How To Test Drive A Hammond

This B-3 buyer's guide was submitted by AlGoff to the OriginalHammondLeslieFaq.

Some considerations for a typical B-3 purchase

If you happen to find a B-3, remember that it is at least 34 years old, with a last-model-year (1974) organ, among the hundreds of thousands sold throughout their 30 years of production.

The average B-3 found in the used-organ market is around 33 years old. The average B-2, C-2 and other older model Hammond approaches 40-50 years old, regardless of the cabinet condition.

• Be sure of what you are buying. Often a naive seller will not really be aware of what is he or she is selling. What's advertised as a "B-3 with Leslie" may end up being a BV with a Hammond tone cabinet. Check the data on the manufacturer's plates. Compare the features of the organ you are looking at with those features you know to be present (or absent) in that model.
• Examine the overall cabinet (see BobSchleichersUsedOrganRatingScale) as a good indication of the organ's treatment in life up until now. If it's in poor shape, with missing wooden parts, broken keys, etc., consider this in your assessment of the use/abuse to which the organ has been subjected.
• Start the organ (see HowToStartAHammond). Listen to the start and run motors when you start the organ. Be sure both are functioning normally when their respective switches are set to on. (Also see ToneGeneratorWontStart.)
• Test each drawbar on each manual. For B-3 or other console organs use the A# and B preset (reverse color) keys, and their corresponding sets of nine drawbars. The far left set is for the Upper Manual "A#" preset, the second set is for the Upper Manual "B" preset, the two drawbars in the middle are for the pedals, the third set is for the Lower Manual "A#" preset, and the fourth set is for the Lower Manual "B" preset. Hold a key down on the manual and try each drawbar to be sure they sound, making sure its corresponding preset is pressed.

Then, pick a preset and drawbar group and pull out the ?first drawbar from the left in that group (brown) and play from the first "C" note to the last "C", a total of 61 notes. It is normal for the first octave of tones to repeat on B-3 and similar organs due to the manual wiring. (This is not the case in some very early models) Then, push in the first brown drawbar and pull out the last white drawbar and starting from the second "C" (notice it's the same tone as key #61, last "C" was with the first brown drawbar out) on the same manual, play all remaining notes up to F# an octave from the end where the notes will again begin to repeat. This repeating is called foldback and is very important to the classic B-3 sound.

• Repeat this procedure with all drawbar groups and both manuals. You can also try every note on every drawbar to be sure they all sound. If you have MissingTones, this may be simply a broken wire on the tonewheel generator, or in the harness between the manuals, or it may be a broken resistance wire within the manuals or other problem. Some are an easy fix, some are very difficult.
• Check the Percussion on the B-3 and similarly equipped organs keeping in mind it only functions on the upper manual with the "B" preset. It does not work on the lower manual, or with any other preset down. Push all drawbars in, press the "B" preset for the upper manual, turn the percussion "ON" and play a note, listening for decay. Check the decay and "SECOND/THIRD" harmonic rocker switches. The "NORMAL/FAST DECAY" should function in this manner - the FAST decay should decay in about one second, the NORMAL decay should decay in about four seconds. There is an adjustment on the preamp for setting the decay. If you have no percussion, be sure you are checking it correctly. It may be simply a dead 12AU7 tube, or it may be a bad percussion transformer or other problem in the organ.
• Try the pedals. Pull out one of the pedal drawbars (two in the center of the organ between the sets of nine manual drawbars) and play each pedal. Then push the first in, pull out the other and repeat the test.
• Check the Vibrato for each manual. The Swell vibrato switch is for the upper manual, the Great is for the lower. Check all positions of the Black Vibrato knob V1,V2,V3,C1,C2,C3. If the chorus or vibrato sounds choppy, or is dead, problems exist which require repair. A very common problem in older organs is choppy or "motorboating" vibrato and chorus, which requires vibrato scanner rebuilding (see HowToRebuildTheVibratoScanner.) Other possibilities include preamp component problems, bad tubes, bad vibrato line box components, etc. None of these are particularly easy to fix for most owners.
• If a Leslie is included be sure of the model and the Leslie's operation. Do not rely on the cabinet condition. Plug-in the cable to the Leslie, be sure the Leslie changes speeds, sounds good from both the upper horn and woofer. If the Leslie is being offered with an A-100 or other organ with an internally powered speaker, listen to the organ driving just the Leslie. The presence of sound from the organ's internal speakers can mask certain defects in the Leslie's sound. A complete Leslie comes with wood back pieces (three on 122/142/147/145 models).
• Many organ deals go sour due to bad Leslies, so don't be surprised if something is amiss. Not all organs are B-3s, and not all Leslies are 122s or 147s. If it turns out that one or the other is not as advertised, is incomplete or is otherwise deficient, reduce the offered price, and hold your breath. Walk away if the negotiation gets nasty, or if something doesn't seem right to you.

TopicTroubleshooting