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"Organs"


Jazz Kat

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Find a used Hammond XB-2...they're fairly inexpensive these days. Or look for an A100 in the paper, sometimes you can get them for 500 to 1000 if you're lucky.

Larry Goldings has never even owned a real organ as of the time I talked to him 5 years ago, he just learned on a synth...

Personally though, stick with guitar...they're lighter. ;)

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I highly recommend the M-3, too. I used them for years before I finally got my B's. With a 145 or 147 Leslie, the difference in sound from a B-3 with a 122 is negligible. That one you found on ebay is great if it is all there and works; good luck with it.

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  • 5 months later...

I need a question answered again..

So.... I'll be holding down a job soon. I came to the conclusion my organ ain't working for me. So, you can get a good B3 type sound, from an M3? No matter what job, I don't think I'll acquire 6,000 bucks for an organ now. I might go with an M3, if it's worth it. Is it? I need that Jimmy Smith, Larry Young sound!

thanks

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Yes, the M3 is the way to go. I owned 3 or 4 of them before I finally got my B's. It is the spinet version of the B, real tone wheel generation and draw bars, the sound is identical, you usually couple them with a 145 or 147 Leslie.

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I need a question answered again..

So.... I'll be holding down a job soon. I came to the conclusion my organ ain't working for me. So, you can get a good B3 type sound, from an M3? No matter what job, I don't think I'll acquire 6,000 bucks for an organ now. I might go with an M3, if it's worth it. Is it? I need that Jimmy Smith, Larry Young sound!

thanks

JK,

Save up for a Hammond-Suzuki XK-1. Click here for more information. They are brand new, just got a raving review in Keyboard magazine. In summary, it has the same sound generation engine as the XK-3 (which I am now using as part of the XK System and I have retired my B3... I do not miss my B3 at all playing this new digital organ) but less of the bells and whistles. It is light (under 40lbs) so you can gig with it, the onboard Leslie simulator sounds great so all you need is a powered speaker or an amp/speaker combo of some kind, and it sounds like a B3. I think they retail for about $1500. That seems like a lot, but the instrument will serve you well and unlike an M3 (which is a great organ), the XK-1 is lighter, more reliable, and has full bass.

Again, I have retired my 1958 Hammond B3 that I gigged with for 10 years, and I'm now using the XK System (based around the XK-3 keyboard... the XK-1 that I'm recommending to you has the exact same sound engine). It weighs 300lbs less than a B3, but you cannot tell the difference. I have it going through a real Leslie (a 1960s 122) but the onboard Leslie simulator on the XK-1 is supposed to be very good. Go to your local Banjo Mart (Guitar Center) and see if you can play one.

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Hey Jim, glad to hear you're really digging the new system. How is the Chorus/Vibrato section? I so hate the one on my old XK-2 that I never use it. Although I miss not having it. That was one thing I thought Hammond never got right on the replicas.

Edited by Soul Stream
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I need a question answered again..

So.... I'll be holding down a job soon. I came to the conclusion my organ ain't working for me. So, you can get a good B3 type sound, from an M3? No matter what job, I don't think I'll acquire 6,000 bucks for an organ now. I might go with an M3, if it's worth it. Is it? I need that Jimmy Smith, Larry Young sound!

thanks

JK,

Save up for a Hammond-Suzuki XK-1. Click here for more information. They are brand new, just got a raving review in Keyboard magazine. In summary, it has the same sound generation engine as the XK-3 (which I am now using as part of the XK System and I have retired my B3... I do not miss my B3 at all playing this new digital organ) but less of the bells and whistles. It is light (under 40lbs) so you can gig with it, the onboard Leslie simulator sounds great so all you need is a powered speaker or an amp/speaker combo of some kind, and it sounds like a B3. I think they retail for about $1500. That seems like a lot, but the instrument will serve you well and unlike an M3 (which is a great organ), the XK-1 is lighter, more reliable, and has full bass.

Again, I have retired my 1958 Hammond B3 that I gigged with for 10 years, and I'm now using the XK System (based around the XK-3 keyboard... the XK-1 that I'm recommending to you has the exact same sound engine). It weighs 300lbs less than a B3, but you cannot tell the difference. I have it going through a real Leslie (a 1960s 122) but the onboard Leslie simulator on the XK-1 is supposed to be very good. Go to your local Banjo Mart (Guitar Center) and see if you can play one.

Hey Jim.... Thinking of selling your real B3? :g I don't know, but it must be something. I want a full B3 organ to play with at home and to take to some gigs. I mean, if I can't bring a B3, I could always just bring my keyboard, which I am satisfied with the organ sound on it. I can't really make any decisions before I actually play the XK-3. Does it have a stand, or is it just a keyboard. I can only find pictures of it, where it shows it from the face down.

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Hey Jim, glad to hear you're really digging the new system. How is the Chorus/Vibrato section? I so hate the one on my old XK-2 that I never use it. Although I miss not having it. That was one thing I thought Hammond never got right on the replicas.

They nailed the chorus/vibrato. In fact, not only did they nail it, but it is tweakable to match your personal taste. Under headphones, when I first got the XK-3, I thought it sounded great. But when I paired it with my 122, something was off. It just sounded... wrong. So I went into the menu system and changed the rate of the chorus (there are four options, each only a few 10ths of a Hz off from each other, but they make a big difference) and voila! It sounds like my B3 chorus now, which is what I'm used to.

The other thing they finally did is make it so when you engage the chorus, the high-end of the organ gets brighter. No other clone I've heard does that. But my B3 certainly does!

I will hopefully post some tunes soon of me playing the new rig. I think you'll be impressed.

Hey Jim.... Thinking of selling your real B3? :g I don't know, but it must be something. I want a full B3 organ to play with at home and to take to some gigs. I mean, if I can't bring a B3, I could always just bring my keyboard, which I am satisfied with the organ sound on it. I can't really make any decisions before I actually play the XK-3. Does it have a stand, or is it just a keyboard. I can only find pictures of it, where it shows it from the face down.

I'm telling you this from a man who hauled around a real B3 and Leslie for 10 years and I have the herniated disc in my back to prove it: Buy an XK-1 or XK-3. If you can find a console Hammond (like a C2, CV, BCV, B2, A100, etc.) cheap, then by all means buy it and practice pedals and such on it. But leave it at home. For gigging, use an XK-1 or XK-3. The XK-3 is the "brains" of the XK System, which can be pieced together as your income allows. There is also the XK Pro System, which is a bit cheaper. If you think you want to go that route, then it would probably be better to get the XK-3 now instead of the XK-1.

But I'm telling you honestly... save your back. Get an XK-1 or XK-3 and a real Leslie (122 or 147).

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blah blah blah you guys scoff at the L series i know but i have one and so did booker t and so did tony kaye and even brother jack had one in his basement, which he told me before he died. another good hammond that is criticized is this one solid state model. it has built in leslie and sounds almost as good as shirley scott, who i think is the best organ player besides of course big john. my L is autographed on the particle board by Dr. Lonnie and the McGriffinator and joey D, which is a rare autograph for chewy-chew-chew, because i have a thing about fat jazz musicans. hey i know, joel fram, joeyd, and bobby shew should make a cd called "the fat jolly jazz trio"

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I've never scoffed at the L-series. I've worked on one and it was a lot like an M-100, which is a spinet model with a dinky one-octave bass pedal set. If you're not concerned about learning the pedals, than a spinet model like the M3, M100, L100, etc. will probably be fine (although they are pretty hard to play left hand bass on as well, considering the keyboard doesn't go down very far). However, if you want to do the "hump", then you need an organ with full-sized pedals.

Concerning McDuff having an L series in his basement, I have a Hammond CV in my basement and two M3s and funky Gulbransen organ in my garage. Doesn't mean I play them.

The H-100 series can be found cheap sometimes and they have all the features of a B3/C3 etc. but no square-front keys. However, they do have a full 25-note pedal board and internal speakers. Good to practice on.

Again, if I were you and I was looking for something to gig with / practice on I would buy a new Hammond XK-1 or XK-3. Leave the old tonewheel consoles at home.

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Plus, not to mention the "repair factor" of old organs. Jim is a very knowledgeable organist who can and does do a lot of his own organ repair. On the other hand, someone like myself who can basically change out tubes and hope for the best...well, you can rack up some hefty $400 organ repair costs fairly easily.

So, it's another consideration. Old organs will break down. On the other hand an XK1 or XK3 is going to be repair-free.

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Jim:

The XK pro-system.. You just piece it together as you get more things? (the upper board, the lower board, stand, bench...) Or does it all come together. Where does the sound come from? Do you hook it up to an amp or speaker? Finally, how much will the upper and lower keyboard set me back? How do they attach?

You said the other new organ clone was $1500. Does that mean if I want to get the upper and lower keyboard, I'll have to pay double that?

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JK - one thing (others may back me up here?) - as far as possible, do not skimp on equipment.

I'm a professional piano player, and where possible, have always stipulated for a piano...anyway, that's all well and good, but not enough gigs to pay bills etc...So being reluctant, a while ago I bought a not-very-good electric keyboard, to do 'that kind of gig'...Of course, a couple of years down the line, I regretted it, and forked out more for a better model. My playing - in terms of technical demands on a keyboard - hasn't changed in those couple of years, so the earlier purchase was just a waste - me not facing facts and thinking it could be done on the cheap...Bottom line, music's an expensive business, equipment-wise (well, at least we're not - say - cabbies or pilots). It's as well, if you know you're serious and can cobble the money together in any way, to get something GOOD FIRST TIME AROUND. Because trust me, it will piss you off in a couple of years if you don't! (Of course, there's the line between this and (usually amateur) players who get equipment which is far far beyond their needs or capabilities) :) .

$1500 really isn't that much at all for a good instrument.

Edited by Red
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No. It's not. But will that be the cost to have both the upper and lower keyboards? I been searching for jobs today. And I plan to keep looking. I plan to save every penny I make, and it shouldn't take that long to save up 1500 dollars.

Got to say I don't know...mind you, at the risk of being annoying (predictable?!?), $3000 isn't that much for a musical instrument, really (look at how much a piano would cost you, or a double bass, or a nice horn, etc.)... :cool:

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