Piano World Home Page Forums Other Keyboard Instruments Organs - Electronic (B3 etc.), Pipe, Theatre, & Reed Hammond L101?

Just bought a Hammond L101 and I'm finding very little information about this little console. As in--what's the difference between the L100, the L101, and similar models.

I've seen several sites that talk about Hammonds a bit, but surprisingly, I haven't found what I expected--a forum with a lot of people sharing information. Anyone know of good resources?

Good question. Hope we get some good answers.

I had an L100 and learned to play on it. A great instrument. Certainly not a tone wheel but still a Hammond with a great sound. I believe Keith Emerson and John Paul Jones both used L100 models

The L101 has a tone-wheel. I thought all of the L100 series used a tone-wheel.

All of the L series organs were tone wheel organs. The difference between an L100 and L101, or an L103, etc are only cabinet styles.

There are differences between the L's and the older tonewheel models...

The L series has a self-starting motor, so no more start and run switches. Not a bad feature but the self starting motors had their own issues.
The Vibrato system was different in the L series. Some preferred the old vibrato system.
Same goes for the percussion - many preferred the old style percussion.
The L series used transistors in many circuits - compared to strictly tubes in the older series.
You could think of the L100 as a newer version of the M100.

There are those that turn up their noses at the later tonewheel organs - such as the L. They feel they don't have the same sound. Maybe.. But I think it depends on the person playing it. After all, you have a multitude of settings and I think the artist is the master of the instrument, not the other way around. Once you know your way around the organ I think you'll be amazed at what you can get it to do.

Additionally, here are some links to give you extra info on your L...


Mods to give it more of a B3 sound

Download an L100 service manual here

Many thanks. These hardware changes scare me a bit, however. Just bought the L101, so it will take me some time to gather the courage to do anything to the hardware.

I also found this page, which has videos that cover some stop settings, identify parts, and speak of repairs. One video includes the stop settings for getting a sound close to that of the B3:

http://hammondl122.blogspot.com/

At the bottom of that page, there are additional links to other specific topics.

wow, all this time I thought "spinet" and "tone wheel" were mutually exclusive. That is why I read forums.

I do think the L100 has a different sound than the B3. Not worse or better but different. I never owned a B3 and never did a side-by-side and also never played an L100 through a Leslie so it is hard to quantify my perception but still it is a fine instrument and certainly worthy of the Hammond name.

Congrats to the OP on getting a great instrument at what I expect was a good price.

Paul

I ran across it a salvage store for $100 while bringing home a set of stage monitors, which were themselves an unexpected find. In a sense, I could say that I've had a run of good luck. But I'm also a little overwhelmed. Suddenly I have a new instrument that I expect to take a long time to learn. I play some piano, but a Hammond is an entirely new beast to me.

The L and the M series had presets as well as the drawbars, IIRC. The M was a takeoff from the old M3 and M2? One Christmas, my parents suprised me with a M100 which we could use for Christmas. Back in those days, you could have the organ for a trial run for a week or so. We had so much fun with it as some musical friends came over and there was much playing the organ and the Baldwin piano together. Thanks for reminding me of that time. BTW, parents didn't buy the organ which was a good thing. I later got a A100 when I married my wife. Then traded that in on the Mason "A".

By presets, do you mean the flip switches along the top of the controls that let you choose an instrument sound? Do these switches just set the stops to specific positions that could be achieved with the stops?

Hi
"By presets, do you mean the flip switches along the top of the controls that let you choose an instrument sound? Do these switches just set the stops to specific positions that could be achieved with the stops"

Yes they are drawbar settings that are "preset" so you can make quick setting changes.
The L100 and M100 series were introduced in 1959. The M100 was the new version of the M-3. They added a top "C" pedal--reverb--presets--vibrato on or off for each manual--more control over the pedal settings via tabs (not the swell slider switch)--start/run switches on the front, not under the lower keyboard--overhang keys, not waterfall--MUCH better sound and many other changes I have forgotten.

The L100 was marketed as a little brother of the M-100. It was a new unit rather than an upgrade in an older series.

The L100 used an electronic vibrato rather than the old scanner system--1 off/on switch--not as good sound as the M100--less vibrato control--less pedal control--they trimmed where possible to make the lowest cost drawbar organ ever, and it was a great unit in 1959.

When new, the MSRP for the L100 was an unheard of $995.00 PLUS MATCHING BENCH at $35.00

The M100 was $1495.00 PLUS BENCH at $35.00

The different finishes and cabinet styles were slightly higher. Hammond used strong arm tactics to keep the prices at MSRP, about the only thing a dealer could do to give a better deal was throw in the bench or a music lamp.

Both organs sold well for many years and small changes were made along the way. Properly maintained, they will give MANY more years of service. If connected to a good Leslie speaker, both units sound GREAT.

Sorry for the long post, Good luck with your new L100

Thanks for all of the information. I'm beginning to thing that I know what I have. Hate to ask, but do you know a good source for drawbar settings? I know the obvious answer is "just experiment," which is what I've been doing. On the other hand, if other people have already gone down this path, I'd like to know what they found.

Jake,

Check your email. I just sent you everything you will ever want to know about Hammond drawbars.

Thanks, Ken. Looks as though I'm going to need some time to explore the L101. A little staggering, really.

And I just found a pdf of the service manual for the L100 series at http://rapidshare.com/files/247046386/analoghell.com_HammondL100SeriesServiceManual.pdf