Leslie 3300

I play keyboards in an 11 piece soul/funk band. The 3300 cuts through everything in rehearsal if I need it to. On stage, we mike everything so its a different issue but the 3300 sounds just as sweet all miked up.

Here's where I take just a bit of issue with the 3300. I like the sound. I'm playing a Hammond XK-3 through it. I can hear the B3 trying to get out. I played one for years until the rest of the guys in the band said they were tired of schlepping the thing up fire escapes. I wish it had a bit more of the Spencer Davis growl. I could probably achieve that by snipping off the horn baffles and taking it from FM to AM but I hate cutting on a $2000+ instrument.

So far so good. No problems to speak of.

I ordered my 3300 from a dealer who rodered direct from the factory. I eventually called the factory myself regarding shipping. They were terrific. I got my 3300 2 days ahead of schedule.

I've been playing keyboards since 1966. I've played everything from Farfisa minis, to Elka Panthers, to Hammond B3s. If my 3300 was stolen, I might replace it with a 122 or 145. There's something about that "wood" sound. On the other hand, the 3300 has balls, grit, bite, and is super simple to move about. What I'm giving up in "wood sound" I'm gaining in versatility. I doubt many members of our audience are sitting there doing critiques on the organ. They're judging the entire band and the band is tight and solid as a rock. The question is...do you have their asses shakin'? If the answer is YES..then don't sweat the small stuff.

Hi--It's Sean back with an update after my first review on the Leslie 3300. A couple of gigs later--it just blows the doors off of anything, especially for its size. I've never been told to turn down the organ before. I was told to several times over the past couple of nights. I had the Leslie flat--tube drive at 10 o'clock, tube type 'soft,' master volume at 5 and the XK3 input at about 9-10 o'clock. It screamed. It's an amazing box.

read my last review...

read my last review

read last review...

read last review--but once again...a dynamite box; one of leslie's best ever. a must-buy if you're an organ player.

The Leslie 3300 is a brand new Leslie model from Hammond/Suzuki. It's about the size of a 145 with wheels, handles and road finish. Unlike a 145 or 142, the 3300 is 300 watts RMS; 80 watt horn amp and 220 watt low rotor amp. Right now, they are hard to come by; I waited six weeks for mine. It was worth the wait. What a little screamer. At the same time; it's rich and full; not at all like the "lowboy" Leslie sound, which is normally very 'tight.'

I'm a long-time B3 player. Jazz and Top 40 bands. Paid plenty of dues in all those supper clubs that had show bands. I got tired of lugging a B3 and two 122s around, but waited til now to sell one of my rigs and go more portable. I use my Leslie 3300 with an XK3 and MIDI pedalboard. It's damned tough to tell the difference between this and the old-school B3/122 setup, especially on a gig.

The 3300 is a solid-state system, but uses a 12AX7 tube preamp for warmth and drive. This requires a little tweaking to taste, but I think you'll find there's not much it's not capable of doing. You can also adjust the DC Leslie motors for speed, rise and fall time, also brake time. And, if you screw up; you can reset the speeds to default.

Built-in mics would be a huge plus, but it's so damned loud it probably doesn't matter. It's probably 6db louder--nominally--than a 122. It puts the old ProLines (760, 900, etc) to shame.

My 3300 seems to be able to do everything from Hammond Elegante clean to Deep Purple grunge. Again; it takes a little tweaking to find the right balance. Most B3 players like a little growl when they floor it, but some might not. I've played it almost wide-open (and probably suffered hearing loss in the process) with the preamp in and out, plus a combination of the XK3 tube amp and the Leslie tube drive. I kinda like just a little bit of both. In fact; the Leslie manual suggests you calibrate the overdrive using both the XK3 and 3300 WIDE OPEN. Geez.

In the 25 years I've played; I never had a Leslie go down on a gig. I was always fastidious about making sure I had extra tubes, etc. with me. Given I was prepared; they never died on me. Kinda like taking an umbrella when it's supposed to rain. It never does. Since this is a new product; it'll be interesting to see how well it holds up over time...but again; there's not much to go wrong with them. My first gigs with it will be this weekend. I'll come back with an update.

I was Mr. Impatient waiting for my 3300 to get here. "Six weeks?" I called and emailed Hammond/Suzuki several times. Each time, they responded to my email or picked up the phone right away. Seems parts are now made in Japan and the boat didn't make it here in time. They ARE assembled near Chicago. Nice touch: They emailed and called when it was about to be shipped to the dealer. I wasn't the only one waiting.

I played jazz guitar for 20 years but took up the B3 in the early 80s and eventually switched over because I love the Hammond Sound so much. Again, though; I got tired of hauling a B3 and two 122s around, despite the sound. I have a 56 B3 and two 21Hs in the living room, but they're not going anywhere.

It has taken many years for Hammond/Suzuki to start to get it right, but they finally are. I would absolutely buy another if something happened to this, unless Leslie came out with an improved model, which they probably will at some point. However; the Leslie Speaker, in the core--is a simple yet complex, one-off concept that there isn't much more that can be done to it. I am extremely impressed with the 3300/XK3 combination--and I'm pretty hard to please. It ain't cheap--but there isn't much out there that does what this does--and they're all about the same price.