GRollins Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Oh, crikey...it never rains but it pours... I've got a chance at a (free) Hammond E-143--assuming that no one else gets in line ahead of me. Judging from the pictures, it seems that the cabinet is in good condition. The guy says that the tone generator doesn't turn. I'm thinking that it's likely that it's either bone dry or that the lubricant has dried and gotten gummy. Assuming that I can actually get an E-143 for free, is it worth the trouble? Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 It's a true tonewheel Hammond. Tube preamp, but some things are transitioning to solid state. I think the percussion is different and it has diving board keys instead of waterfall. Generators that don't turn are either just gummed up, or completely dry. A single tonewheel that doesn't turn might be due to the magnet core getting pushed into contact with the wheel. I'd get it if I didn't already have 4 others. The price is certainly right! Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 I mean, really, I get a Yamaha MM8 and cruise for several years. Then a Moog Little Phatty shows up on Craig's List (the only Moog I've ever seen for sale around here). I got that. Another couple of years pass. BANG! BANG! Back to back, I get an A-100 and a Kronos, both at excellent prices--so much so that I couldn't walk away. Then some sort of madness seizes me and I get a Motif XS rack unit. I then promise myself to be good. So, does free mean I'm being bad? Where am I going to put the damned thing? How much are these critters worth? Reverb doesn't show any, either for sale or in their price guide. I'll need to either sell the thing or justify keeping it, somehow. Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Things seem to happen that way sometimes. You have to grab them when they appear. A few years ago I was down to a single B-3 (1958) that I had portablized. I wanted a living room quality B-3 which I had never had, so I paid big bucks for one (another 1958.) Then my wife starts finding Hammonds on CL, and within short order I had added another B-3 (1954!) and a C-3 (1963.) So just go with the flow. Everybody should own a tonewheel organ! Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 I've already got the A-100 (1962) and it's a good 'un. I'm not sure that I can justify having two Hammonds. There's no way it'll physically fit in the space where I've got my other keyboards and guitars, etc. If I keep it, it'll have to be upstairs. Whether I keep it or sell it, I'll need some sort of game plan as to how much I can afford to put into it (if needed) before I end up putting more into it than it's worth. (In further conversation with the guy, it's got something wonky going on with a couple of the pedals. That's in addition to the tone generator being stuck.) Where the devil do you go to find out what one of these is worth? Reverb, eBay, and the Hammond refurb guys that Google is coughing up aren't being at all helpful. I can't find one for sale (or already sold, but showing a price) anywhere to get even the most general price range. Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesG Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 E100? Worth about 300 bucks, depending on locale. With a few mods, these can sound incredible. The E100 is basically a cross between an A100 and an L100. Generator not turning -- either the generator is seized, the motor is seized, or the motor run cap is a goner. Or there is a wiring issue. If you get this organ, please replace said cap immediately. Wes Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3 Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9 Roland: VR-09, RD-800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I've already got the A-100 (1962) and it's a good 'un. I'm not sure that I can justify having two Hammonds. (snip) Where the devil do you go to find out what one of these is worth? In all honesty, why do need to find out what it's worth? Sounds like you don't need it and it needs work. Be happy with what you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee T Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I have an E series and have modded the percussion and removed a little circuit board from the swell pedal that acted as a click suppressor. Sound great through either the Leslie or a Vent. Very easy to get a direct out from the preamp without any messy wiring mods. So many drummers, so little time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 The organ is about an hour away, so I'm working on pictures and verbal descriptions from someone who may or may not be savvy to the care and feeding of Hammonds. Be happy with what I have? What's wrong with you? Do you have a fever or something? Quick, someone call a doctor! Actually, I am pretty happy with what I have. (This twitch? Ignore it. Means nothing. I'm not wanting a Voyager. Nope. Not me.) The real problem is that I've got this tendency to pick up wounded kittens, fix what ails them, then try to find them a new home. It's a good feeling. If I could get this thing up and running, then find someone who'll give it a loving home, I'd feel like I'd done my good deed for the day. The question is whether the hassle factor (couple hours on the road, heavy as hell, find a place to put it here at the house, etc.) and cost (free for the picking up, but an unknown amount of money to repair) is worth it. Do I need an upstairs Hammond? No. If I was to do something crazy like have upstairs and downstairs keys, I'd be better off with something physically smaller than this beast. Basically, I'm just thinking out loud, using you guys as a sounding board. Regarding the pedals: He says the last four on the right weren't working the last time he played it. So...I know that when I brought home my A-100 some of the spring metal fingers on the pedals got bent and I had to bend them back straight again. Does anyone know if the E-143 pedals are built the same way? If so, I'm thinking that there's the possibility that some of the springs are bent and simply not hitting the switches. If that's all that's wrong, it should be an easy fix. Wiring problems shouldn't be all that difficult to trace. If the switches themselves are screwed up, then the dollar tally starts mounting. Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesG Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I'm 99.999% sure the E100 pedals are interchangeable with the A100 pedals. I'm thinking the R100 and E100 have the same basic pedal system and I have R100 parts on hand. The R100 has a slightly different pedal contact system, though. Instead of four busbars and a plunger, it has 25 leaf switches. Same principle, though, although I suspect they might be a bit finickier with respect to the installation of the pedalboard. BTW, if anybody reading this has an E100 or R100 manual on hand they don't want..please PM me. Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3 Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9 Roland: VR-09, RD-800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 sounds like you have finished remodeling your bathroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Nah, I don't have the luxury of dropping the bathroom from my to-do list. No matter how much GAS I might suffer in the meantime, that will need to be finished. The thing is, this is the fourth bathroom I've done so I've got this, "not again" whine going in the back of my mind, because I really, really hate plumbing, sheetrock, and painting, and this involves all three. Aaargh! But unless house elves show up and do the work for me, then I'm committed. Poop. Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesG Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Just call BathFitter. Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3 Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9 Roland: VR-09, RD-800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Oh I could pay someone, all right, but the problem with that is that I already dropped a minor fortune on having the roof done back in January and they did the usual lackluster job. I'm not aching to spend that kinda of money again anytime soon. Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 I have reluctantly decided to pass on the E-143. If it was nearer to home and the logistics of fitting it into our existing space not so difficult, then I would probably follow through. And there's the fact that I've already got an A-100. I'd always be looking at the E-143 as a red-headed step young 'un and it wouldn't get played as much. Plus any other sour grapes rationalizations I can come up with... *sigh* Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesG Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 The E100's a hair easier to gig than the A100. Just sayin'. Wes Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3 Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9 Roland: VR-09, RD-800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Wes, You can remind me of that if I ever get to the point where I'm gigging. I've got two hurdles: nobody around here wants to do the kind of music I want to do (alternate version: I don't want to do the music they want to do) and I'm not good enough on keys that I'm going to be handling that end of the stage, anyway. (...practice, Grey, practice...) Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 And there's the fact that I've already got an A-100. I'd always be looking at the E-143 as a red-headed step young 'un and it wouldn't get played as much. so, you are actually happy with what you have. Good for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRollins Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Like the Tim Wat line you've adopted as your signature, my gear is better than I am and will remain so for quite a while, even if I do practice. ...doesn't mean I don't suffer from GAS, though. Grey I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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