A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes

[eticket]

Hi Folks,</p>

I'm still new(ish) to this forum and have usually asked questions.. so this time I wanted to report the results of my little experiment to increase the usefulness of my A-100 in our rehearsal studio by combining speakers and instruments. Nothing complicated.. mainly just following some good advice I've seen here, and as a result have become a big fan of Hammond power amplifiers(!) among other things. Maybe some other folks will be tempted to try this out as well.
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First, not surprisingly, my A-100 as played through it's internal amp/speaker combo is sorely lacking in treble clarity due to the (by design) high-end rolloff, and I assume to a lesser extent by drifting specs on aging components.
</p>

I wanted to hear the A-100 in all it's sonic glory so I tried the 'G-G' solution. I stripped one end of a 1/4" instrument cable and used alligator clips to connect the G-G outputs on the preamp to the single 1/4" (rotary) input on my Leslie 2101mkII. The initial result sounded awful.. I overloaded the input of the Leslie terribly. I have a small passive mono mixer sitting around, so I put this inline between the organ and the Leslie to lower the signal. NOW we're talking! The padded signal going into the Leslie resulted in a wonderful tone with all those (previously) missing highs and swirly goodness! Using the mixer I can vary the balance between the Leslie and the A-100 speakers, which have the ballsy low end and the reverb. The 2101mkII has additional line outputs for it's low rotor sim and sub bass so there are more speaker options yet to be explored..
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My only (small) concern is the signal coming from the A-100 is a *little* noisy. I'm wondering if using a G + Ground hookup would be cleaner and/or quieter than the G+G, but I didn't notice any tab labeled "GND" on the preamp itself. Maybe someone can help clarify this.
</p>

My A-100 is, for the first time, truly inspiring to play. It sounds so much closer to the holy grail Hammond sounds I love, and combining the low-end from the built-in speakers creates an enormously full sound. But I couldn't leave it alone..</p>

I read here about using the RCA "phono" input on the A-100 (or M-3, etc.) for an additional instrument. So I plugged my guitar, a late 70's Telecaster, into my pedalboard and ran the pedalboard into the RCA input. The guitar is preamped by a Paul Cochrane "Timmy" stomp box. The Timmy is a clean-to-mild-distortion overdrive with plenty of clean gain and a great EQ, but I have a feeling any decent preamp, boost or mild overdrive pedal would do well. Once again.. WOW. The Hammond power amp is *amazing* with guitar, and the necklace reverb gives this setup a quality not unlike a vintage Fender amp, except bigger and bassier.. Could be a little bass heavy for humbucking pickups, but for my low output single coils it was really nice. </p>

Now.. to switch on the Leslie (already hooked up to the A-100) and run both. OK, now I'm running out of superlatives.. the Leslie adds a high end sparkle to the guitar, and that swirl.. instant guitar heaven! Half a dozen George Harrison guitar lines come to mind.. </p>

So.. tonight I'm trying my '79 Rhodes stage through this same dual amp/speaker setup.. Is there such a thing as too much sonic nirvana? ;-)
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[Brendon Wright]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



Hey thar eticket!</p>

I think the brown wire beside the G's is the ground.</p>

I understand alligator clips are really noisy... this is a shame, cos I was hoping to do the same for a temporary line to my frankenleslie from the C3.</p>

I also understand that while a 122 takes a G-G signal, many others take a G-ground, eg the 147, the 760 etc only take the one G and ground...</p>

Cheers!</p>

-Brendoon</p>

[eticket]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



Thanks Brendon, I'll check for the brown wire on the schematic to make sure it's a ground (I'm trying learn how to read schematics and the A-100 is quite a challenge for me). </p>

Meanwhile, it looks like those tabs on the preamp will - barely - accept a slip-on connector (for lack of a proper term) over the tip. There is solder further down on the tabs that will block a connector like this, but the little bit of free space at the tip might yet provide a more solid connection than alligator clips. It's still a little dodgy - connectors might slip off it one bumps them, but I don't move the organ much.</p>

Best,
</p>

[flapper]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



I have an A-100 that I wanted to connect to a Leslie 147 via a Leslie Combo Pre-amp temporarily, since I don't own the Leslie. I wrote to Bill Brown at BBOrgan to make sure I did the connection with the G-G terminals correctly. Here is what he had to tell me:</p>

</p>


Unfortunately, I do not remember the mods I made to Jack's gear anymore.

I can tell you that if you connect the "hot" lead to one of the "G" terminals on the Organ pre amp and connect the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1257398651_0">ground wire</span> to the chassis of the Organ pre amp for a 1/4" type signal to the pre amp pedal. You will not need the OBL box.

You could disconnect the power to the A-100 internal amps to shut off the speakers. Hope this helps.

Let me know. Thanks!

Bill Brown
BB Organ
<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1257398651_1">133 - 76th Way NE
Fridley, MN 55432</span>
<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1257398651_2">763-571-8284</span>
<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1257398651_3">http://www.bborgan.com</span>
</p>

[eticket]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



Hi Flapper,</p>

Thanks for the tip - it also confirms Brendon's advice, which I followed last night. There is a brown wire on the preamp, appropriately labeled "BN". I checked the schematic and confirmed that it is in fact a chassis ground.</p>

I connected one alligator clip to the red "G" terminal, and the other to the "BN" terminal. The noise was reduced, but not eliminated. Then I reversed the connection and.. perfection. Very quiet.
</p>

My next project is probably to wire in an L-pad or power soak so I can *floor* the swell pedal yet have the ability to roll off the volume of the A-100's internal speakers. Not sure about the "how to" part yet, but the answer has probably been posted elsewhere on this forum.
</p>

[Brendon Wright]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



That's very good news!</p>

It also means I can try my own temporary leslie connection with alligator clips. Even got a half moon to try out!</p>

You could even put a 10K dual ganged pot in the line from the G terminals to the A's internal amp.... Unless I'm heinously mistaken.</p>

This would leave the leslie unaffected unless you put a pot on the wire from the G terminal as well.</p>

I wouldn't do such a thing because I'm sure the neighbours must love loud organ in the middle of the night, surely!</p>

-B</p>

[eticket]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



Good luck with your Leslie hookup! </p>

One lesson I learned last night about using alligator clips, however.. they can be a little cumbersome in these tight spaces. </p>

Anyone remember that old game "Operation"? Well, this is *exactly* like the game except when I mistakenly brushed against the wrong terminal the noise was a LOT louder.
</p>

[Brendon Wright]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



I run my Zener overdrive from clips on the G's, so I know what you mean!!</p>

I dunno what running TWO clips from the terminals would be like though!! Aherm, lets not speak of that right now.</p>

</p>

And my apologies, I've just posted up a whole bunch about putting an effects loop in an A100 or C3... but on your M100 thread!!!</p>

Anyone who's following this, look here:</p>

http://organforum.com/forums/thread/96653.aspx</p>

-B</p>

[picothinker]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



[quote user="eticket"]</p>

Anyone remember that old game "Operation"? Well, this is *exactly* like the game except when I mistakenly brushed against the wrong terminal the noise was a LOT louder.
</p>

[/quote]</p>

Hi eticket, you made Diet Pepsi come out my nose with the "Operation" comment! I remember it well. I am not (yet) a Hammond guy, but for low-level temporary connections, regular old oscilliscope probes could be good for this. They are a little spring-loaded wire hook, that is in a heavily insulated assembly. It won't be a balanced connection, but might work for testing.</p>

DISCLAIMER: I have not tried this, but it could work.</p>


</p>

</p>

[eticket]

Re: A-100 internal speakers + Leslie 2101 + guitar + Rhodes



Thanks for the tip! And carbonation out the nose.. brings back other memories. </p>

BTW, for the purposes of future searchers of this thread, I switched back to the G-G outputs. For some reason the "BN" terminal was acting strange, not like a ground at all I think. Using that BN connection created a loud jump in volume whenever I switched on the vibrato on either manual (much louder than a boost in brightness that usually happens). I hadn't noticed this earlier because I was just reaching over and hitting keys while standing at the back of the organ. Not sure if this is an anomaly or what, but everything works fine now so I'm leaving well enough alone.
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