Hammond T-200

If you know a Hammond console, you will know a Hammond T-200. You have drawbars, which are the sliders to change harmonic tones, internal Leslie, Chorale slow, and fast or tremolo. You have percussion and reverb. The organ has a feature where you can add the sound of a brush cymbal to the lower manual, or keyboard and to the pedals.

The sound of the organ it a good sound. Although one thing it lacks is foldback. I do not know how to explain what foldback is but understand what it is. It has percussion on it, but not like the B-3's. I only use one and sometimes two percussion tabs on my jaz organ playing. When I went to visit some family in Fort Wayne Indiana, I went to a music store called Sweetwater Sound. I played the Hammond Suzuki Xk3c, and the sound blew me away. It swallowed up the sound of my Hammond at home. You can also add reverb to the sound and the reverb is outputted through the Leslie, so you get a cool effect when the Leslie is spinning slow..

One thing I said earlier is that it foldback effects. That is a big issue when I'm playing with the first three drawbars, and the ninth one pulled out because when you get to middle G the sound of the harmonic is not there. Foldback can be added to these but my family knows nothing about Hammonds. Although I do have to give it credit. It is a tonewheel Hammond. A tonewheel for those of you just getting into Hammond organ, is a spinning wheel inside the organ about the size of a silver dollar. There is 91 tonewheels spinning inside the organ. The pedals are okay. They do not have that key click sound when pressed like the A, B, and C models do. It works pretty good with jazz music. One thing that lets me down is the Leslie inside it. When I have vibrato chorus on it sounds just fine at fast speed. But when vibrato chorus is off and Leslie at fast, the Leslie has more of a slower vibrato effect. It is supposed to sound like a Leslie, not a vibrato scanner. I only need one to do the job for jazz music.

No I would probably not use it on a gig. If it were lost or stolen, I would consider A Hammond Suzuki Xk system.

Never have delt with a Hammond repair service.

My Hammond of the T-200 series is a T-211. I compared it to the Hammond Xk3c and liked the Xk3c better. I would rather have that than buying a restored Hammond for about $12,00, or have this one.

Presets: Orchestral-preset presets, no editing
There were some vintage Chord organ music books in the bench?

There are some rattley keys; I kid-glove overhang keys.(prefer waterfall)
I can't even hear reverb 1, reverb 2's cool: shake the spring like Keith!
Vibrato "Chorus" produces edgy, volatile, "quaking" that makes little T think he's wearing grumpy grampa B3's boots! Especially when combined with the Leslie on either speed, Vibrato Chorus becomes very addictive. It really helps!
T-series: only American Hammond with licensed 2-speed Leslie built-in.
If you push slowly on a key, you can hear the tone wheel contacts click-in one by one!(cept the click has been supressed)

If you have an imagination, you're playing a B3! It's a real tone wheel Hammond w/drawbars & Leslie! Like any new toy, it takes a bit of getting use to; everytime I play it, it keeps getting better.
34 watt solid-state output is LOUD for home spinet, but just a little smooth and thin for what we crave; again the blessed "Vibrato Chorus" really helps to put some grit on the plate. The "Brilliance" tab for the upper manual should be used when only 2 or 3 drawbars are out: as a boost. The brilliance tends to dilute the colors achieved through drawbaring. I use it only when necessary. I'm not very impressed thus far with the percusion settings, but I'm not covering "Green-Eyed Lady" anytime soon anyhoo.
Great for Rock/Prog/Blues/Gospel etc..Tony Banks of Genesis played a T-200 from 1974 to 1980.

The bass pedals are very worriesome. Intermitently cutting out. 2 are completely out. That fix will be a hassel: the bass pedals are behind the Leslie and its' motor. It has to all come out! Most cats live without bass pedals, not me! I love the rumble of bp's behind the chords, and have pretty fancy footwork if I do say so.
Don't tip the organ up and spill the oil out.
Oil the Tone generator motor along with tone wheel cups.
Too heavy to gig alot with, unless you can afford muscle labor.
I'll only lift brutally heavy objects when life depends on it.

The few techs around are stoic, and stand-offish.
I agree with the other reviewer: It's just a machine, our relationship with other animals is more important. In other words: try not to bother those guys if you don't really have to.
They prefer servicing the Church's Hammond before some Jon Lord clone. "Yeah dude, make it growl!"

Too heavy to steal: tweakers can't lift an organ!?!?
I have a Yamaha Workstation synth, and a Kurzweil rack w/volocity "insensitive" controller. Going to make Wakeman-station then put my pieces on YouTube!
I love how it looks! I took off the music stand and polished it up good. Mine's a T-212, the 12 meaning the "American Walnut" cabinet.
It's got that classic Hammond look! Avoid Hammonds w/pastel flip-tabs(pink,baby-blue etc.)"I" don't want to look em!
Guitar is my main inst. Keyboards a close second. also violin, sing, drums etc...

A player's organ, purely analog technology, no software, operator's panel mechanical

Pedal is monophone only. Expansion possible due to well established (analog) circuity.

Typical tonewheel sound. Last model to have original Hammond tonewheel generator. Keyclick suppressed by transistorized circuitry, may be restored by modification.

Mechanical parts require maintenance, all over a sturdy instrument.

Browse the Internet for advice and spare parts. Keep off if you just want to play and if you love animals more than machinery.

If you are familiar with mechatronics and analog circuitry, this is the most cost effective instrument to buy, improve, maintain, and enjoy playing Jazz and entertainment standards.

Like other organs, very easy to use.

upper 9-bars(16'-1'), lower 7-bars(8'-1'),pedal 1 drawbar (16'or 8')
percussion similar to H-100 series,spring reverb, brilliance,
1 preset for lower, 3 for upper (typical for hammonds)
excellent vibrato (scanner):smile, chorus, chelleste 1,2 (1+2)identical to M 100, this vibrato sounds maybee better from b3/c3 for mee!( Just keeding ) , and not bad single rotor leslie.
But, no foldback!!! (nothing new for spinets)

This model is "transistored", or "solid-state", or not-tube model,
but still my favorite spin. organ!(except.m100 and b200) I like t200 mutch more from p-100, or L-100, AND MAYBEE FROM M3! Tubes is not only metter for an organ, T200 without tubes sounds mutch betther from L-100,becouse
t200 vibrato is mutch betther, and t200 have vib. on/off for each
manual. But, I mutch like L 100 percussion from T 200...

Very good (Denmark-hammond) work, extra-good keys, fat wood
cabinett, on the first touch with this instrument, uoy will see
" It's not low-cost class of organ, it's 1-st. class!"

This is first hammond who I touch 20 years ago(like boy), and still sounds fantastic to mee! I will bay some similar spinett early-or
leather, in YU no-have mutch hammonds in good condition...