Build 2x61 Super Spinet From Stinky M100?

[tpappano]

Saturday I was given a M100. We brought it back to the shop and it started right up, and after a few squirts of deoxit, played after sitting probably 20 years! Downside is this is the *nastiest* Hammond I've seen so far. Years of inhabitation by small mammals turned the TG into a oozing, stinky crime scene that I'm not comfortable even touching, and lots of insulation has been chewed from the wire harness 8( A recent post and some older posts put forth the idea of putting 61 key manuals into a spinet case. I happen to have a working orphaned H100 generator and an E100 I could steal the manuals from. I feel bit a squeamish about stealing parts from a perfectly working E100, but I haven't played it in months. I have several older consoles (BC,D,CV,C2,A100,RT3,D152), all of which I like much better. The H100 generator will fit into the M100 case with 1/4" to spare, and the E100 manuals look like they can be simply trimmed to fit. The M100 is also equipped with some quite beefy aftermarket drivers which look like they want to scream. The AO29 I can at least clean up at a self-serve car wash, and perhaps go hybrid or all solid-state with powerful class-D amps. This seems like it could be a fun project 8) The first question I have, are the positions of the tones on the H100 tg terminal strip ordered similarly to the E100. If they are I could possibly use the existing harness. I have not been able to find a diagram for the H100 tg.

pictures shortly ...

[tpappano]

[Papus]

Personally I wouldn't sacrifice a salvageable M100 even if the goal is to make an arguably superior and sought-after 61 key spinet.
These organs become more scarce with every passing year.
I'd be on the lookout for a trashed M100 as a donor, a specimen truly beyond repair.
At this stage in Hammond history I believe we should be conserving and restoring as much as possible.
It's bad enough with all the hipsters trashing perfectly good spinets and consoles just to get their hands on the scanners to convert into guitar effects.
Of course my perspective is from Australia where ANY tonewheel Hammond is a rare and highly prized commodity - even the humble T Series.

[Jaim]

I have a M100 TWG you can have - caveat - its in MN.
Jim

[tpappano]

I definitely understand, I'm somewhat on the horns of a dilemma as I consider this. I've followed the various posts from Australia and I get the frustration of these instruments being so hard to find. Where I am, they're all over the place! I've rebuilt and rehomed two M3s and a M100, and at the moment (spinet-wise) I have three M3s, a M2 and a T312 in the shop, plus ‘Stinky'. Jaim, hang on to your TG for someone closer, all this stuff eventually finds its purpose 8). My primary goal is restoring these to new performance and getting them into the hands of people who appreciate them.

[Papus]

I certainly commend anyone who makes a habit of saving and rehoming these old beauties!
A dual-61 key spinet-sized organ with full console features (except the width!) is the holy grail for many - I hope you succeed!
It would be very interesting to see what the absolute bare minimum sized casing is necessary to house such a beast.
I bet there is a small but dedicated niche market for such a giggable instrument... post-lockdowns, of course

[Papus]

There was a Hammond tech here in South Australia named Dave Grimmer, may he rest in peace - he was working on a rack-mounted TWG with some sort of multicore umbilical cord to a real pair of Hammond manuals, or a MIDI-triggering system - sort of a modern split-system design to allow a console organ to be broken down into modular components for ease of transport.
I think he passed away before completing the project.

[tpappano]

Thanks, this could be interesting 8) I'm kind of in the brain-storming stage, I'm liking the idea of having two sets of drawbars like a normal console and maybe doing all of the signal switching and presets with modern electronics. Maybe a low profile row of buttons like a "church" organ to control everything. Could be pretty cool ...

[tpappano]

I guess this is going to happen, the H100 generator drops right into the M100 with room to spare!

[Sweet Pete]

Manual to generator loom might work with reverse 'right to left' install? Wires won't make it out to the terminal strip?
Scanners will be omitted and an E100 pie scanner (like an M100/M3/B3) will be installed? Mine is.
The R100 genny is a little shorter,doesn't have the extra long 'rails'.Both R100/H100 have all the way down bass.Tone is more BC/D type.
No overtones,unlike a B3.
R124 manuals fit with some 'sawzall' adjustments,re-attach small treble end cheek blocks after a 'carve' on the bass end!
Will look factory when complete.Using R100 25 note pedalboard with midi.Moving the M100 tab panel 'in' the length of the R drawbars!
Shortening the H100 drawbar base to use.Lid will be a lot narrower,will still fit another slim(Nord!) keyboard on top! Just over 240 pounds.

[tpappano]

I'll be using E100 manuals, but not sure which draw bars to use. I want a double set like on a normal console so I need to come up with some sort of matched set. The original E100 manual harness might work if the H100 generator has similarly ordered terminals. For presets I might use lighted push buttons arranged like the ‘typewriter keys' of the Concert E. A microprocessor will manage all the signal switching and preset programming (no screws!) 8)

[Drawbar Dave]

Take photos as you progress Tom!

[tpappano]

Hi Dave, I will do that! This may be a slow project because of all the “other stuff” I'm “supposed” to be doing, but it's happening 8)