Hammond riddle

JohnPerry · April 2022

Imagine my surprise when my teenage lad and his friends hauled this beast into the drive today. It was dumped in the street opposite us with a "FREE" sign taped to it.

About a quarter of the keys don't work - but those that do sound great and the Leslie still goes. It's obviously a Hammond of some sort. Anyone know exactly what it is and what it might take to fix? Everything seems to work aside from a few keys and four of the bass pedals.

Any help appreciated!

Funkfingers · April 2022

Looks like one of their T Series digital home organs rather than anything with valves or tone wheels inside.

Check around the back. There ought to be a plate providing model number and mains voltage information.

No drawbars, no comment.

I recall that Harry Seven was refurbishing either a Hammond spinet or a Leslie cabinet. I forget what this eventually cost him.

Non-functioning keys and bass pedals may just need their contacts cleaning. This involves opening the case and unhooking all of the keys to access the affected areas. Hopefully, cleaning is enough. Otherwise, some lucky person has to replace the contact strips.

If the organ needs to visit a professional repairer, somebody will have to transport it. Do you have any mates with a dropside van with a Slim Jim lift and a six seat cab?

JohnPerry · April 2022

Thanks for all that. Much obliged @funkfingers

It turns out to be an F2000, made in Japan in the 1970s, an unloved model among organ fans and almost certainly not worth me trying to fix, sadly (not least because I wouldn't really know what I am doing).

Seems such a shame to take it to the tip though.

Musicwolf · April 2022

JohnPerry said:

Seems such a shame to take it to the tip though.

There's only one way to kill a Hammond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggFzkyd288

JohnPerry · April 2022

I wonder if it had been dumped on his drive

lukedlb · April 2022

The bass pedals and the expression might be midi

lukedlb · April 2022

at least keep the speakers

JohnPerry · April 2022

yep, was thinking the same. And maybe the Leslie unit

robinbowes · April 2022

I have built a clone of a Fender Vibromate with the mechanism from a similar Farfisa organ. I've designed and had built my own control PCB which allows low-voltage switching of the motor on/off and fast/slow. I've got spares if you fancy having a go.

Or, if you're dumping it, I'll take the Leslie mechanism!

urban_winter · April 2022

My grandparents had one just like that in the late 70s. Happy memories.

Funkfingers · April 2022

lukedlb said:
The bass pedals and the expression might be midi

JohnPerry said:
an F2000, made in Japan in the 1970s.

Fire up the DeLorean!

Supportact · April 2022

I had a similar situation, bought/given an old electric organ once which no one wanted. Wasn't really worth anything, and too big to keep long term. I ended up removing the whole Leslie mechanism and the speaker and turning it into a standalone unit.

On mine you could cut it out of the main organ still with two sides on, so I kind of just built a plywood frame around it. Had to get help with the electrics but it worked. Heavy, bulky thing, and it took me some time, but it's a great sounding effect, and nice to salvage something.

JohnPerry · April 2022

That's interesting. Might pick your brains later (if that's OK) if I decide to go down that route

Supportact · April 2022

JohnPerry said:

That's interesting. Might pick your brains later (if that's OK) if I decide to go down that route

Yes no problem, let us know how you get on.

(Also judging by @robinbowes comment above he will know more about the electrical aspect than me.)

robinbowes · April 2022

Supportact said:

JohnPerry said:

That's interesting. Might pick your brains later (if that's OK) if I decide to go down that route

Yes no problem, let us know how you get on.

(Also judging by @robinbowes comment above he will know more about the electrical aspect than me.)

This is the control board I built on a custom PCB I had made:

Image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLXRFJ1dAU1BYv09jz375OSKXAX8kIw9WT5_9hL4BYbf12q0iVNBcaF_edy2l3AJcrHGabwoACrIWfvbqgR07ZPNY3hE13LER9__pd9LNj2UagxZ81kNXgvrcQsd-AidrhcA8CU8hOtOjm98UTXVpaHB8w=w1267-h951-no

It's pretty simple - basically, just a couple of relays, with caps/diodes for suppression & protection.

R.

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Hammond riddle

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