Hammond L-103 in the garbage

A friend of mine just found a Hammond L-103 organ on the street on big trash day. It powers up and sounds pretty good actually--probably about 10 or so tubes in it and they appear to be original. Some are Hammond branded. Does anyone know anything about this organ? I was able to find a users manual repro on ebay for $20, but I'd rather not shell out the dough if someone here has a schemo or just some general info on the instrument. like I said, it seems to work fine, takes a second to warm up and one key is missing (where do you find those?).
thanks

Model L-100
Production Years: 1961 to 1972
Synopsis: Spinet Model with mechanical tonewheelgenerator and non-scanner vibrato.
Cabinet Size: 43.5x23x44.5 (WDH, inches)
Finish: L-101 - Traditional, Mahogany.L-102 - Contemporary, WalnutL-103 - French Provincial, CherryL-111 - Traditional, MahoganyL-112 - Contemporary, MahoganyL-122 - Contemporary, WalnutL-133 - French Provincial, CherryL-143 - French Provincial, Pecan - L16? had folding lid - L100P portable version - L200 style had built in Leslie
Manuals: two 44-note offset manuals with a 13 notepedalboard. 9 drawbars upper manual, 7 for lower.
Amp/Output: Built in amp and speakers.
Features: Two levels of vibrato and chorus, smallselection of preset tabs, reverb withbright/soft settings. Percussion and chorusadjustable inside the cabinet.

Dude, the organ was free. If you're going to keep it and use it, $20 for the manual doesn't seem like a bad deal at all.

Anyway, here's more...

http://www.keyboardpartner.de/hammond/diagrams/

http://hammondb3organ.net/schematics/hammond/organs/l100/l100.php

http://www.organstudio.com/l100engl.htm

And remember, don't leave any old equipment you found in the trash powered up and unattended.

I had yet lost an L102 that I paid 20 bucks for in a thrift store--a sad yet boring tale that I won't make you suffer through here.
I did find this when I was looking for info:
http://www1.tripnet.se/~flm/hammond/diff.htm

It mostly concerns making a 100 series sound more like a B3, but there's some useful information regardless.

Tom

Thanks everybody. No, of course $20 is nothing for the manual, and I will probably pick it up. The organ belongs to my friend and he is no techie, so it would be for "fun". I was less balking at the price of the organ manual and more looking for the type of stuff everyone posted, a little history. And y'all have come through as usual. Thanks.
And excellent advice about not leaving it on unattended, really.

The L100 series is a cool organ. The last number (3 on yours) indicates the style of cabinet... there were like 5 or so different cabinet styles, each with various choices of stain.

The only 'problem' with that organ is the lack of scanner vibrator as used in the B3/C3, so its vibrato will have a little different sound. Nevertheless, you can get a Leslie kit, and it'll be rockin'

Also, the built-in speaker (which sounds quite cheesy compared to the typical Leslie-type sound) is actually really cool for some things. I have a Hammond M3 (also a tubed spinet organ) that has an internal speaker. I'll sometimes mic it with an SM57 or RE15 (mono) and send through some slight pitch modulation to make a more mellotronish-type sound.

I think the L-100 series is what Keith Emerson dragged around on tour with ELP back in the day. I also heard that the L-100 is the organ on all the Boston records (though that might have been an M-series instead... not sure).

Cool find. Keep it. Serivice it. Use it!!! :thumb:

JC

I once had a leslie 147 that caught on fire with me in the middle of a church service. That organ picture reminded me of that incident. It was ugly

bit of trivia - the L-100 was the organ used for Booker T. & The MG's "Green Onions" and not a B-3...

the L-10x series is indeed the same internally, the difference in the model numbers is cosmetic.

Keith Emerson's main organ onstage was a B3 or C3, later modified by Goff to be a bit more portable.

He would break out the L-100 near the end of the show for his organ shtick - stabbing the knives in the organ, playing it backwards and upside down, laying it on top of himself.

[quote author="underthebigtree"]Keith Emerson's ...

He would break out the L-100 near the end of the show for his organ shtick - stabbing the knives in the organ, playing it backwards and upside down, laying it on top of himself.[/quote]

There's some really sick people on this planet :green:

I have an M-3 with the foldback mod on the top manual and I "borrowed" a 147 leslie. Someone at a small church gave it to a friend of mine (they told him they had an old podium he could have) It disgusts me how lucky some people are. I told him I'd try to get it running for him. He can have it back when he can pry it from my cold dead fingers :twisted: Needless to say it sounds increadable. I'm hoping to get a A-100 soon, but we'll see....... :?

A few months ago I had Ryan Cabrera's keyboard player in the studio and he was playing my M3/Leslie 122 combo (great sound!), and he just freaked out. He had never heard a real hammond/Leslie combo.... just all the keyboard emulations out there (he's like 20 years old, so forgive his ignorance).

He could not believe the sound in the room -- it blew him away. A couple of weeks later he found a C2 for sale with a Leslie 22 or something like that. He added an aftermarket percussion circuit, drawbar mods (stock C2's have non-continuous, 'ratchet' drawbars unlike the continuously-variable drawbars of the C3) and modified the Leslie with a two-speed motor, etc.

THEN he had an enormous ATA road case built for the rig. :shock: In all he spent around $4000 for everything, and he takes it on the road with him to use live. He now despises all digital Hammond organ emulations.

It's nice to know the youth of today can still be reasoned with!

:green: :green: :green: :thumb:

JC

[quote author="nathun"]I have an M-3 with the foldback mod on the top manual and I "borrowed" a 147 leslie. Someone at a small church gave it to a friend of mine (they told him they had an old podium he could have) It disgusts me how lucky some people are. I told him I'd try to get it running for him. He can have it back when he can pry it from my cold dead fingers :twisted: Needless to say it sounds increadable. I'm hoping to get a A-100 soon, but we'll see....... :?[/quote]

Then you are lucky because the 147 mates to the A100 perfectly!

My first Hammond was an A100 with 147. You can get some very nice "growl" tones with that combination! Contrary to the C3 or B3 the A100 outputs from the speakers to the Leslie. The 147 amp has a built in load for 8 or 16 ohms. I have a C3 now and although the sound is magnificent it lacks the harmonic growl of the A100 overdriving the 147. The only reason I got rid of it is that I tried for 1 year to get rid of a hum and couldn't. Finally traded it in for a C3. It is immaculate!

There's nothing like the real thing. Enjoy you Hammond!

Jim

Nathun, I'd like to hear more about your M3 foldback mod. Do you have more info?

http://www.sympac.com.au/~retrojet/foldback.htm

I haven't done this to my M3 yet, but I do have a couple of 'manuals' (keyboards from a Hammond donor organ.... Ha, ha... "donor organ', 'organ donor'... get it? :roll that to provide the necessary full-length bussbars, contacts, and leads to do this.

Just gotta find the time...

JC

I've had a couple of Hammond L100 series spinets, as well as a B3, M3, BV, etc, etc, and my present fave, a CV with Trek percussion. One of the L100s I found in a barn with all electronics missing, replaced by bird shit. I chopped it and put the tone wheels under the manuals. I used a cheap mic transformer (god, I hope it was cheap!) to match impedances and a little Radio Shack phono preamp. The thing was so cool, so gritty and gutsy. Plus, it had some bad bearings and was stored on end, so I'd spray it down with WD40 before a gig. I played it through a portable Leslie 10B, pulled out of a little old lady organ. An all round funkyass monster that sounded great, similar to my M3. No percussion, no nothing. Also, no civilized filter caps that are usually in the amps of the L100 series, and are what make people like the sound of the similar M3 better. My other L100 was dead stock and to me it sounded kind of anemic, though it was bought by a well-known studio in SF that really likes it. Get the schematic, or better, join this Hammond list: http://www.zeni.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hammond This is a decent small Hammond that has the potential to sound even better. Also, you should get a Leslie. Go to thrift stores and look for those Conns and Lowreys that have a built-in Leslie. Get the 2-speed if you have a choice. The Leslie 10B unit simply unbolts and unplugs. You can do it in the parking lot, then take the organ back to the thrift store as a donation. It'll still work with its other speakers. Or take it home for tubes, if it's old enough. You'll have to build a small box for the Leslie. I've done quite a few of those. They do the Leslie thing, and you'll spend less than $100. Email me if you need plans and instructions. I have them somewhere on my computer. Keith

Can anyone tell me what the going rate is on a 147 cabinet. I'm going to look at an M3 and the people also have a 147 and I might try to get that too. The M3 is only $100 and it looks pretty good. She doesn't know how to power it on so I'll have to check it out when I get there. She's had it for 30 years and it hasn't been used in 15-20 years.

Any advice on the pricing on the 147 would be cool.

Matt

Hi Matt,

A 147 in good condition is worth $1k and up.

$100 for the M3 is about right.

[quote author="tommypiper"]Hi Matt,

A 147 in good condition is worth $1k and up.

$100 for the M3 is about right.[/quote]

Thanks Tommy. The person I'm trying to get the organ from figured out the value of the 146 and priced it above what I can afford. This M3 is a little strange. I has a full pedal board across the bottom and I haven't seen any like that before. I've sent some picture to my local hammond guy to see if he can identify it.

BTW, we seem to have some bay area people around here. Maybe we should have a DIY meet and greet type thing sometime. Could be fun.

Matt

I also have a CV with Trek percussion but I found a spot in the circuit to add an insert point and actually I come out of the insert jack to a Princeton reverb, then from the speaker jack out to a 145 set to 8 ohm. ASS KICKIN! Actually any 20 watt amp but the Princeton gives you a great TUBE Spring reverb that the CV doesn't have.

Before this setup I had an L100 for about 5 years, I really liked that organ too... especially when I started hooking it up to the Leslie cab from the organ speaker jack output - MUCH COOLER. The internal speakers don't sound too good with the organ. BTW, it's VERY easy to put an insert point on the L100 also. Disconect the RCA comming out of the volume pedal too the amp & add it there - GREAT for a BOSS Delay Peday, try it you WILL like it. The CV is a little trickier to add the insert point.

One thing I noticed is when the Boss pedals are added to the inserts the organ actually sounds a little better, I was thinking it might have something to do with the buffer in the front end of the boss pedals.

If the Organ needs too much work or you have no room for it - the Tranny's & speakers are Killer for a 20 watt guitar amp like a Marshall 18 watt or Fender Princeton, Deluxe or Tweed Deluxe. That's what I did with mine when I got my CV.

Kevin - KHStudio