Hi Peter-
I am going to finish what I started writing the other day, this time
hopefully uninterrupted ;)
This is what I wrote the other day, and I'll just pick up where I
left off..
Thank you so much for the prompt and thorough reply. I really do
enjoy my Spinet, and I want to see it work, and I am willing to put
the time and money into the repairs if necessary. Fortunately, I am
less than two hours away from Speakeasy Vintage Music, and I have
spoken to Steve Hayes, and he is great. I am really considering
taking the organ to him at one point, and having him do a once
over... However, I also would like the experience of knowing all
about them, as this will not be the only one I will be owning in my
lifetime.
I recieved the Hammond M-Series Service Manual, and it has been a
great help to me. I now know where everything is, and what to
replace! I then checked the wire on the drawbar (as you stated) and
it certainly was the culprit! I think all Hammond Organs should be
sold with a soldering iron, and rosin-core solder! Thanks again...
I was so flustered from what I thought I might have done that I
didn't check one of the most obvious things. That's been fixed... I
still feel that there has been a change in the amount of "highs"
and "mids" that I heard prior to my mishap... Maybe this is my
imagination, but I have a pretty good ear for that kind of stuff...
What type of test equipment should I have available? I do have a
Vacuum Tube tester that works quite well, and the tubes look as
though they were replaced in the last 15 or so years (Sylvania vs.
the Original Hammond Tubes) though I have not tested them as of yet.
I was told that a recap of the TG would brighten the highs and mids
considerably. You mentioned something about falling into "black
holes" when recapping the TG. I was just wondering what you meant by
that... I don't think I am so much intimidated about rebuilding,
just as long as I know what I am getting into.. I would just like to
replace those old wax caps with something that will last... Plus the
Amplifier (if It's worth it) I would like to rebuild. Right now
there is not a lick of hum, or crackle or anything... The signal is
quite clean.... Probably better that I expected it to be... This
leads me to believe that it may be better left untouched. The big
electrolytic caps are hard to find aren't they? Those are probably
what I am most worried about. Does Goff include detailed
instructions with their kits (I hope)?
You mentioned that parts are still available for these M-3's... I
would love to replace just the white Upper and Lower Manual Keys,
since for some reason, about 5 of the 8 keys of each octave have
become discolored due to the use of another batch of plastic I
guess. They are almost gray and appear speckled. It would be fine
if they were all like that, but I'd like to clean it up some.. You
know. I did all I could. It's also missing the "music stand" (I
forget the appropriate name for that)... I think it would be a great
project.
I have also acquired (yesterday) an Hammond B-3 organ that is clean
inside and out (it even has the cloth bag full of screws next to the
preset bars)... Looks like nobody ever touched the thing... The
inside wasn't monkeyed with at all, and it's just cherry. It had a
minimal service done on it not too long ago by the previous owner,
and it started right up and played. As I learn more about it, I will
let the group know.
Howevwer, I am more interested in getting the Spinet up and running
because it is alot simpler an architecture, and it's a great way to
get my hands dirty... I would like to see it perform as new if you
know what I mean.
Any help would be greatly appreciated... Thanks again, Peter.
Here are some specs for you:
1958 Hammond M-3
Form A1 (What does this mean?)
Serial# - 106921
Amplifier - AO-29-1H (the Service Manual Mentions the "H" Type
Amplifiers where a change was made.. I am assuming that I have this
type of Amplifier)
Also, the Vibrato Line Box looks alot like that of the one used in
the M-100 vs. the M3. Any suggestions as to why that is?
Once again... Thanks for all of your help. You have been a wealth
of accurate and useful information.
Best Regards,
Brian
--- In hammond_zone@y..., Peter D Abrams <pabrams@b...> wrote:
Good evening Brian...
scalaqna@y... wrote:
I seem to be the only person here with a spinet. I own a 1958
Hammond M-3 and a Leslie 825. Not a bad little setup for $300.
What
do you know.. A Baby B-3...
Nope. I've got an M-3. Love it. A 1955 that I bought for
parts, but
Unless I Absolutely Have To, I'll never tear this thing apart to
fix the
Consoles. Parts are still available. I'm thinking about a complete
refinish for the case. It's a nice box.
My question is, after pulling a stupid move (possibly a surge of
power to the Tone Generator by shutting it down and turning it
back
on accidentally), I seemed to have blown out an entire Drawbar
(Lower
#7) and it sounds as though now I have to recap the entire thing,
You have a Solid State mind in a Tube world. Listen up.
Short of a 20 megaton bomb going off inside of it, I doubt you
have
hurt the Tone Generator by flipping the power on and off. It's
entirely
mechanical. Blowing out an entire drawbar is also something that
doesn't
happen, there's a wire that comes from the lower manual keyboard
assembly to the back of the drawbar. Have you checked that? It
sounds
more like that wire has become disconnected. It happens all the
time.
since the higher tones are somewhat weaker than prior to my
mishap... Any suggestions as to why that drawbar might have blown
out, and where I can purchase a new capacitor set (and how much
would
it cost)?
If anything happened as a result of the fast flipping of
switches,
it's possible that you may have damaged a capacitor/resistor in the
A0-29 amp. *Not* the caps on the TG itself. The TG caps are filters
to
keep tones from bleeding into each other and never have any
significant
voltages applied to them. Also - have you tried reseating the
tubes?
Goff has cap kits for the TG and the Vibrato Line box, but not
the
amp. www.goffprof.com. When you get the M-3 manual, figure out which
series M-3 amp you have (there are several) and if you feel brave
and
lucky, get the parts, and rebuild the amp. Replace all the caps,
replace
all the resistors. www.mouser.com. The wax caps are way beyond their
design life, and are responsible for most of the "tone" of the
instrument. The electrolytics are very crucial, as they hang off the
power supply, and if they decide to short, they'll possibly take
out the
Power transformer. Dead Horse. Almost impossible to find.
The TG caps would be next, But I would rebuild the preamp, play
it,
and see. TG cap replacement is a big deal to some people, and it
leads
you down a lot of black holes.
I can probably do the work myself. I am kicking myself as
we speak for my slip up... I would like to restore it, and
replace
everything I can, and I know there are kits out there to do this.
Only for the TG and Vib box. Goff used to sell kits for
amps/preamps, but most of the folks who bought them didn't
understand
the art of the rebuild, and screwed it up. They *will* rebuild amps
if
you send them in, but expect to pay more for that than you did for
the
whole rig!
I think the caps would apply to both the M-3 and the B3 since it
is
pretty much the same tone generator. Any help would be great!
Yeah, pretty much. I actually don't know if they sell a kit
specific kit for an M-3, I've got one TG cap rebuilt B-3 here.
Sounds
great. You'll have to call and ask.
If you haven't, you might want to check out the hammond FAQ. A
lot
of good info there, and it might enlighten you a bit as to how all
the
parts fit together.
BTW- I have a M, M2, M3, M100 Service Manual on it's way to me in
the mail, and it should be here any day now. I also know of a
guy in
Dover, PA who manufactures Tube Leslie Pre-Amps, and those very
hard
to come by Transformers...
Steve Hayes. Speakeasy Vintage Music. He has a good reputation, and
apparently has a secret Leslie magnet that he uses to collect them
with.
incredible. I've bought stuff from him. I don't think he makes
replacement power xfmrs for an M-3. The only replacement I know is
another M-3.
One (and only) one word of caution - If you feel the least bit
intimidated about any of this, think about it. $300 bucks for the
rig
you have is an excellent deal, don't let that fool you into
thinking you
shouldn't spend good money to make it work. Nothing is more
deflating
than trying to fix something, and hearing that Pop, seeing that
Flash,
and knowing that you won't be playing your hammond tonight. If it
*does*
happen, just be grateful that the thing didn't electrocute you in
the
process.
Thanks in Advance!
Brian
Regards and best of luck,
pda
Jax Fl.
