Old Hammond Organ, anything parts worth keeping? !many pics!

I'm in the process of moving. My wife and I are building a house, so we have to move into an apartment for a year while the house is built. I can't bring my old Hammond organ with me, and can't find anyone that wants it for free.

So, I'm thinking I'll hack it apart for parts. I realize you can't see any part numbers in my pics, but do you think any of this stuff is worth keeping? I'm thinking I'll keep all of the wire, the power transformer, perhaps the power regulators (is it worth it?), the heat sinks, the fuse and fuse holder, the transistors (is it worth it?), the speaker, and the reverb tank. What do you guys think?

Maybe give it to goodwill or something. I'm sure someone may find value in it. I don't think those parts would add up to much useful stuff.

The transistor Hammonds are basically worthless. I'm with Brad, just donate it to Goodwill.

Do a "Jon Lord" and drop it off a ten story building.
A lot more fun than giving it away!

(actually, Jon's hammond got dropped off a ten foot stage after Purple wouldn't come out to play in the rain for fear of eletrocution. The ZZ Top fans rushed the stage and destroyed everything. A real riot, that was!)

Reminds me of a story a fellow musician told me. He used to play with Bob Seger and his first gig was at Cobo Hall in Detroit. He had a brand new B3 that he bought for the gig. Seger told him he didn't want him to sit behind it... he wanted him to stand. My friend is about 6'5" or so, so he said, "You gotta put it up on something."

So there he is, sitting in the audience seats, watching the roadies load his gear thinking, "Man, this is the life!". They pick up the organ and are going to place it on some cinder blocks but as they are putting it down he can see that the back isn't going to hit the bricks. Before he can say anything, they let go and the organ falls 20 feet into the orchestra pit.

:sad:

Wow!
And I hear that they really come apart when they hit!
With kind of a 'thud" sound!
:green:

If I'm going to toss it off the roof of a building, isn't there something that's worth keeping?!? A transistor? Power transformer? Anything? The wire??

I contacted the local thrift store, and they didn't want it. So, I might as well take something out of it that might be useful. Couldn't I use the power transformer in say a guitar amp or something???

Tossing it off the roof, or burning it in effigy sound fun though!!! :guinness:

If the keyboards are Pratt-Reed j-wire types, there are probably some synths that could use the keys, springs, etc. as spare parts. I know I have a particularly sad little ARP Axxe that's three keys short of a full load.

Tom

[quote author="cjenrick"]Wow!
And I hear that they really come apart when they hit!
With kind of a 'thud" sound!
:green:[/quote]

Yeah, he said the case was just destroyed. But guess what? The damn thing still worked!

Does this one have the internal Leslie?

Yeah, I know, it ain't a "real" Leslie (since it only has an 8" cone and no horns), but I took one out of a Hammond T524 (I think that's what it was) and built a box around it with open sides and fabric to make an interesting and useful cabinet for use with guitar heads and such (which you can also DIY, BTW).

The two speed motor uses AC straight from the wall. There's a 5-prong connector that you can remove that handles the AC, a switch for selecting speed, and the audio connection. Put an AC mains connector, a footswitch jack and 1/4" input in the side of the box and you'll have a truly useful tool, for guitars, vocals, keyboards, and just about anything you want to 'reamp' through it for cool/odd sounds.

Also, the manuals (keyboards) can be used to add foldback to better spinet Hammonds (I'm using the manuals from my that same T524 to add foldback to my M3). Only the console organs (B3, C3, A100's, etc..) had foldback. For info on foldback and how to add it to a spinet check out http://www.sympac.com.au/~retrojet/foldback.htm. You'll need a donor spinet (like the Hammond in your photos) for the contacts.

Many of the older spinets (particularly the M3 and M100 series) are great for getting authentic B3 tones for a lot less cash. These have the proper scanner vibrato and percussion circuits in them as well as all-tube amplifiers, but you'll need to add a Leslie kit as they only have internal speakers.

My M3 has a Leslie 122 kit, and sounds fantastic. I got the organ in dead mint for $150, including the stool.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts for how you might actually have a use for an older transistor Hammond.

If you don't want to bother with any of the above, let me know, and I'll give you the name of a guy who is always looking for the two-speed motor from those internal Leslies.... they're apparently the same motor as used on legitimate Leslies (122's, etc..). I don't know how much he'd pay, but it would at least be worth yanking it and shipping it to him.

Peace,

JC

Oops. There should be no period at the end of that link.

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

Peace,

JC

Pity Dude, I'd love a Hammond... I still wake up with a start in the middle of the night, thinking about the one that got away... (Damn you, Scenaria!!!)

-But I'll have to keep hoping...

Keith

Tubejay, I'd hate to see you destroy the organ just for $20 or whatever of old wire. If you can't keep it (ask friends and neighbors who might be able to store it - it's worked for me) you still have a couple options, besides the ceremonial destruction.

There may well be a church in your area that would love it for practice in the basement, or a side room, heck even a poor church would love to have it in the sanctuary. Think good karma. Second, these do appear on ebay and you might try that as well. Third, call some local piano/organ stores and ask if they'd be interested in it for the cost of picking it up and a beer. There are other options too. Put an ad in the paper with the asking price being the cost of the ad and transporting it.

I can tell you there are definitely musicians out there who would love to have it, you just have to get the word out a bit. I have a small spinet myself and I know other musicians with models like yours and everyone is happy to have them. Hope it helps.

Otherwise, be sure to take pix for us when it goes off the 200 foot roof. :green:
:guinness:

rip the bits out and use the frame for a nice mixer :thumb:

Tommypiper, I have tried my best to find somebody to just take this thing for free, and NOBODY will!!! I had two people who said they would pick it up, and both backed out. So here I am moments away from moving, and I HAVE to get rid of it somehow. So, it looks like, in the end, it's off the big dump in the sky. It's a pity, but I really have put the word out on this thing (and I help run a studio!!) and nobody will take it, as it's too big, or it doesn't have tubes. It actually sounds pretty cool too. It does some nice Radiohead-ish sounds that I enjoy. The bass on it is awesome, and spring reverb to boot! Yet, nobody will take it.

So, it looks like I get a bunch of wire, and the dump gets a nice organ.

Rascalseven, unfortunately there is no leslie. It's not quite that cool of an organ, sadly.

Thanks for all of the input folks!

If you like the sound of it (some of them) just keep it (assuming you have the room).

Could come in handy. I've got a few cool instruments of 'that' kind around my place.

Peace,

JC

Yeah, that's how it all started. My wife and I are building a new house, and in the mean-time we had to sell our house and move to an apartment. Unfortunately there's zero room in the apartment for it, and I can't find any place to store it. BUMMER! Nobody in Wisconsin want this thing? Five days till the dump!!

Hey, if you're gonna crack it open for parts, do you fancy giving me the pedal board? I wanna try building a cheap midi pedal board...