Hammond BC with no Preamp

[Nchrist]

I've been blessed with a free Hammond BC, in the church case ( so I guess it's actually a Model D). It was given to me by my church and it sat unused in storage for at least for approximately 30 years. It does not have its tube preamp, but a barely functional transistor amplifier. Can anyone tell me if I can use a Hammond BV preamp for this Hammond BC organ, as there is one immediately available on eBay?

[JoeyB3]

Not without modifications.

[Drawbar Dave]

Congratulations on your new acquisition! You could fit a V type amp but it will need a rebuild at this age. There is a recent post or two on here about that. I also got a BC last year, this one in a B style case. It also had no preamp. I decided to go for the Trek SSP1C for several reasons mainly I have used their products for years, it has no need for a 200vdc B+ supply to run it and it has built in Leslie 122 switching.

In the meantime you can tap straight off the Rheostat box (others will be able to help here) and run into a Neo Vent or amplifier.

[Drummer55]

If you are still looking, I have a few BV/CV/BC preamps... Great deal on them.!! Message me if you need!

[David Anderson]

Can anyone tell me if I can use a Hammond BV preamp for this Hammond BC organ, as there is one immediately available on eBay?

In a way, if you have to ask, then, possibly not. The Vibrato preamp is designed to drive the vibrato phase delay line, pick up the signal from the line box, and re-amplifiy it. The BC and D have none of this circuitry. Could it be modified or redesigned? Yes, but then you'd have to know how to do that. Any BV preamp is going to need to be rebuilt at this point in history.

If you install the Trek II SSP-1, it has its own power supply and an onboard 122/6H Leslie switching circuit. Or, with some looking, you might find an original 2-tube preamp. Or build one. It's a very simple circuit and could be built with any suitable pentode and triode.