Superbobus Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 I'm trying to gather some info on the Hammond tonewheel organs, not the clonses, just the real deal with wheels, tubes and lots of weight. Because I'm not able to drive myself (because of bad eyesight), it's not practical for me to gig with a beast like that but as you know my VK8 handles the job fantastic. And now I'm confused. What are the differences between a B3, A100, C3, M3 and what does "spinet" mean? I've tried some sites but things are unclear and I'd like to know more about these monsters. http://www.bobwijnen.nl Hipness is not a state of mind, it's a fact of life.
Steve LeBlanc Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 If B3Nut doesn't show up soon I'll try and answer this but he's really the guy to put it all into focus for you. http://www.youtube.com/notesleb
Dave Horne Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 I'll try and answer from memory. A B-3 and a C-3 are the same except for the cabinetry. The C-3 is the church version of the B-3. The A-100 (I believe) is the same as both (as far as electronics goes) except that it contains speakers with spring reverb. (The B-3 and C-3 had to use external speakers.) The M-3 is a spinet version of the A-100. It had two shorter manuals and 12 (maybe 13) pedals. It had a built in speaker, but as far as I remember, no spring reverb. How close was I? I owned a B-3 and a M-3. A friend of mine had a A-100. For some reason, I thought that was called something else. DH No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments.
burningbusch Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 Dave, you're correct in that the A100, B3 and C3 have identical guts. Besides the shortened manuals (44 vs. 61 keys) and pedal board (12 vs. 25 pedals), the M3 provides only vibrato and lacks the Hammond chorus. This is a big deal, IMHO. In soul/jazz/rock, chorus is commonly used while vibrato is seldom heard. The M3 also lacks foldback. This affects the highest five drawbars (2 2/3' through 1'). On the consoles, when the highest pitch (F#7?) of the drawbar is reached it "foldsback" or sounds an octave (or two) lower. On the M3, the drawbars don't foldback and will simply stop sounding once the highest pitch is reached. When playing high C on the consoles with a drawbar setting of 888888888, all drawbars will be heard (though some will sound an octave or two lower). When doing the same thing on an M3, only the bottom four drawbars will sound. As you play down chromatically from the high C more drawbars will gradually start sounding. So in the top 1 1/2 octaves, depending on drawbar settings, the M3 will sound less full or ballsy than the consoles. Other differences include (M3 vs. consoles): one pedal drawbar vs two, one set of drawbars per manual vs two, and no preset keys (octave of reverse color keys on both manuals). Busch.
rod76 Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 The M100'S where its at you can add both 2nd & 3rd perc - reverb - start/run switch - presets
Botch. Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 Superbobus, I highly recommend Mark Vail's book on the Hammond, "Beauty and the B", available thru Keyboard magazine. It has all the tech data, comparisons, etc that you'd ever want. Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net
Dave Horne Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 Check this out: http://www.oceanbeach.com/ches/daves_gear/hammondc2.html No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments.
Jeep Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 Ah-h-h-h.....it's nice to see all the soul-satisfying Hammond eggs on the grill this morning! Contrary to burningbusch's otherwise bang-on post, the M3 does, in fact, have the essential and genuine Hammond chorus vibrato that we all dig about the B3, C3, A100, etc. That's one of the main features that puts these babies on the same page as the consoles, and a notch above the later L100 and M100 spinets.
burningbusch Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 Hey Jeep, you may be right. It has been about 30 years since I had an M3. All I can remember is that I never used vibrato it as it always sounded too "churchy" to me, but now, on the B3 (emulators) I use C2/C3 all the time. There are differences though. Excluding the two vibrato on/off switches for the manuals, you just have the select (chorus/vibrato) and vibrato depth. Do these exactly match to any of the console vibrato/chorus settings: V1, V2, V3, C1, C2, C3? Man, look at this pretty little M3 just a few miles from me for $100. Busch.
Steve LeBlanc Posted October 10, 2002 Posted October 10, 2002 woah...you should pick that up Busch I've played both an M3 and an M100..I liked the M100 better and I like my M102 even better than that. Some of it has more to do with feel than which is better. http://www.youtube.com/notesleb
Superbobus Posted October 11, 2002 Author Posted October 11, 2002 Wow, thanx for the info guys! Maybe if I find a bigger appartment I will go for a nice A100, or if possible a B3. Now I even cannot fit in an M-series! http://www.bobwijnen.nl Hipness is not a state of mind, it's a fact of life.
rod76 Posted October 11, 2002 Posted October 11, 2002 anyone ever did the "in between" vibrato amout rocker or tab on the M3 and M100s? I do it all the time when i have the vibrato on
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