Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.strumenti.tastiere
Titolo: Valutare un Hammond

Sono in procinto di acquistare (finalmente) un meraviglioso organo Hammond.
Sono indeciso se buttarmi su un L100 oppure togliermi il dente e fare la
bella spesa per portarmi via un A100.
Li ho già provati entrambi e mi hanno soddisfatto moltissimo (specialmente
il secondo).
Tuttavia vorrei sapere da qualcuno più esperto di me in materia quali sono
le cose da osservare per fare una corretta valutazione di un organo usato. A
prima vista le condizioni mi sembrano buone, ma non ho ancora capito bene
quali siano le cose a cui devo far attenzione mentre lo provo. A100 l'ho
trovato con il leslie a circa 4000 euri...L100 a circa 1500.
Sono ben accetti consigli di ogni tipo, grazie mille.
Ciao's, Matteo.

 Ciao's, Matteo.
Ciao
Mos
Allego parte di alcune FAQ inglesi...
Se vuoi scaricare l'intero file vai sul mio sito
http://utenti.lycos.it/ciarpame
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1.9 I've found a B-3 to buy - what should I look for?
Some considerations for a typical B-3 purchase (submitted by Al Goff):
   * If you happen to find a B-3, remember that it is at least 20 years old,
     with a last-model-year (1974) organ, among the hundreds of thousands
     sold throughout their 30 years of production. The average B-3 found in
     the used-organ market is around 30 years old. The average B-2, C-2 and
     other older model Hammond approaches 40-50 years old, regardless of the
     cabinet condition.
   * Be sure of what you are buying. Often a naive seller will not really be
     aware of what is he or she is selling. What's advertised as a "B-3 with
     Leslie" may end up being a BV with a Hammond tone cabinet. Check the
     data on the manufacturer's plates. Compare the features of the organ
     you are looking at with those features you know to be present (or
     absent) in that model.
   * Examine the overall cabinet as a good indication of the organ's
     treatment in life up until now. If it's in poor shape, with missing
     wooden parts, broken keys, etc., consider this in your assessment of
     the use/abuse to which the organ has been subjected.
   * Start the organ (see below). Test each drawbar on each manual. For B-3
     or other console organs use the A# and B preset (reverse color) keys,
     and their corresponding sets of nine drawbars. The far left set is for
     the Upper Manual "A#" preset, the second set is for the Upper Manual
     "B" preset, the two drawbars in the middle are for the pedals, the
     third set is for the Lower Manual "A#" preset, and the fourth set is
     for the Lower Manual "B" preset. Hold a key down on the manual and try
     each drawbar to be sure they sound, making sure it's corresponding
     preset is pressed.
     Then, pick a preset and drawbar group and pull out the first drawbar
     from the left in that group (brown) and play from the first "C" note to
     the last "C", a total of 61 notes. It is normal for the first octave of
     tones to repeat on B-3 and similar organs due to the manual wiring.
     (This is not the case in some very early models) Then, push in the
     first brown drawbar and pull out the last white drawbar and starting
     from the second "C" (notice it's the same tone as key #61, last "C" was
     with the first brown drawbar out) on the same manual, play all
     remaining notes up to F# an octave from the end where the notes will
     again begin to repeat. This repeating is called foldback and is very
     important to the classic B-3 sound.
   * Repeat this procedure with all drawbar groups and both manuals. You can
     also try every note on every drawbar to be sure they all sound. If you
     have missing tones, this may be simply a broken wire on the tonewheel
     generator, or in the harness between the manuals, or it may be a broken
     resistance wire within the manuals or other problem. Some are an easy
     fix, some are very difficult.
   * Check the percussion on the B-3 and similarly equipped organs keeping
     in mind it only functions on the upper manual with the "B" preset. It
     does not work on the lower manual, or with any other preset down. Push
     all drawbars in, press the "B" preset for the upper manual, turn the
     percussion "ON" and play a note, listening for decay. Check the decay
     and "SECOND/THIRD" harmonic rocker switches. The "NORMAL/FAST DECAY"
     should function in this manner - the FAST decay should decay in about
     one second, the NORMAL decay should decay in about four seconds. There
     is an adjustment on the preamp for setting the decay. If you have no
     percussion, be sure you are checking it correctly. It may be simply a
     dead 12AU7 tube, or it may be a bad percussion transformer or other
     problem in the organ.
   * LISTEN to the START and RUN motors when you start the organ. Be sure
     both are functioning normally when their respective switches are set to
     ON.
                       - Hammond organ starting procedure -
          Hold the START switch ON for eight seconds, then while still
          holding the START switch ON, turn the RUN switch ON and hold
          both switches ON for four more seconds. Let go of both. The
          START switch will spring to the OFF position, and the RUN
          switch should remain ON.
   * Try the pedals. Pull out one of the pedal drawbars (two in the center
     of the organ between the sets of nine manual drawbars) and play each
     pedal. Then push the first in, pull out the other and repeat the test.
   * Check the vibrato for each manual. The SWELL vibrato switch is for the
     UPPER manual, the GREAT is for the LOWER. Check all positions of the
     Black Vibrato knob - V1,V2,V3,C1,C2,C3. If the chorus or vibrato sounds
     choppy, or is dead, problems exist which require repair. A very common
     problem in older organs is choppy or "motorboating" vibrato and chorus,
     which requires vibrato scanner rebuilding. Other possibilities include
     preamp component problems, bad tubes, bad vibrato line box components,
     etc. None of these are particularly easy to fix for most owners.
   * If a Leslie is included be sure of the model and the Leslie's
     operation. Do not rely on the cabinet condition. Plug-in the cable to
     the Leslie, be sure the Leslie changes speeds, sounds good from both
     the upper horn and woofer. If the Leslie is being offered with an A-100
     or other organ with an internally powered speaker, listen to the organ
     driving just the Leslie. The presence of sound from the organ's
     internal speakers can mask certain defects in the Leslie's sound. A
     complete Leslie comes with wood back pieces (three on 122/142/147/145
     models).
   * Many organ deals go sour due to bad Leslie's, so don't be surprised if
     something is amiss. Not all organs are B-3's, and not all Leslie's are
     122's or 147's. If it turns out that one or the other is not as
     advertised, is incomplete or is otherwise deficient, reduce the offered
     price, and hold your breath. Walk away if the negotiation gets nasty,
     or if something doesn't seem right to you.
And to help you when you ask on the Mailing List about some organ you want
to buy, here's Bob Schleicher's Used Organ Rating Scale...
                           Used Organ Rating Scale
       OUTSTANDING Looks and works like new or better. Original
                   finish with no blemishes or sun fade. No apparent
                   wear anywhere. This is the one the maid polished
                   every day and the owner made you take your shoes
                   off to play after you serviced it yearly.
       EXCELLENT   Slight cabinet imperfections, but original finish.
                   Minor touch-up O.K.. Works perfectly and well
                   maintained.
       VERY GOOD   Same appearance as excellent, but may need
                   busslube, scanner & other minor repairs. May have
                   been professionally refinished.
       GOOD        Moderate cabinet defects which are repairable.
                   Normal wear for it's age. no major problems with
                   keyboards or generator.
       FAIR        This one has seen commercial service. Keyboards
                   need key combs, upstop felts & busslube. Cabinet
                   too far gone for restoration to good appearance.
                   Organ is complete and has pedals and bench.
       POOR        Major cabinet and mechanical defects. Not a
                   practical restoration project. May or may not
                   work, but is complete. This one was on the road
                   for years, or killed in a church.
       PARTS       At least some useable parts. Good for training
                   project. Probably has shot keyboards, frozen
                   generator, bad scanner and missing parts.
With the increasing popularity of Hammonds, owners think they are all 24k
gold. Fact is, it's easy to put more $$$ & time into a poor specimen than
you will ever recover.
Buyer beware !!
-----------------------------

Dunque, A100 + leslie il prezzo č buonissimo a patto che sia tutto
funzionante
Per valutare bene un hammond devi controllare oltre all'aspetto estetico (
se trovi graffi, tagli ecc il prezzo va abbassato)
il corretto funzionamento
Assicurati che :
non ci siano rumori strani di fondo
CONTROLLA TUTTI I TASTI UN DRAWBAR PER VOLTA
devono suonare tutti
Controlla la percussione, e i vari vibrati chorus
Le valvole devono essere tutte a posto
Alza il volume dello strumento, dovrebbe andare in saturazione a 3/4 del
volume,
Max 3-4 tasti possono essere disallineati e scricchiolanti se no fatti
abbassare il prezzo
Bo, sicuramente dimentico qualcosa!

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dell'articolo. E' molto ben fatto e chiaro IMHO. Ciao.