Hammond organ keybed "FEEL"

[bftucker]

My Hammond was given to me as non-working. It hadn't been played in years. A little tone-wheel oil, a little deoxit and resetting the tubes...works fine -- though I hear that I should change the capacitors.

My advice...check Craigslist. Two months ago, I had the chance to get a Hammond A100 in perfect condition for $60 but my spouse wouldn't let me get another and, unlike synthesizers, you can't hide them in a closet.

___

[AdmiralQuality]

My Hammond was given to me as non-working. It hadn't been played in years. A little tone-wheel oil, a little deoxit and resetting the tubes...works fine -- though I hear that I should change the capacitors.

My advice...check Craigslist. Two months ago, I had the chance to get a Hammond A100 in perfect condition for $60 but my spouse wouldn't let me get another and, unlike synthesizers, you can't hide them in a closet.

___

Yeah, this M3 I want is on Craigs'.

And yes, you'll probably want to change the electrolytic capacitors (the ones that are can shaped). The flat disk shaped ones have no electrolyte liquid in them, and basically last forever (as long as they're not blown up). But if the electrolytics are working and you don't see liquid leaking out, then they just might be still okay. (But for how long is anybody's guess.)

And if I was married to someone who wouldn't let me get an A-100 for $60, I'd very soon be a divorced A-100 owner.

[tapper mike]

You just need to be able to afford rental space. A buddy of mine used to drop his stuff at my place come to visit it. Between the wife and kids he just didn't trust his gear at home.

[AdmiralQuality]

Well speak of the devil...

http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/153411

Nov. 13th, 2013 - Vintage audio specialists and instrument manufacturers Analog Outfitters have announced that they will be attending the upcoming 2014 NAMM tradeshow. The company specializes in creating an unparalleled musical experience with an eco-friendly twist. Utilizing unused or unwanted Hammond organ components, they have created two product lines of guitar amplifiers and MIDI controllers that are as unprecedented as they are unique.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'd rather see old Hammonds turned back into working Hammonds. Unless it's a total write-off, of course.

Seems the keybeds should be the easiest part to reproduce as new parts. (A lot easier than trying to build a tonewheel generator from scratch, anyway!) I hope they're not sacrificing keybeds from working organs to convert them to MIDI controllers.

Still, neat!

Retrofitted from Hammond organs, this series of keyboard controllers and accessories provides a digital MIDI interface designed to offer the exact feel and control delivered by traditional Hammond B3 organs without the cumbersome weight, delicate construction, or temperamental tendency to break down. These ORGANic controllers utilize actual Hammond keys, drawbars, and switches while still possessing Leslie speaker compatibility

How does a MIDI controller have Leslie compatibility?

[Jared9535]

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This folding organ is perhaps a solution ...

http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=200890944976 (http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=200890944976)

[arasb]

Admiral, did you ever file down the fronts of the 61es keys? I'm about to buy a couple of them and might be doing the same for the true waterfall feel.
Any tips?
ArasB

[AdmiralQuality]

Admiral, did you ever file down the fronts of the 61es keys? I'm about to buy a couple of them and might be doing the same for the true waterfall feel.
Any tips?
ArasB

No, I've kind of stalled on that project. I don't really like the spring action much, and I'm not sure if I can readily change it. It's currently at a friend's place.

By the way, it's not just the fronts that would need filing. It's the sides as well.

[arasb]

Thanks for the reply. Do you have another controller keybed that you prefer for a better feel and action?
I'll have to take a look at my Hammond (it's at a friends house) to see the sides to file as well. I don't have the keystation 61 yet, so I also don't know how they feel normally. I'm choosing the keystations cause of the price and long fronts. I've seen other controllers with the short fronts and imagine they would not glide as well when smearing.
Thoughts?
Thanks again,
ArasB

[AdmiralQuality]

Thanks for the reply. Do you have another controller keybed that you prefer for a better feel and action?
I'll have to take a look at my Hammond (it's at a friends house) to see the sides to file as well. I don't have the keystation 61 yet, so I also don't know how they feel normally. I'm choosing the keystations cause of the price and long fronts. I've seen other controllers with the short fronts and imagine they would not glide as well when smearing.
Thoughts?
Thanks again,
ArasB

Well, I was awfully fond of my Korg CX-3 but I just sold it last month for rent money.

For a lower manual I used my old Ensoniq ESQ-1, which has a very nice action for organ. Old Yamaha DX-7s are good for that as well. (They're also both nice as lower manuals as they're flat on top so you can get them close to whatever you're using as a top manual. The CX-3 in my case.)

The Keystation 61 has a really deep action, and it's very springy, not "massy". It might be able to be improved by adding weight to the keys. Anyway, I only paid $50 for mine, so when I get it back I still might experiment on it.

[JCJR]

A few months ago got a 61 key roland fa06. It doesn't feel like a hammond but the keys are fairly fast, light and shallow. Which wouldn't be good for two fisted piano playing (got an 88 for that). It doesn't seem particularly clacky feeling.

The fatar keybed in an old esq-1 "feels to the hand" more comfy than the fa06, but the fa is good enough that one can get used to it. My esq1 needs disassembly and deep cleaning, because velocity response has got spotty on it.

However some hammond tricks can be done on the fa06 keys without getting the feeling that the keys might break off, as one gets with some synth actions, especially the stiffer ones. Note smears are possible without hurting the hands or ripping out keys by the roots, at least if you stay off the front of the white keys.

[AdmiralQuality]

The fatar keybed in an old esq-1 "feels to the hand" more comfy than the fa06, but the fa is good enough that one can get used to it. My esq1 needs disassembly and deep cleaning, because velocity response has got spotty on it.

They do seem to corrode after a decade or so and need a cleaning. I did mine about 10 years ago, when I also changed its battery. It's just recently started missing notes again. (Though the more I play it the better it gets. The key contacts are actually little coiled springs, so they move a bit when played and have a self-cleaning action.)

[JCJR]

Ahh, interesting. Guess I've never been inside mine then (the battery does need replacing, luckily never lost patches becase the eeprom data cart still works, and I always mirrored the internal mem and the data cart.

It does seem adequately self cleaning, but some notes haven't yet "self cleaned" enough because it went several years unplayed til I dragged it out of the old studio last winter.

I'd assumed the esq1 had the newer rubber nipples design, because several synths I've been inside of that same era, had already gone to the rubber nipple, conductive plastic contacts. Which is probably a generally better design, or at least simple enough to clean.

Have seen some keyboards with the coiled spring contacts (if the ones where the spring "wraps around" a busbar), where it was easy to get sprung coils, broken coils, or wear off the plating of the busbar from friction. Though they were better than the dang pratt-reed j wires in so many early usa synths. Those j wires wereconstant trouble.

[Hard Bop 6]

The Fatar TP80 waterfall keybed though is semi-weighted - a heavier feel than a synth action "diving board" keybed (Hammond Spinet models like the L100 has diving board keys ). The Fatar Waterfall is the one in the Nords (which also have "high trigger") and most likely the later Korg CX3 too. (Studiologic made a control keyboard with the Fatar TP80). I have heard of people changing the springs in the TP80 for a lighter action.

So where did they get some new springs for the TP-8o? I'd like to swap out the standard springs in my TP-8o for something lighter to be more like my A-100 but nobody seems to have them. No doubt about it- compared to my 1965 Hammond A-100 the stock springs are stiff.

[Jim Y]

I don't know, maybe they found a small engineering shop that could copy them, or re-temper the originals?
I don't think you'd get far contacting Fatar unless you're a manufacturer, but maybe a Fatars distributer could help. Have you tried contacting Doepfer? They have been known to get reverse color keybeds for their customers by special order from Fatar.

[Hard Bop 6]

I am trying distributors, so far nothing.

The tempering idea is intriguing; you'd want to do the whole batch of springs all at one time for uniformity, and stop the treatment for testing every so often. Not sure a home workshop can do all that, a pro shop may be able to.