Any Other Hammond Organ Players/Fans in Tulsa?

[Steve]

I am an old-school Hammond organ player and BIG time fan, since my parents bought me my first Hammond L100 in the early 1960s.  I took organ lessons for many years back then, (from local Tulsa organ teacher Janelle Whitby.)  That was back in the day when every respectable shopping mall had a piano/organ dealer and you couldn't walk in the mall without hearing organ music wafting in the distance.  And Furr's Cafeteria at Utica Square had live organ music for your dining pleasure!  Today, when I am in a playing mood, it sounds like Saturday night 1958 at the Tiki Nook Lounge in my living room.

My love of the Hammond tonewheel organ has never waned, and today I have a 1964 Hammond A102 with Leslie 251, and a late 1970s Hammond Concorde 2307 with Leslie 710 in my living room.  (You can't discuss Hammonds without also including the marvelous Leslie speaker, which also appeals to guitar players too.)  I play both these instruments daily.

Any other Hammond tonewheel organ fans in Tulsa?  Most all of us know the "sound" from classic rock/blues/gospel/jazz (or current digital simulations) although we may not know it was the Hammond.

If you are lucky enough to own a vintage Hammond organ like myself and have repair/maintenance questions, I may be able to answer or at least steer you in the right direction.    

[Conan71]

I'm a fan of the Hammond/Leslie sound, especially the B3 but couldn't tell you how to play one.

I've known a couple of Hammond afficionados, one still plays around town, I'm not sure if he's still got a steady gig at the Continental or not, that's the last time I saw him.  I believe he's got an A-102.  He's done session work with some national acts and I think went to school w/ Swake.

Steve, check your inbox, I'm sending you a PM.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

I'm a fan of the Hammond/Leslie sound, especially the B3 but couldn't tell you how to play one.

I've known a couple of Hammond afficionados, one still plays around town, I'm not sure if he's still got a steady gig at the Continental or not, that's the last time I saw him.  I believe he's got an A-102.  He's done session work with some national acts and I think went to school w/ Swake.

Steve, check your inbox, I'm sending you a PM.

Deep Purple, Procol Harum, Emmerson Lake & Palmer, Jimmy Smith, Santana, Eric Clapton, Beatles, Lenny Dee, Billy Preston, Earl Grant, Booker T Jones, Jeff Palmer, Ethel Smith, Allman Brothers, and on and on...the Hammond organ sound is a mainstay of American pop music of all genres for the last 60 years.  I have an A102 in my living room.  The M3, B3, C3, A100 organs were all the same basic guts, the only difference was the furniture cabinet and the presence or absence of internal power amp, reverb, & speakers.  The technology and build quality of these organs was absolutely phenomenal, not likely to be seen in a U.S. made product again.  Those that have received proper care are still going strong today, some 32 years after the last B3/A105 was assembled around 1974.  My A102 & Leslie 251 will probably outlive me by 100 years, given proper care.  You still hear stories today of people that inherit these organs and think they are just junk because they don't know how to properly start the organ!  (They don't start with a single on/off switch; they have a torque-producing start motor and an A/C synchronous run motor with a specific starting procedure, sort of like starting an old car with a foot starter or a crank.)

Anyway, if anyone has an old Hammond and wants maintenance advice or has questions, I will be glad to offer my 2 cents.  I hate to see these marvelous instruments neglected or hauled to the dump out of ignorance of simple starting or maintenance.  All of the long-time professional Hammond repairmen in Tulsa have passed on, but  Hammonds live on in local churches and homes where the owners realize the true gems they possess.  It's either learn about them and fix them yourselves these days, or do without.  Fortunately, Hammonds and Leslie speakers were so well built that normal oiling and periodic vacuum tube replacement is all that is needed for a well-maintained organ.  (Yes, vacuum tubes are still available today, either NOS U.S. or foreign product.)  Hammonds and Leslies were built to be repaired when needed and last multiple lifetimes, not discarded at the first sign of component failure as modern electronic instruments are today.

I have been down to the Jazz Hall of Fame a few times for various events, and hope to meet Chuck Cisell one day.  I would like to ask him to promote more organ jazz at the Hall.  To see a local concert by a contemporary jazz Hammond organist such as Joey DeFrancesco would really be a dream come true for me.

I find it really ironic that today's digital keyboard manufacturers (Korg, Hammond/Suzuki Japan, etc.) try so hard to emulate the original electro-mechanical "Hammond sound"  with all of its characteristics, but can never quite hit it.  I understand the new Hammond/Suzuki B3 comes very close but at a $30,000 price tag.  Not many folks today can afford the new digital Hammond organs.  When all of today's digital keyboards are in the trash dumpsters, the original 1934-1975 Hammond organs will still be here, making that wonderful unduplicable tonewheel sound.  If you are lucky enough to own a Hammond A, B, C, D, A100, M, M100, E, E100, L100 or T series tonewheel organ, cherish it, maintain it, and it will outlive you by many years.  The likes of these fine hand-built instruments will never be produced again.

[Conan71]

Steve, it's like tube amps for guitar.  You can buy effects-loaded amps which emulate tube amps, get effects pedals which will do it, or do what I do and wait around until a real tube amp comes along.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Steve, it's like tube amps for guitar.  You can buy effects-loaded amps which emulate tube amps, get effects pedals which will do it, or do what I do and wait around until a real tube amp comes along.

Exactly.  Both my Hammond A102 & Leslie 251 are all-tube amps & pre-amp.  Wonderful, warm sound that can be bright when desired or dirty/gritty if overdriven.  About 24 vacuum tubes in all among all the amps in my setup, and I have never had any trouble finding replacement NOS U.S. made tubes as of yet.  And most of the Russian made new tubes are quite good as well.  Hammonds and Leslies don't put much stress on the tubes at all unless you overdrive or intentionally distort, and the tubes will last for many, many years.

I find it quite humorous how today's digital instruments try so hard to emulate the sounds and capabilities of tube equipment.  They got it right the first time.  And tube amps have the added bonus of just being beautiful; they are works of electron art just to watch in action.

[Conan71]

I noticed in your last post a mention of Booker T. Jones.  I love Booker T. & the MG's.  I've got their best of collection- plenty of great Hammond stuff in there.  I've lost count of who all else he sat in with over the years.

Didn't Boston also rely heavily on a B-3 Hammond?

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

I noticed in your last post a mention of Booker T. Jones.  I love Booker T. & the MG's.  I've got their best of collection- plenty of great Hammond stuff in there.  I've lost count of who all else he sat in with over the years.
Didn't Boston also rely heavily on a B-3 Hammond?

I believe "Green Onions" was recorded using a small spinet model Hammond M3 or M100, sans Leslie, using only the Hammond vibrato & chorus effects.  When people refer to the "B3" Hammond sound, the sound is most likely from a tonewheel Hammond organ, be it a B3, C3, A100, M3, M100 or L100 organ.  They were all tonewheel generator models and produce the distinctive Hammond sound.

I am sure Boston also used Hammonds/Leslie, most all popular bands of the era did.  The sound has never faded from favor.  You see a lot of live acts on TV today using the Hammond/Leslie.  There has been a particular rise of its use in country music acts today.  A classic, distinctive sound thanks to Laurens Hammond and his original 1934 Model A organ.  The tonewheel Hammonds have "soul," an almost human-like breathy quality to the tone that in the hands of a competent player, is unique and unmistakable.

And every Hammond organ is unique.  Their components age at different rates, and you can have two identical organs, manufactured on the same day, but today sound very different.  Marvelous instruments.

[Walter]

Hi!  I'm not in Tulsa, but I recently bought a Hammond Concorde organ. I believe it is as 2312 model.   After playing it several days, it has developed some problems.  The internal Leslie has quit working.  Some of the notes on the drawbars and stops are dead.  The percussion voices do not have the dead notes; just the drawbars and presets.  I am trying to get information online to try to look at it myself.  Most of what I am seeing is that cable connectors cause a lot the problems with the Concorde; or capacitors;  any tips?  Thanks  

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Walter

Hi!  I'm not in Tulsa, but I recently bought a Hammond Concorde organ. I believe it is as 2312 model.   After playing it several days, it has developed some problems.  The internal Leslie has quit working.  Some of the notes on the drawbars and stops are dead.  The percussion voices do not have the dead notes; just the drawbars and presets.  I am trying to get information online to try to look at it myself.  Most of what I am seeing is that cable connectors cause a lot the problems with the Concorde; or capacitors;  any tips?  Thanks  

Hi Walter, I have a 1964 tonewheel Hammond A102, and a 1978 Concorde 2307M.  My A102 is relatively trouble-free but here are my tips about the LSI (Large-Scale Intregated Circuit) Hammonds of the late 1970s such as the Concorde and Elegante models.  Your 2312 Concorde is the same as my 2307M, just different furniture cabinet styles.

Removing the back panel of the Concorde, you see six circuit boards across the back/top of the console, these are the "sine wave filter boards."  The plug in connectors of these boards will give you 90% of all problems on the 2300 Series Condorde models.  Remove each circuit board, clean the board connector edges and plastic plugs with Caig Deoxit D5, and reseat the boards.  You can also clean the contacts on the boards proper with a simple pink rubber eraser, if oxidation is heavy, as this was the procedure in the original Hammond service manuals.  Don't go overboard with the eraser so you don't rub off the metal (tin) contact film on the board.  There are also 3 similar filter boards for the percussion voices vertically mounted, located below on the bottom shelf, near the console bass speaker.  If you are having problems with persussion, do the same for these 3 boards.  When the contacts on these boards fail over time due to oxidation, a group of 5 contiguous notes for a drawbar will fail, and affect both the manual drawbars and the presets.  If that is the case, it is surely a contact problem for the sine wave filter borards.  Cleaning the contacts on the sine wave filter boards will fix this.  I know as I have lived with this for 30 years!  

My 1978 Hammond Concorde 2307M has had no problems that I can not solve with circuit board contact cleaning.  I have to do this about once every 18 months, but that is the price to pay for a 30-year old Hammond LSI organ.  I have also had to clean the contacts on the main power amp and the reverb tank and circuit board, to solve general static problems through the speakers.  After I do the cleaning, she sounds magnificent for another year or so.

The internal Leslie on my 2307 still sounds great, and I have my Hammond Concorde plugged into an external Leslie 710.  If your internal Leslie rotosonic has quit, make sure the motor stack in the organ is properly oiled, and all plug contacts are clean.  It may be a problem of a worn out/unoiled Leslie motor.  It could also be a dead mercotac contact for the Leslie rotosonic drum.  Mercotacs are a cheap replacement.  And check the drive belt for the rotosonic drum; it may be so worn and frayed that it is not making proper contact and turning the drum properly.

One word of caution.  If you have to remove any of the cardboard covers over the manual/percussion divider boards, BEWARE!!!!  These housings are full of the dreaded black foam that desintegrates over time and can cause damage to electrical components if it drops down onto circuit board wires.  Use extreme caution when removing these housings, and scrape off and dispose of all the old foam you can.

[Walter]

Steve; thanks so much for giving me all the tips on cleaining the sinewave filter boards. That really did help.  I want to also clean the amp power supply contacts and board.  I am guessing that the power supply circuit board is
one of the two boards behind the power supply with the four canister capacitors and tranformer on top of it.
Where are the power suply contacts? I'm not sure if I know what or where they are.
Thanks again

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Walter

Steve; thanks so much for giving me all the tips on cleaining the sinewave filter boards. That really did help.  I want to also clean the amp power supply contacts and board.  I am guessing that the power supply circuit board is
one of the two boards behind the power supply with the four canister capacitors and tranformer on top of it.
Where are the power suply contacts? I'm not sure if I know what or where they are.
Thanks again

I was simply referring to the circuit board on the power amp that you mentioned and the board for the reverb.  Clean these as you would the sine wave board connectors.  About once every 12-16 months, I spend an entire afternoon on Concorde maintenance, pulling boards, cleaning connectors, and going through half a can of Deoxit spray, oiling the Leslie motors, etc.  I do this at the same time each January that I oil the tone generator in my A102.  One afternoon a year to keep both my Hammonds going strong and providing countless hours of enjoyment for me and friends for the rest of the year!    

In my 30 years of owning my Concorde 2307M, I have never had any major electrical component failure except one.  About 10 years ago I had a 380 IC chip go bad for the upper manual "A natural" keys.  All "A" keys on the upper started sounding very warbly and out of tune.  Replacing the 380 IC fixed it.  There are at least 36 of these 380 IC chips in the Concorde; they are on the manual divider daughter boards for the upper, lower, and percussion.  (The boards mounted vertically inside the cardboard housings that are full of the dreaded black foam.)  The 380 chips are very hard to find nowdays, and very expensive when you can find them.  I bought a 1976 Hammond Grandee (the stripped down version of the Concorde) and parted it out mainly for a supply of these IC chips if I would ever need to replace another one.  I also saved the spare power amp, reverb, Auto-vari 64 unit, Leslie motor stack, and a multitude of circuit boards from the Grandee, so I am well-fixed for spare parts for my Concorde, should I ever need them.  The hard part for me is just finding someone knowledgeable to do the repair labor.  I am no professional tech, but I have learned a lot over the years just from owning Hammonds and watching others work on them.

If you like the sound of the Concorde, be glad you have a 2300 series and not the earlier 2100 series.  The 2100 series was notorious for problems and failure.  Hammond solved most of the problems with the upgraded 2300 series.  If you can, play your 2312 Concorde through an external Leslie.  The Concorde is prewired and switched for an external Leslie 700 or 710, solid-state, 2-channel models.  Just plug in the 9-pin jack on the back, and you are good to go with no Leslie kit or other connections needed.  You will be amazed at what the external Leslie adds.  My 2307M Concorde and Leslie 710 will "blow the roof off the house," if I would let it!  (Don't bother with a Leslie 700; it is just a rotosonic drum Leslie with no treble horn.  Get a 710, which has the all-important treble driver and rotating horn, 90% of the marvelous Leslie sound, in my opinion.)

I love my Hammond tonewheel A102/Leslie 251, but I also love my Concorde 2307M/Leslie 710 just as much.  The tonewheel Hammonds give that classic gospel/blues/rock organ sound and are a joy to play, but the LSI Hammonds have their own sound too, and provide a much better emulation of a theater or pipe organ than a tonewheel Hammond ever could.  I love them both.

As I said, I have a large parts stash for the Concorde, and may be able to help you out if you need a hard-to-find part.  I also have an original factory service manual for the 2100/2300 series Concorde, with info and schematics for every circuit board in the console.  Parts and manuals pop up quite often on EBAY, just search "Hammond Organ."

A bit of Concorde trivia:  All Concordes had a serial/model number plaque located on the underside of the lower manual, to the right of the pedal clavier light.  If yours is missing, there is a second plaque located on the bottom shelf underneath the power amp.  You have to remove the power amp to see it.  This was placed there by Hammond in the event of theft.  It is hard to imagine someone stealing a 400+ lb. Concorde today, but good to know for insurance/ID purposes if your external plaque under the manuals is missing!

[Walter]

Steve; thanks again for all the information.
I have gotten all the static out of the speakers by cleaining the amp connectors, etc.
with deoxit.

I want to also clean any cable connectors inside the organ as a preventative measure.

Looking inside, I don't see how the top of the organ is supposed to lift up.  I see a warning sign on the back board that says do not lower this board unless top is locked in upright position.  Is there a lever or something that you turn to release the top of the organ so it will raise?  Thanks  Walter

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Walter

Steve; thanks again for all the information.
I have gotten all the static out of the speakers by cleaining the amp connectors, etc.
with deoxit.

I want to also clean any cable connectors inside the organ as a preventative measure.

Looking inside, I don't see how the top of the organ is supposed to lift up.  I see a warning sign on the back board that says do not lower this board unless top is locked in upright position.  Is there a lever or something that you turn to release the top of the organ so it will raise?  Thanks  Walter

Facing the organ from the front, grab the top on the far left front and far right front faceplates, on either side of the music light, and give it a good jerk upwards.  The top is not screwed or latched down, it is just held in place by "snap clips" and the sheer weight of the thing!  The entire top panel, including the music light and AutoVari 64 rhythm unit will swing upwards, hinged at the back.  Inside on the left is a sliding metal bar lever that drops down into a hole to lock the top in the upright position.  This exposes the rhythm unit, manual divider boards, preset boards etc.  With the top locked open, you can then lower the sine wave filter board panel in back for more access.

Also, with the top locked open, the panel with all the percussion/animation/sustain/Leslie tabs will also swing up and open, just like the top panel.  Grab the top of the metal railing and gently jerk upwards.  (It is held in place by snap connectors like the cabinet top is.)  This will give further access to the drawbars and drawbar wiring.  It is always a good idea to clean the metal slider contacts on the drawbars with a liberal spray of DeOxit.  Spray and then work them in and out to lubricate and remove built up gunk.

The upper and lower manuals are also hinged and will swing up should you ever need to replace keys or access manual wiring.  You have to remove several bolts from the underside.  I have never had to do this, but I read the procedure in the service manual.

That's one good thing about the Concorde; Hammond gave thought to maintenance access so most major components are on swing-out panels or hinged for easier access and can be serviced by one person.  There is also a swing-out panel on the lower back that has some percussion boards, the piano filter board, etc. on both sides of the panel.  The entire Leslie Rotosonic drum unit also slides out too for maintenance.

More trivia:  With the top panel open and locked upright, you will find the small preset circuit boards on the left side for the upper and lower presets.  Contrary to popular opinion, the manual presets ARE changeable.  At one time, you could buy blank preset boards and wire/jumper them to your liking, plug them in, and customize the presets to your own taste!  The procedure is covered in the service manual.  Mine are all the original factory ones, but it is possible to change the preset voices, just not as easy as the tonewheel organs.  Plus, you can combine multiple presets on the LSI organs; you can't do that on the tonewheel models.  You may be able to modify the existing boards or find some NOS blank boards to customize the preset voicing.  I can send you the service manual instructions on how to do this if you wish.  A good place to look for NOS parts is Organ Service Company of Countryside IL.  The guy that owns this business was a former Hammond factory employee and bought Hammond's entire stock of organ parts when the original Hammond Organ Company closed in 1986.  That's where I bought my original factory Concorde service manual, and he may still have some in stock.

[Steve]

By the way Walter, the Internet has been a wealth of information for those looking to preserve great classic Hammond organs.  I am a member of the

http://www.zeni.net/pipermail/hammond/

discussion forums, but this list is mainly for tonewheel Hammond owners and fans (A,B,C,D,A100,RT,M,M100,L100 series organs of 1934-1975 vintage.)  If you post a question on this list concerning a LSI Hammond such as the Concorde, at best you will be ignored; at worst you will be told to cart your Concorde to the nearest dumpster!  These folks are very opinionated.  I love and appreciate the Concorde 2300 organ as much as the classic Hammond tonewheel models.  

If you have any further questions about your Concorde 2300, post it here under this thread and I will reply with my 2 cents, for what it's worth.  I log on to TulsaNow about every 2-3 days, so my reply may be delayed somewhat, but I will surely get back to you.

[Walter]

Steve; Appreciate so much your interest in the 2300 Hammond.  I do really like the sound of it.
I believe mine is a 2307 rather than a 2312.  It has the black and walnut console with stainless steel pedals and trim.  Don't know the difference between the 2307 and 2307M.  This one had a 700 Leslie with it.  The speakers all worked on it but the Rotosonic wouldn't spin. Organ tech in Texarkana took it to get it working. I think its going to take some patience to get this one straightened out.
cleaning the sinewave filter boards; main amp cable connectors and circuit board got rid of all dead notes and speaker static.  In the meantime; the main channel and Leslie Channel went dead.  This happened while I was playing it. The only way to get any sound out of it now is to have the Leslie console tabs on and the Leslie Chorus tab pushed down at the same time.
Otherwise it has a faint sound.  The faint sound does increase if you push the expression pedal, but it still sounds faraway and distant.
You can also push the expression pedal vibrato "off" switch with your foot and volume will come up with the Leslie tremolo tabs turned on.  After opening the organ and cleaning additional connectors, the lower manual is now completely dead.  I have jiggled everything I can think of and still nothing.
This organ had not been used in a while, so I guess I'll have to have some patience with it.
Are there any internal fuses in the amp that could be causing the main channel/Leslie issues?  I thought at first it was the amp, but with it still works with the Leslie and chorus tabs pushed down.  Once again, I really appreciate all the info you have given me.  Walter