Here’s a short run-down of the keyboards I own. I’ll be expanding this with photos at some point… shoot, might be time to organize all this into a table, too.
Hammonds:
1935 Model A, serial #892 (with added vibrato, making it an AV). Acquired 11/14/16 with 2-speed modded Leslie 22H from the estate of Mike Parker, a longtime NW area tech and keyboardist for Mr. Lucky and The Gamblers after he passed in 2012.
1937 BC-V, serial #4119. Might have been made late 1936. Chorus generator has been removed, smooth drawbars were added (before I got it). Acquired 9/12/17
Model G #4233, originally manufactured for the US government during WWII. Probably made between 1942 and 1943. I haven’t looked for date codes on motors or other components yet. This organ was first used at Camp Adair, North of Corvallis, OR (where Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was stationed – did he play this organ?). Has the chorus generator, but it’s seized right now. Also has the wooden handles that were mounted in the case and no quatrefoils, which distinguish the G from the Model D. No original bench. Acquired 3/29/18.
CV #25682, probably 1948. Has the Trek II percussion add-on (for sale, if you or someone you know is interested). Acquired 11/17/16 with Leslie 122RV
C3 #60942 (circa 1956). Acquired 1/31/17
B3 (made of A100 #17580 inside B2 #42699’s case) – Acquired sometime late… 2000?
A102 serial #10372 (needs work on the upper manual). Acquired 2/22/17
A100 serial #17016 (almost working 100%!). Acquired from Rapid Transfer & Storage Co. during their liquidation on 1/10/18. It was on a shipping palette covered in thick dark dust and grime. They weren’t sure how it got there.
B3 chop – well, a 3-series chop in a B style upper case. It didn’t come with any manufacturing plates, but my guess is that the innards are from a ’64-ish A100, given the A100 bench and the troublesome foam in the upper manual only. Purchased in Portland from a guy who got it off eBay from Alan Dickson of Colorado Springs, CO. Alan mostly flips organs, it’s not clear if he did the initial “chopping” or not. Acquired 9/28/17
Recently got an A100 and RT3 that will need some investigation.
M3 spinet #92310. Needs just a little more work. Acquired 11/25/17.
M3 spinet #56977, acquired 3/5/18
…I think I sold one of those M3s and got another one. Hmm.
M2 spinet #35193. Acquired 5/2/17
Chopped M2, no serial. Acquired 3/29/18.
Model M spinet #3580. Acquired 7/6/17
M103 #8625 – needs work. Acquired 11/4/17.
M102 #32709 – my first Hammond! Acquired in the late 90s from Evan Shlaes’ store, Really Good Stuff back when it was on SE Division.
L111 #65433. Needs a little work. Acquired 1/20/18
honorable mentions: Sounder III, a solid-state one they made in the 70s, and an Elegante – in the 80s “LSI” era, this was a top-of-the-line Hammond. No tubes or tone wheels, but it has drawbars and a lot of bells and whistles like the (now considered lo-fi) Auto-Vari drum machine.
Former:
CV #17547, circa 1946. Has the older square keys and is in a retrofitted D cabinet. Sold to a student with 21H #15499. I got it from Alex Milsted, who got it from Brian Harris, who got it from Mark Weisgram, who “found it … in a barn in Salem or someplace”
A100 serial #37228. Sold to Pat McDougall, keyboardist of The Rae Gordon Band with Leslie 122 serial #H58869.
Leslie 122RV, SN xxx – traded to Matt Miles and subsequently sold to someone in Anacortes.
Other organs:
Conn Artist 720 #704408, late 60s tube/analog pipe organ type electric organ with two 61-note manuals and 32-note pedalboard. Needs a little love but it’s mostly working.
Conn 650 #656952, Deluxe Theatre Organ with three 61-key manuals and 32-note pedalboard. Also needs a little love, but it’s mostly there. This organ was tricked out by a guy who added foot pistons and made a homemade “toy counter” cabinet with sound effects (bird call, car horn, thunder, etc). Also has a set of external chimes (well, more of a glockenspiel) and two Leslies (a 110 and 112).
Farfisa 3010 “chop” – someone took a sawzall to this 1968 spinet, but I figured it was worth a few bucks. Two broken keys on the lower manual, no swell pedal… could be fun to work on, but at this point I may save up for one of the “classic” Farfisas.
Vox Super Continental – according to the tag on the bottom of it, the specific model is a V. 401 E/2. SN 00491. Great condition, has the stand and case for said stand, lid, volume pedal… only accessory I’d like to get is the little spinet-type pedal unit. However, it’s finicky – I’ve been spoiled by Hammond build quality. Every time I turn it on it feels like another small thing has stopped working; it was made with components that were cheap to begin with and are now 50 years old. If its track record doesn’t improve soon I’ll probably sell it to another sucke– enthusiast.
Projects:
Conn 703 “Artist” – got it for the Leslie 50C attached to it, and can’t bring myself to part it out. Probably needs new filter capacitors in the amp, all it does right now is a nice ‘n loud 60-cycle hum.
Sovereign by Saville – analog organ meant to sound like a pipe organ, and I’ve heard it will do a pretty good job of that once it’s running again. It sent its audio to over 12 different channels, which should be interesting to mix.
Wurlitzer 4602 ES – electro-static reed organ. Another one I got for the Leslie (46W) attached to it, but it has a cool sound of its own. This is “the cat piss organ” because the guy I got it from was not cleaning up after his pets… letting it air out in storage for a while.
Wurlitzer Series 21 Orgatron – an even earlier (late 40s) electrostatic reed offering from Wurlitzer. This one came with a sort of proto-Leslie tone cabinet. Instead of constantly running reeds like on the 4602, this one has the air keyed to the reeds, like a standard reed organ, and those are then amplified. Massively heavy – about 800 lbs. I will be hiring professionals to get it home once I’ve cleared space.
Former:
Kimball Swinger 80. $15 at goodwill, stopped turning on one day and wasn’t worth holding onto… RIP, buddy
Leslie cabinets: 21H with 32h amp, 21H with stock 20W amp, an early, early 122 (possibly within the first 200 made if serial numbers online are to be believed), a 22H (modified to 2-speed), 770, 760, 3x 900, 2x 31H “tallboy” cabinets, 2x 31A, 51, 50C, 44W, 2x 46W, 720 & 540, 110 and 112 (with the Conn 650), 102 & 103. The 102 and 103 were designed for the Gulbransen Rialto, and I don’t particularly want (or need!) one of those, but Garth Hudson of The Band used the 103 with a Lowrey Festival (again, low on the list of organs I hope to own). I picked it up in hopes of running various keyboards through it for some cool effects.
Synthesizers & more: ARP Quadra, Roland JP-8000, Roland JD-800, Roland D-50, Korg MS-2000, MS-2000R (rack mount version), Korg M1, Yamaha DX-7, Ensoniq SQ-80, Waldorf Streichfett string synthesizer module, Moog Sub 37, Moog Voyager XL, Kurzweil PC88 and K2500 (mostly for use as weighted-88 MIDI controllers), Yamaha Motif-Rack XS, Roland EP-6060, Yamaha CP-11.
Vintage keyboards: Wurlitzer 200A electric piano #110739, Mk 1 Fender Rhodes Stage 88 #50742, Mk 1 Fender Rhodes Suitcase 88 (serial missing), Hohner D6 Clavinet #793661, Baldwin Electropiano (an electro-acoustic – their answer to the Yamaha CP-70), Yamaha CP-80M, Wurlitzer 120 electric piano #17070 (needs a refurb… “All technicians agree that these are a nightmare to maintain and restore, even though the results can be magic.” –Steve Espinola’s Wurlitzer page)
Newer keyboards: Nord Electro 3, Nord C2 combo organ
Former keyboards: Yamaha MM6, Ensoniq ESQ-1 (traded back to the guy I got it from toward his SQ-80), Korg SP-170S (digital piano), Korg MS-2000 (I had two)
9-foot Steinway Model D, made in 1915. Black satin finish art case. Serial 170218