back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humannoyed Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 There are enough chops for sale on the used market already to not chop anymore. Maybe you could just re-chop if you have a better idea for a lightweight cab. I've thought of using royal pawlonia wood (used in making the Japanese koto) for a re-chop for a rental instrument - incredibly light. That wood is not common though. Unfortunately re-sellers of chops somehow think they are more valuable than an unmolested pristine A100 which I think is nuts. "It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule." "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 What B3er/Kanker/Mate said. There's just no need. Buy a used chop if you MUST have it, but frankly, an XK3c System and Speakeasy Vintage Preamp pedal and your favorite tube leslie are the way to go live. And you won't have to wait months, or give yourself an ulcer, and you have the ability to take as much or as little of that rig as necessary in those gigs where the full Monty is a no go. This from a guy who has owned 3 chops and an uncut M3 and 4 leslies. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Besides the weight of the console is in the manuals and tone generator. "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourniplus Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I understand that people advise against chopping, but to me what the OP refers to (check out the link) isn't really chopping. IMHO this organ looks just as good as a stock A100, especially from the back, and could be potentially changed back to its original state if all parts are kept. Also it doesn't necessarily involve any electronics modifications. "Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now, show me all the blueprints." My homemade instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave E Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I understand that people advise against chopping, but to me what the OP refers to (check out the link) isn't really chopping. .... Also it doesn't necessarily involve any electronics modifications This. The organ in the link is a good looking instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Tonewheel Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 If it looks likes the unchopped original (just refurbished wood), and only gets you a nice cabinet and some brass plates, then why chop it? Just refurbish the cabinet and replace the plates with the brass ones. The only reason people chopped the organs in the first place was mainly to reduce bulk,. As has been said, you don't reduce weight. Trust me, I've owned a professionally done chop by Keyboard Specialties, and it still weighed a ton and still needed 2 guys to move. Just get an XK-3C, and refurbish your console. You'll be glad you did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I agree... There are many good Hammond Clones out there now that give you a very similar experience to playing a classic Hammond console. The XK3c System and KeyB Duo are both excellent choices and will not break your back. I am 55 years old and still lug my gear around. The XK3c System is a godsend. '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicale Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Ditto the last two posts. I'm in that age bracket where my XK-1 is just fine. It does the job for the kind of gigs I play, mostly blues. So I've got the big guy in the living room with twin leslies for when the jams at my house or when I want to really play. But as said the chop on that A was one of the better ones I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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