Line in to E300 preamp or power amp

[Cartoonist]

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been covered previously:

I have an E300 series Hammond and 3 separate synthesisers (all with mono line out). I wish to have these all connected together, so that all keyboards are playing through the Hammond amp and speakers.

I will be using a 4 track mixer which will give a line out signal. Would it work if I plugged the Hammond preamp in signal into the mixer (along with the other synths) and then put the mixer output back into the input side of the preamp? Or should I bypass the preamp and plug into the input to the power amp?

The line signal from the mixer I think would be 300 ohm, max +20dB.

Appreciate your advice!!

C

[Wes]

That might work. I'm pretty sure it would work with an L100, and I think the E300 levels are compatible.

BTW, a better mixer will have more headroom and hence a better chance of working. I think the better Mackie stuff will go to 26dBu.

FYI - do not expect great fidelity from the Hammond equipment!!!

Wes

[Twiggybush]

Assuming E300 is the same as what I know about E100, there is a line in rca jack on the AO63. It is the brush/cymbal input. Furthest to the right, amplifier rear. On the back side of that rca jack, inside chassis, there is a small capacitor to bleed off the bass from the brush cymbal. Remove that cap and you will have a robust line input. Just loosen the amplifier mounting bolts and tilt the amp backwards to get inside. You can test as is but the bass will be weak. I found myself using the E100 for re-amping instrument recordings. The reverb is killer. Bass guitar sounds superb out the 15" speaker. Drum machine through the reverb. Oh My!

[Cartoonist]

Thanks guys - great advice!
I'll let you know how I go, hopefully in a few days.

And Twiggy I'll definitely try putting my Ricky through the 15"!

[Cartoonist]

This worked out really well.

I ended up disconnecting the preamp lead from the power amp, and put this plus the 3 synthesisers into my mixer. The out went back into the RCA plug where the preamp was connected to the power amp.

The result is that I can mix all 4 instruments to the correct level and play them through the Hammond power amp, including reverb (which sounds incredible on the Moogs).

[Cartoonist]

Hi again,

It has become apparent that the 15" speaker is not operating under this scenario.

Does the keyboard normally go through the 15", or is this restricted to the pedals only? If the latter then I will go through the other input and clip the capacitor, otherwise I'll need to check the wiring is sound for the speaker.

Thanks
C

[Twiggybush]

Line in will not affect speaker operation. The 15" should be working at all times. Check connectors,wires and crossover. Take ohm reading on speaker to verify coil.
When you run your Hammond through a mixer you lose the tube purity and add an unneeded noise stage.

[Cartoonist]

Thanks - yeah the mixer isn't an ideal situation but it is high end and transparent / very low noise so it's an acceptable outcome.

The organ function sounds completely fine, it is the synthesiser that isn't getting the big bottom end that it gets out of my bass amp, and the bottom frequencies are missing altogether - but this is probably normal. On further listening I think the speaker is actually working fine, and on balance it is a very nice result that I am getting! The reverb is fantastic.

[Guest]

Hi.......as per my knowledge there is a line in rca jack on the AO63. It is the brush/cymbal input. Furthest to the right, amplifier rear. On the back side of that rca jack, inside chassis, there is a small capacitor to bleed off the bass from the brush cymbal. Remove that cap and you will have a robust line input. Just loosen the amplifier mounting bolts and tilt the amp backwards to get inside. You can test as is but the bass will be weak. I found myself using the E100 for re-amping instrument recordings. The reverb is killer. Bass guitar sounds superb out the 15" speaker. Drum machine through the reverb.