Hammond AV organ

[skydawg]

Has anyone ever seen,or even owned,a model A retrofitted with the scanner vibrato,ergo an AV?A nice example is right up there on my bucket list.Thanks in advance.

[Sweet Pete]

I have a retrofitted (1950) BCV.List member enor has an AV.These were available through the dealer to update older models.
During the period of the -2 organ production(1949-54),earlier models were grandfathered through to V specs(1945-49).
Factory kits were installed well into the 60's on these early examples that kept working fine.
This field retro kit presumably included new toggle control for ch/vib,new drawbar base with vibrato selector switch,preamp and base plate.
This 1937 was refitted in 1950.

[enor]

Indeed I have an AV. No idea when it was retrofitted though! The AV is a bit special as space inside the A cabinet is very tight. Therefore the kit is installed differently in the AVs; the delay line box is mounted under the generator shelf, facing the "driver's seat" so to speak. The Vibrato/Chorus toggle is fitted directly to the line box and is therefore also hanging under the generator shelf.

[David Anderson]

I've seen an AV at Bobmann's house. The line box was mounted under the generator shelf, a position necessary due to the width of the old-style line box vs. the depth of the AV cabinet.

[NittyRanks]

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I had one that came from a computer repair shop that got it when they cleaned out a church back in August of 2010. Actually it was an ABV now that I think of it. It was old and I should have kept it. Sal didn't want it and it went to a guy in Canada for dirt cheap in 2013 I think.

[clem]

I also have an AV. The box is a slightly different color than the organ itself so I assume it's retrofitted, correct?

[enor]

My AV is in a very "non-standard" cabinet, and has been since new. Back in the day the Swedish importer also assembled the instruments on license due to customs reasons; some were built in standard US cabinets, others in one-off creations designed here in Sweden. Mine is of the latter type and it's somewhat reminiscent of the UK made "LaFleur" organs. Heaviest Hammond I've owned - the cabinet is fantasticly weighty.

[Baldwin51]

I had a model AV from 1936, I loved the thing it sounded amazing, the late Lenny dee used one for decades, he had a vibraharp built into the seat and a number of modifications. it was amazing

[Papus]

My AV is in a very "non-standard" cabinet, and has been since new. Back in the day the Swedish importer also assembled the instruments on license due to customs reasons; some were built in standard US cabinets, others in one-off creations designed here in Sweden. Mine is of the latter type and it's somewhat reminiscent of the UK made "LaFleur" organs. Heaviest Hammond I've owned - the cabinet is fantasticly weighty.

Although that cabinet may appear very dated and low-tech to modern eyes, in its day it represented the height of technological achievement and aesthetic design to be "futuristic".

[enor]

Yes, I love it, apart from one thing - its weight. This is by long and far the heaviest Hammond I have ever owned! You'd think a model A would be conservative in weight but this baby is like no other..