davyyd Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 My apologies for the double post between here and the hammond zone yahoo group; but I am hoping for all of the insight I can get. Recently and suddenly, the vibrato and chorus settings on my A100 began to sound bad. I think it is exhibiting what people call motorboating - the vibrato is more of a beat, and the pulse depth is deep even on V1 or C1. In addition, there is very little difference between the sound when I switch between all six of the C/V settings. The organ sounds fine with C/V off. Per advice at hammond zone from Scott Hawthorn, I have wiggled the black wires between the filter box, the CV switch, and the scanner looking for broken wires and cold solder joints. Nothing obvious has been found. Does this sound like a candidate for dis-assembly and cleaning of the scanner, or are there any things I can test before? I'm not excited by the prospect of taking the scanner out, and want to be pretty sure it is the appropriate course of action before starting. Like I said at the beginning, the change in sound was very sudden. Thank you David Summers
Jim Alfredson Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 One quick and dirty way to get it working again: Take a screwdriver and rap the handle of it on the scanner. Give it a good whack or two. This dislodges any build-up. Again, it's a quick and dirty fix that won't last terribly long (a few weeks or maybe a month). Yes, the scanner should be rebuilt / cleaned. Keep it greazy! B3tles - Soul Jazz THEO - Prog Rock
LX88 Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Did anyone mention the problem of dendrite hair growth within the scanner / vibrato system? They usually discuss this on Hammond tech forums. Dendrite growth occurs due to the age of Hammonds...it seems to happen on most Hammonds at some point. It looks similar to iron shavings on a magnet if you could see it under a microscope. Many techs have spoken of sending a piezo electric spsrk through the system to " de magnetize" the hairs.... there are several ways to do it. One way is to use a series of 9 volt batteries, another is to use B plus voltage ( risky).... but I have my own way. I have a tool that creates a piezo electric spark that was designed for acupuncture. It is called the "Natural Energy Stimulator" and it sends a spark through a wire to stimulate acupunture points. This tool works like a charm on Hammond organ dendrite problems! I have solved many percussion shorts as well as scanner problems with it. So I know that sending a spark through the system works(every time for me). My home B-3 came with a motorboating problem... I de maged it and 4 years later.... still going strong. This technique has been discussed many many times on tech lists. I have never seen a scanner or percussion system that was not helped with this tool.
acidolem Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 the 9 volt battery spark technique worked for me . it's been a long time since I did it on my A. "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench; a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. ............ There's also a negative side"
KeyMoe Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 the 9 volt battery spark technique worked for me . it's been a long time since I did it on my A. Was is the process followed with the 9v battery? How do you do it? Montage 7, Mojo 61, PC-3, XK-3c Pro, Kronos 88, Hammond SK-1, Motif XF- 7, Hammond SK-2, Roland FR-1, FR-18, Hammond B3 - Blond, Hammond BV -Cherry
davyyd Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 I thought I would follow up to report that I decided to try the zap method using a pair of 9 volt batteries. I found that one of the connections in the scanner was grounded (between one of the brass screws and the scanner body). This appears to have at least temporarily fixed my bad-sounding vibrato. I wrote a report with photos and video and posted it here: http://davyyd.blogspot.com/2011/03/repairing-vibrato-in-my-hammond-a100.html I really appreciate everyone that offered their advice on this; and I'm really happy to have my organ back to normal. davyyd
Meisenhower Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 You can buy a "zapper" that Bob Schleicher makes from EIS. It's the best $50 I ever spent and I zap my vibrato scanners on an annual basis, when I do my oiling and general maintenance check on all my boxes. I think its a must have for anyone who owns one or more Hammond consoles. He doesn't have it listed as a "product" on his page, but if you call him and tell him you want to by a vibrato scanner zapper, he'll build you one. Klonk Here 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
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