I bought it (M3 with 21h Leslie with 31h amp.) Now what?

[jomojo]

The M3 organ and 21H Leslie, (#16917 30 watt option), is my first organ. I don't want to ruin them. They seem to be of the mid fifties. No scratches or fading except for the bench top.

The Leslie amp was loose with the tubes rolling around the cabinet. Some of the tubes don't have numbers anymore. I happen to have a quartet of 6L6s. I'm gonna try to hook it up. I cleaned it up and sprayed the sockets. I wish those tubes all had numbers. The M3 plays and has an Electro Tone accessory, (a dealer option), which gives preset sounds via a bird beak rotary knob on the lower right cheek block.

I bought these from a storage facility but left the piano and pews. I'll feel luckier when I hear the Leslie work. The tec "probably" was coming two weeks ago. I solder cords and test AC capacitors but not amps.

Thanks for letting me join,
GW

[Guitarbro]

Most Tubes have the type etched in the glass but they can be hard to see.
I've never heard of a/the Electro Tone, Could you post pictures of it?

[TheAdmiral]

Welcome to the forum.

Check your amp. It should be a 32H not 31H. They use different tubes. There are schematics online that show which tubes go where.

Guitarbro: ElectroTones are presets on the right lower manual but they are a rotary knob not like the consoles. They're not factory but added later. Another was Selectone.

[jomojo]

Thanks Guitarbro and The Admiral.
I've been looking and reading so much info that I have to go and read the numbers and still I'm confused. The 30 watt amp was used also in the 31H (tall boy). The tube diagram is on the back of the cabinet, and the schematics are readable on the amp. I'll get some video when I get the Leslie cranking. Maybe even have a musician play it. I hope to use it and my Rhodes Stage in some funky stereo home recordings. I long ago fell in love with the sound of the B3 at Memphis' Hi Studio. Never thought I'd be able to hear that $ound at home. I have an acoustic piano, drums, guitars, amps, etc. I'm gonna have to get rid of the TV for space. I do love the glow of the walnut. All I knew of it in the storage room was I could read the ND of HammoND. The Leslie was discovered when I dug the M3 out of the dust and curtains.
GW

[torea]

The 32H amp was used in the last version of the 31 and also the 21H as the 30W option. Your Rhodes should sound awesome through it. I've played mine through a Leslie 25 and it sounded pretty great. For some reason never thought to try it through my 31H until right now: right after I got a Leslie amp (ironically a 21H amp :P) put into the 31.


By the way, thanks to all for that tip on the ElectroTone! When I got my first organ (M111), the guy had what looked like an M3, but that little knob just looked so out of place so I figured I didn't know what I was looking at.


Welcome to the forum jomojo. Post some pics/videos once it's all up and running :->

[jomojo]

Hello Torea. The only problem with the the Electro Tone is spinning past each tone to the chosen one during a song. Perhaps someone has a mod. The Rhodes through the Leslie has crossed my mind as well as the M3 through the stereo vibrato 100watt 4x12 solid state or heaven forbid either through both amps. Perhaps a few pipes added for fun.

I hope my organ will not need all the work I've seen and read about here by the members, but buying it let me join in.

GW

[jdoc]

Rhodes or Wurlie is awesome, ran my S08 Yamaha electro piano patches thru a 130 Leslie modded with a tweeter under the 12"
Think Led Zep.. you will know the song...and now know how they did it...

[Jazzman1]

[QUOTE=Guitarbro;246313]Most Tubes have the type etched in the glass but they can be hard to see.
I recall reading that if you put the tubes in the freezer, the cold will make the type easier to read. Couldn't hurt to try.

[jomojo]

Thanks, I've tried everything except freezing them.

When I think Zep, I think widely spaced stereo. My son plays that song on the Rhodes. We have two extra 10 inch speakers hooked to it, in order to hear a balanced stereo tremelo, (It's called vibrato on the controls). The tremelo pans the sound from one channel to the other, creating a doppler like effect.

Like some organs, the Rhodes' speakers are pointed towards the knees and the great blue yonder. The pair of 10 inch monitors really make the sound more enjoyable, especially on "NO Quarter". Think xylophone.

I've never heard two Leslies used but I bet it would be nice.

GW

[torea]

(To go further off topic) Run a Rhodes through a Wurlitzer Spectratone with the bass speaker disconnected from the solenoid. It'll give you a nice vibrato effect, but your bass will be nice and tight... well, as tight as the mud bass of the Rhodes can get :P Still nothing like that Rhodes sound (like the Hammond/Leslie sound!)

Jdoc, I learned No Quarter between the time I bought my 25 and the time I brought it home, specifically so that I could play it =D

I recall reading that if you put the tubes in the freezer, the cold will make the type easier to read. Couldn't hurt to try.

That'd be nice, I have several tubes that are very hard to read. I know them each as "that little tube that goes right there"...

[torea]

You posted as I was typing, but you're lucky to have built in vibrato! I can't wait till I have BOTH my Spectratone cabs hooked up. I'm gonna put them on either side of the Rhodes and make sure the Spectras spin the same. Should give it a very very lush sound. I'm trying to figure out how to do the panning vibrato effect between two 1/4" jacks. Anyone know how they did that?

[jomojo]

Most Tubes have the type etched in the glass but they can be hard to see.
I've never heard of a/the Electro Tone, Could you post pictures of it?

This guy's not using his (pointed up or off.) Mine covers the cheekblock and has 16 settings. (Plus some "inbetween" sounds).

His "burning Hammond" Youtube, (the one played on a black chopped organ), sure is a cool looking and sounding M3 Hammond).

Electro Tone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqGZNvCoesE

Chopped M3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aok2H..._order&list=UL

[jdoc]

(To go further off topic) Run a Rhodes through a Wurlitzer Spectratone with the bass speaker disconnected from the solenoid. It'll give you a nice vibrato effect, but your bass will be nice and tight... well, as tight as the mud bass of the Rhodes can get :P Still nothing like that Rhodes sound (like the Hammond/Leslie sound!)

Jdoc, I learned No Quarter between the time I bought my 25 and the time I brought it home, specifically so that I could play it =D

real movement air and sound beats any analog or digital effect.... nailed the song...easy to play to boot

[jomojo]

real movement air and sound beats any analog or digital effect.... nailed the song...easy to play to boot

Location, Location, Location. (first three rules of business)

[paulj0557]

Most Tubes have the type etched in the glass but they can be hard to see.
I've never heard of a/the Electro Tone, Could you post pictures of it?

Electrotone was a company out of Santa Monica California who manufactured after market add-on's for Hammond organs- Reverb, key percussion, Duet-Sixteen pre-sets for Hammond organs that didn't have pre-sets like the M3, M100 etc. The Duet-Sixteen was a very long duel switch-single shaft rotary switch ( as opposed to the single shaft the threads writer has). They used machined stainless for one big paddle switch, and machined brass for the other. These paddle switches were stacked on top of each other and each had 16 different positions with names etched into the panel that took the place of the cheek block. Incidentally Electrotone was very detail conscious and realized that many people wanted to maintain the originality of their organ. So Electrotone add-on's are 100% non-marring, no screw holes, nothing! I was lucky and bought a 1958 Hammond M3 last Fall with a duet-sixteen. It was in mint condition- $75. I got it because the seller listed the organ as, " Organ Electrotone". Well, not one week before this someone was trying to sell an electrAtone piece of crap organ. So I have a feeling people were getting the new ad mixed up. Either way, I got it. Sold it though to a guy who was able to bring me a 46' Wurlitzer series 31 and 310 tone cab for $100 that was in their location. It worked out for both of us. Last month a similar circumstance with a Hammond occurred. There was a nice looking Hammond Elegante ( 81') for just $150. I didn't see the ad until the 2nd day of the listing, but...you guessed it- it too was written wrong- they listed their telephone number wrong.I happened to email because it was late at night. I got the organ because I was the only one to email. Ironic these were both Hammond organs. The Hammond Elegante is extremely versatile. I wondered why it had just 4 tabs for the upper and 3 for the lower for Horn, String,Oboe, and Kitura, but no coupling! Most up scale brands have "Upper to Upper Coupler" consisting of 16', 4',2'. Where the Horn, String,Oboe, and Kitura are typically all 8', then applying any or all of the 16',4', 2', & "8' cancel" coupler tabs allows for all 4 voices to be accessible in all 4 footage's. After some playing around I realized how well the drawbars for the flutes actually can bring out these 4 voices if you begin with the flute drawbars at a lower level and bring them up. It just shows the power of a Hammond!

If you google Electrotone Duet-Sixteen I believe you'll find some images.