Hammond T-582c wobbly? sound

[Raleigh Knights]

Hey there, I've recently purchased this t582, I now know it's a very undesirable one as far Hammond's go, but I've never owned an organ so it's still a lot of fun! There are several issues that I've noticed, but the first one I'd like to try to address is the fore mentioned “wobbly” sound. After it's been on for a short while, first 30 minutes then just now after only 15, the pitch starts sliding out in waves, and the instrument starts making a rhythmic whirring sound, kind of like a dryer; also in waves that seems to line up with the pitch slipping out of tune. It stays in tune up until that point. I don't know if this is enough information, but anything would be helpful, thank you!

[Drawbar Dave]

This happened to me on an L100 many years ago. It was fixed by replacing the motor capacitor (the big one next to the motor) and stripping down and cleaning the motor which had been over oiled in the past.

[Raleigh Knights]

Thank you so much, I think i found the right part on the tonewheel general site, I'll see if I can switch things out without breaking anything!

[handyczech]

A "T" of any flavor does not deserve an apologetic tag of undesireable. The T-500 closed out the series. Many here mod these to great results, but they were the deluxe spinet of the day, and a tonewheel generator at that. Replacing the run capacitor will solve the symptoms you are describing inexpensively and easily. Don't run the organ until Jesica ships you the unit. Old ones open up and leak nasty PCB chemicals. Make sure you have oil for the generator, also from TWG. If you need to know more about that aspect, just ask.

Larry K

[Raleigh Knights]

Well that makes me feel a lot better about this model, I didn't know anything about Hammonds until I got this one, and everything I've read says people don't like it because it doesn't have the traditional “Hammond sound”, but again that's something I'm not very familiar with, and I love with the sound I get from mine. And also very good to know about the dangers of running it; I've been playing it quite a bit. It does has a container of Hammond Organ Oil stuck on the inside, and I believe I know where to oil it from reading through these forums and a page on Bentons electronics. I'll definitely be asking more on here though; you guys are life savers. Thanks man!

[Drawbar Dave]

Be aware that it's hard to stop collecting after one Hammond. I started off with a T202 and L100. Two months later I added an RT-3 and it didn't stop there either. Then there's the Leslies...........

[tpappano]

I'm starting to think I should just open a store 8)

[Drawbar Dave]

Yeah I nearly name checked you in my post LOL

[Raleigh Knights]

Yeah for sure, I've always loved playing piano and keyboards, but now that I have one organ I'm already looking for more lol

[handyczech]

There are varying layers of Hammond "snobs". Like wine, or Steinway pianos. Some are fervent lovers only of the B-3, sometimes fixating on a particular year of manufacture. The Hammond sound that most embrace mostly begins with the tonewheel generator, coupled with some sort of leslie speaker. After that, opinions range through the modifications that Hammond made to eliminate perceived faults, or to appeal to a changing market through the '70s through the demise in 1985. Most all of "us", whatever that means, dislike the move away from the tonewheel system, which ended in 1975 for financial production reasons.

Larry K

[Raleigh Knights]

Yeah after reading about Hammonds for a while I realized I was lucky to get a model that at least still used tonewheels

[andyg]

Nothing wrong with the T series at all. I've had a few and have enjoyed making music with them, at home and professionally. The B-3 purists don't like them and some people spend a lot of time modifying them so that they sound more like, say, an M100. But the T series has a distinctive sound all of its own in the Hammond line-up and doesn't need to be changed IMHO. The only mods I do are to change the percussion so it doesn't retrigger, and to change the Guitar voice to 3rd harmonic percussion. (You can then get the Guitar back by combining Celesta, 3rd harmonic and Marimba.) And I hang a leslie on the end.

[Raleigh Knights]

Yeah honestly I was starting to like it the more I played it. Now I'm pretty sure I'll be getting more so I'll keep this one mostly the same, but that automatic percussion does seem to come on at random times so that's something I'll look into

[Two Finger Tony]

582c....is that one with the cassette recorder at the right side of the lower manual ?

[Raleigh Knights]

Yeah it's got the cassette recorder, I think I'll use when recording

[handyczech]

"c" is for cassette.