BOUGHT my first Hammond - M3 troubleshooting

[Guest]

Hi - I'm new around here. Any insight or advice is appreciated. I contacted a local seller about an M3 on craigslist. Here's an excerpt from his ad: </p>

"Comes on but no sound. Keys make a clicking sound through speaker when
played. Probably needs a power or preamp tube. Great condition
otherwise."</p>

It's been offered to me for $75. We exchanged a few emails, too...more of what he's told me:</p>

"I turn on the keyboard and play the keys I hear clicking sounds which
is indicative of a bad preamp tube. The reason I think this is when a
preamp tube goes out on a guitar amp it acts similar. The M3 is full of clean oil
so other than a tube or a short I don't think the repair cost will be
exorbitant. Heck I could part this out on ebay and get way more I just
don't have time to mess with it" </p>

He said he'd try to chase down the problem, but hasn't had time, and really he just wants rid of it. My question is simply, should I be jumping on this right away, at this price, or should I run from something with potential problems? I know these do go pretty cheap, and sometimes folks who don't know what they've got are even giving them away, so should I wait around for a better deal? I don't want to have to learn to be an organ repair tech, or pay somebody a bunch of money to do it for me - I just want to play it and put it to use. Thanks, in advance!!
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[CVDen]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Offhand, if it has plenty of oil, my guess is the guy doesn't know how to turn it on! From his comment about a preamp tube, I wouldn't want him tracking this problem down. When he hits keys and it clicks, to me it sounds like the tonewheel generator isn't running, which means either the generator has problems, or he doesn't have a clue how to start it. I'd somehow ask him which switch he "turned on" and see if you can get out of him how he tried starting the thing up. If he says he only switched one on, then it's him, not the organ. Then you have to figure out how you're going to start it up and not have him decide it's worth more once he knows it works. </p>

75$ isn't a steal, but it's not a bad price either. And one thing he is right about is you can part it out for that price. M3's are pretty much fun also, although they are spinets, so depending on what you're used to playing that might drive you a little crazy.
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[Brendon Wright]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Tube amps are simple systems I'm told, and extremely fixable.. they're never really broken!</p>

Get this baby and the lads here will talk you thru getting it running.</p>

The M3's a beautiful machine. This guy's nuts to even say he'd part it out, hey, there's kids in Ethiopa and all that...</p>

New tubes will cost a bunch, but you'd be buying them for any other organ anyway.</p>

What condition is the woodwork?</p>

-Brendon</p>

[Guest]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Hey thanks for the replies! (Wasn't sure how long I'd have to wait, so I'm impressed - you guys rock!) From the photos he sent me, cosmetically it looks pretty good (to me). What do you think?
</p>

</p>

And a (partial) gut shot...</p>

</p>

I'm a novice at this stuff - been playing keyboards/piano for 20+ years but not much of an "organist" per se - this would be the first one I own - so the issue of what I'm "used to," well, isn't really an issue at all! But I know very little at this point that would help me work on this thing. I know I can learn, and I have a buddy who builds simple tube guitar amps who could certainly help me if it turns out to be a more involved electronic issue.</p>

Re: the seller, this guy seems to know what he's doing around organs - he's selling 3 or 4, actually, and he fielded a few of my questions about the "foldback kit" mod for this one. So I'm guessing he knows how to crank it up - but maybe not!
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[Brendon Wright]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Yeah, that baby 's a stunner!</p>

I've put a kill switch on my TG, the keys spit or click when the motor's not running (though he would've noticed that, I'm betting!!!) and also when the tonebars are all in, all that results is a keyclick. The guy is likely right, it'll be one duff tube somewhere, your friend will be able to identify it.</p>

I've done the foldback on my T (I'd love an M3, so you'll enter at a "higher level" than me if you get this hot looking instrument of doom.) and I'm pretty sure you can enjoy this M for a good while before you even think about putting in those extra contacts. Enjoy the beast a few months first!</p>

Here in NZ an M3 would go for a TON more than $75! 6 to 8 times more...</p>

Cheers!</p>

-Brendoooon</p>

[redoctoberff]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Get it. Get it now!!</p>

You'll thank yourself later. These instruments are typically very to moderately easy to fix, especially if you have someone who knows tubes. I bet the run motor isn't getting up to speed, or something that simple. Whatever it is, the people on this forum will be able to identify and fix it: that's probably a 95% guarantee. I have an M3 and I absolutely love it.
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[Brendon Wright]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



There you go! Red's right.</p>

You have to get it now!</p>

[bossbandbob]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Looks just like mine! A real fun and great sounding organ to play!</p>

Bob
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[mikey383]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



I was looking at that same one about a month ago, when he wanted $300 for it. He came down to $150 after a couple weeks and now he's at half that....I would jump on it at that price. Most likely a simple fix.
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[Guest]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Thanks again for the encouragement. I've emailed him and said I definitely want it - just gotta arrange to borrow a friend's truck and then go after it. He's only about 20 min. drive from me. Sweet! Hopefully I'll have it by the weekend.</p>

If it's something related to the motor (i.e. not getting up to speed), is that still an easy fix? is replacing a motor a big deal/expensive?</p>

[CEB]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



You said he is selling 3 or 4 others. What kind of condition are those in? Do they run? If not,I wonder if they hit by lightning?</P>
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[Guest]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



yeah, I think the other ones he's selling do run. One is a Allen "organette" that he said he thinks has a Leslie speaker inside it - does anybody know anything about this instrument? And I think one might be a Conn or something. I'm just interested in the one that doesn't WORK!</p>

could be, though, that he picked them up for next to nothing at an auction - did just enough research online to know what he had and sell them, and now they're just in the way...I have no idea. waiting to hear back from him. I'll go get it today if I can.</p>

[rjaneshek]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Yeah, I saw that one too when it was priced $150. I'm down in Lexington and if I didn't already have my M-103 I might have jumped on it. I'm in agreement with the guys here for $75 it's a no brainer. Believe me, you will get way more than $75 of enjoyment out of it. It is almost a crime that the spinets sell for such low prices. They are wonderful instruments and capable of sounding great!</p>

You can get it working. I bought mine in a similar (non-working) condition and got it working within a day or so. My run motor was frozen up and it just took some cleaning and working by hand to get it going. The guys on this forum are among the most eager and helpful people on the net. They'll give you plenty of support to get this beast going.</p>

It sounds to me like the guy really doesn't know much about it. He thinks his Allen has a Leslie built in?? If it did, he should know if he has been around organs.</p>

Good luck with it!</p>

[rjaneshek]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed

And make sure you lock down the tone generator before you transport it!

[Guest]

Re: Buying my first Hammond (maybe) - M3 advice needed



Thanks rjaneshek. More encouraging advice. My "tube amp buddy" is also my "truck" buddy, and he says let's go get it, so...asap.</p>

This is what the ad says about his Allen: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; ">1958 Allen Organette GC. Needs a little TLC but sounds great. Blonde finish. This was popular with Hollywood stars at the time(Jackie Gleason etc.) Similar in style and sound to a Hammond B3 or M3. I believe it even has a built in rotating speaker!"</span></p>

Now, I don't know the first thing about Allens, but I'm doubting it is "similar in style and sound to a Hammond B3 or M3." So maybe he doesn't know much about organs. In fact...in his first email response to me, he said something about converting the M3 circuitry into a guitar amp. So maybe he's a guitar player who bought a couple organs thinking he'd do that, and he really doesn't know much about them short of what a few minutes of googling produced. Perhaps it IS something silly-simple like not cranking it up properly or not having the drawbars pulled out!! we shall see.</p>