Fixing a Shoddy Hammond Romance 122124

[Guest]

I was just moving out of my apartment and the folks moving in sold me their Hammond Romance 122124 (made in Canada) for $200 at first (but I made them give me $100 back when I discovered it wasn't in perfect condition as promised). </p>

The problem is that the "rhythm" section doesn't work and there is a loud...well, it's more than a hiss, something like a wall of white-noise coming from the speaker at all times. The noise has a rhythmic element (click click click...) and the tempo of the rhythm changes as I vary the tempo slider. </p>

I decided to keep the organ thinking that I could easily disconnect the rhythm section from inside, but after opening it up and seeing how tightly packed everything is and how old the electronics are (no easily detachable ribbon cables) I'm grimacing. </p>

I see a bundle of cables that are coming from where the rhythm-box is. Do you think it's safe to just go ahead and cut them? Do you think there's any chance I could even save the rhythm box? They said it was working fine when they last tested it. </p>

After hunting around a bit, I'm coming to believe that $100 was too much even for a working 122124. Are any of you folks familiar with it? How does it compare to other organs?
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[Guest]

Re: Fixing a Shoddy Hammond Romance 122124



Ha ha!</p>

I jiggled some wires and now it's working perfectly!
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[andyg]

Re: Fixing a Shoddy Hammond Romance 122124



Hi</P>


I'm glad you got it working without too much bother. Cutting the wires wouldn't have been a good idea.The 122 series was the smallest ever model in Hammond's Romance series and is from 1980. It has an OK-ish sort of sound, no better or worse than other similar organs of that era. Certainly not a 'classic' Hammond model, but OK to start to learn to play on. Inter-board connections are their achilles heel, and all Hammonds of that era suffer, even the most expensive ones. We call it 'LSI Hammond disease', LSI referring to the Large Scale Integration circuitry they used.</P>


Did you overpay for it? I'm afraid you did, by a factor of around 5 - 10. Organs this small and this old are usually given away, or sell for just a few $. Anyway, take heart that when you buy your next organ, you'll know a little more and you'll be able to grab yourself a bargain. We're always here to help and we'll always be honest, just as I have been about the value of your Hammond.</P>


Andy</P>