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1963 Vintage Hammond L-102 Tube Spinet ORGAN for Restoration ! PICKUP ONLY

$ 118.79

Availability: 57 in stock
  • Brand: Hammond
  • Condition: Organ is complete.. but will need some simple repairs and restoration to play and enjoy on a daily basis.
  • MPN: L-102
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
  • Exact Year: 1963

    Description

    Since 1990, I have enjoyed collecting and restoring antique radios and vintage audio.... all items I list will be exactly as described...
    buy with confidence
    !
    NO SHIPPING!!!  Must be picked up and paid for AT MY HOME, in Greensboro NC at a mutually agreed upon day & time, within 7 calendar days of purchase.  Can b
    e picked up between the hours of 9am - 6pm, Monday - Saturday, but NO SUNDAYS.
    Prefer CASH payment at pickup... please don't make a quick PayPal or Credit Card payment !
    DO NOT BUY unless you can commit to pick-up at a specific day and time, and ON TIME
    ! SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY !!!
    Ask any and all questions BEFORE buying! NO ORDER CANCELLATIONS OR RETURNS for ANY Reason! If you don't KNOW you want these, DO NOT BUY!
    If you research this L102 model, you'll find some great discussions about it... Keith Emerson, of the "Emerson, Lake and Palmer" rock band, made it known/popular as it was a favorite for his concerts.  Sometimes referred to as a "poor man's B3" since it uses the same basic technology and produces a very similar sound.  An L-102 is easier on your lower back AND your wallet, when compared to a monster B3 !  There are several good Youtube videos that show some restoration work, and also demos of the organ being played.  I did basic testing of the organ and have tried to describe all my observations as I remember them, when I bought the organ in 2019.  Like ANY 60 year old audio/electronics item, there can always be some surprises and unanticipated  issues... so I might have missed something.  The organ is complete and restoration should be fairly easy and straight-forward.  Just as I did, the buyer must assume a little risk when buying a project organ.  I am assuming this is a 1963 model based on the EIA date codes of the Heppner speakers (mfg'd the 48th week of 1962).
    I bought this with intentions of restoring it so I could play and enjoy it, but just don't have the energy and time to get to all of my projects... therefore this L-102 needs a good home.  Currently it's partially dis-assembled for easier transport. When it's assembled, all keys, foot pedals, drawbars, vibrato, amps & speakers all work as they should.  The speaker panel/grille and fabric is in excellent shape.  The masonite back cover has some tears / splits along one area, but most of it could be mended by gluing the split and adding some extra masonite-like material to back side to give it support.  The main, common issue is that about 5-6 wheels/gears of the tonewheel generator are still "squawling", even after I oiled it with the proper Hammond oil.  Based on my research, the few noisy wheels will need to be oiled directly and applied manually with some pipe cleaners. This is a common issue with tonewheel organs, since original buyers fail to oil the organ once/year after they stop playing it, and it just sits. I remember that the 44-key, upper and lower manuals (i.e. keyboards) played mostly in tune... if a couple of the keys were out of tune, it's likely due to the 58 year-old tonewheel capacitors being out of spec. All of those caps should be replaced. The caps won't cost much, so restoration will be mostly the careful work of soldering them in and staying off of the nearby lead wires.
    The H-AO-43-1 power amp, and the H-AO-41-1 and H-AO-42-1 percussion and vibrato preamps work but like any older tube amps, they should be recapped and serviced before using organ on a regular basis.
    I cut the 3uf/330VAC "run motor" capacitor free, since it should be replaced (cost about shipped from eBay).
    The 2, 10" AlNiCo speakers are in great shape.  The walnut-veneer cabinet is in very nice shape, with a few minor nics/scratches from age and moves... one tiny chip at back, bottom right corner.  Organ didn't come with it's original bench but I later bought a nice keyboard style bench that matches up well.
    This should not be a hard project for someone who knows and loves 60's Hammond tube organs ! Fully restored, I'd think this organ could probably sell for around 0-1000 IF the new owner doesn't want to keep and enjoy it.
    I bought an original, 80-page "L100 Series Owner's Guide" which is included.
    The Service Manual for the "L Series" organs can be downloaded from the following link:
    https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1259819/Hammond-L-Series.html#manual
    NO SHIPPING!!!  Must be picked up and paid for AT MY HOME, in Greensboro NC at a mutually agreed upon day & time, within 7 calendar days of purchase.  Can b
    e picked up between the hours of 9am - 6pm, Monday - Saturday, but NO SUNDAYS.
    Prefer CASH payment at pickup... please don't make a quick PayPal or Credit Card payment !
    DO NOT BUY unless you can commit to pick-up at a specific day and time, and ON TIME
    ! SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY !!!
    Ask any and all questions BEFORE buying! NO ORDER CANCELLATIONS OR
    RETURNS !
    After buyer has left positive feedback to acknowledge everything fine, I will immediately return the favor.