Hammond 146K2 - Expression Pedal Spring Missing?

[Otofonik]

Hi guys, first post! I've just been given a Hammond 146K2 - loving everything about it, but one thing confuses me. The expression pedal rests in the forward 'maximum volume' position, and the action of the pedal is very loose and difficult to control. I guessed there may be a spring missing that would ordinarily offer resistance, or some bolt I could tighten to allow the pedal to 'park' at a more reasonable volume (this organ gets unbelievably loud!). I carefully took out the pedal assembly but I can't see anywhere that a spring might go or anything else that looks broken or adjustable. Can anyone give me some advice on this? Thanks!

[myorgan]

Welcome to the Forum, Otofonik! Have you tried placing the pedal in the down, "minimum volume" position and attempting to leave it there? My Lowrey ends up in the full-volume position because when the dog walks past, he moves the pedal to full-volume. However, I can leave it in the minimum volume position and it will stay until the dog walks past.

Try it-you might like it.;-)

Michael

P.S. I could be wrong about the Hammond, but my Lowrey doesn't have springs to keep it in one position or another-just friction.

[Otofonik]

Thanks Michael! I have tried that - the pedal immediately falls forward to the maximum position. I can keep it in the minimum position by placing a weight on it, but this volume is too quiet for recording becuase the signal-to-noise ratio is too noisy.

[andyg]

No spring, but if the pedal is loose in that when you haven't got your foot on it, it falls flat to max volume, then there will be a bolt or nut to tighten up at one end of the pivot point. The bolt will in fact probably be the pivot, running from one side of the pedal to the other. (There could alternatively be a nut and bolt on either side.) It was tightened up when first assembled so there should be no reason why it can't be re-tightened now.

In normal playing this is not an issue, of course, as your right foot needs to be on that pedal all the time to control the dynamics while you're playing - hence the name 'expression pedal'. You should never really just 'park' it and take your foot off - unless you want to play with both feet on the 13 bass pedals, I do that very rarely on a spinet model. But nevertheless it should stay where you leave it, so there is some adjustment to be done

[Otofonik]

Thanks Andy, there is indeed a bolt at one end of the pivot point but it's as tight as it's ever going to go. In my case, the reason I want to 'park' the pedal is so I can create drones for my experimental electronic music; I'm not intending to play it in the traditional manner. Even if I was however, this pedal is far too loose to be expressive; the slightest touch causes drastic volume changes, making it impossible to achieve a gentle swell.

[kkeys]

Sounds like the same issue I've had with my organ.

If the pedal assembly is like my organ I'd imagine that the the loose pedal is caused by worn slots in both sides of the expression pedal. The pedal pivot is a IIRC a cylinder with a ridge of on either side of the both ends. The slots on the the pedal align with the ridges on the cylinder. If the slots are worn then the pedal will not lock to the ridges.

To verify, remove both screws on the pedal, lift out the pedal, and check the slots above and below the screw hole. If there are signs on wear on the slots there is a work around to the situation over replacing the pedal. Replace both screws with a 10-32 X 1/2 inch screw/bolt. Before installing the screws place lock washers (I used two per side as I recall) on the screws and then tighten the screws to effectively lock the pedal to the cylinder. The screw sizes could be different than on my organ.

[Otofonik]

Thanks, but I think we have different styles of expression pedal implementation on our organs - mine doesn't have any slots or ridges.