Hammond T-212

My Hammond T series (422) is very easy to use. Pull out drawbars and off you go! Everything is very simple. Presets are not very nice in my opinion. I don't use them at all. It's my first tonewheel organ so far. Before this Hammond, I had a Viscount D9 Hammond (clone) midi system which was nothing more than "ok".

About polyphony I'm not completely satisfied with this T series (spinet), when I want to play higher notes on my upper manual, the tones drop more and more which gives not the complete sound. The left half of the 44-key upper manual is complete (you hear all tones of drawbars you pulled out). The higher you get, the more tones drop. This could have been better. I didn't use the standard percussion that much and I changed it (very simple to do, just a few resistors on the percussion board inside). No MIDI of course!

The sound is the sound of a real tonewheel. Although you cannot compare it to a "real" B3, it's still very nice. I play in a (partially) coverband with pop/rock/blues songs and the T series does have the sound (most of the time) I'm looking for. No velocity, no aftertouch, just ON or OFF. The sound however depends on the amplification. As I rebuilt my T 422 as a portable organ, I've no speakers inside. I play my Hammond to two Leslies I have and they both sound different. The sound of the internal speakers is okay, the build in Leslie unit adds a very nice effect to the organ sound.

My 1972 T 422 became "portable" last year (as the outside was worn out). During the process of (re)building my organ, the organ sometimes didn't make a sound. But that was more due to my (non) expertise (some wires were missing). I've been taking it to various gigs and it's still running very nice and quiet (tonewheel generator). Neither had problems with the amplifier (solid state). It's an old instrument, it won't break down!

I still can go to a music shop and buy some new Hammond oil, I don't have to wait. As the organ works fine since 1972, I assume there won't be any other problems the next 30 years.

Very nice organ to start with. If it were stolen or lost, I'd buy a new one. Especially because of the solid state amp, this organ is perfect to make portable (altough I would only recommend this if you organ doesn't look very nice anymore). If you have a perfect one, DON'T make a portable of it! I bought this organ just because of the tonewheel generator and it's amplifier (not that I don't like tubes).

See my previous submission. this is a T-443, traditional with leslie and Rythm II percussion group.

Polyphonic. I believe the key action is better than the older Hammonds with square keys, however, they break off easier. Found my Series 10-12, 60W tone cabinet. Paid $200.00 for it. Had to direct wire the cable because cable was cut-off. Not the best wire job, but the cabinet works and was mint. Percussion group on lower right of keyboard is useless to me, I would like to disconnect and replace with block of wood.

Great for rock-blues, also play classical organ, but keyboards are truncated. Keys have no velocity or aftertouch. Volume pedal and drawbars can be used to subtly change tones, as well as vibrato and Leslie. Percussion not as good as the older Hammonds.

Vibrato is still broken. Build or buy a rolling dollie.

Expensive to have someone repair. Look on internet for easy repairs or befriend an old organ tech.

If you can't afford a console, like me, this is probably the best overall spinet to own. It is the centerpiece of my keyboard group.

my two year old can work this organ. Actually mine is a T-446 I think.

analog, don't use presets except string with vibrato-good mediteranean sound (like Rick Wright). Usually use the first four drawbars. Even the beat box has good sound.

sound improved by removing a couple capacitors to re-install key click. almost impossible to find the series 10 tone cabinet which hooks up to the tone cabinet jack. Built in leslie is great, but you have to mike it up. Organ will growl if the pedal is all the way down.

old (1970's) wouldn't want to move this very often. have to know extensive electronics about hammonds to troubleshoot. My vibrato crapped out, though I think it is just stuck. i hve repaired broken keys, and simple electronics.

A steal at $100 I had an m-100 with leslie with about $900 invested- not quite as nice as the m-100. also had a Baldwin Concert c-2T which was awesome with a built-in leslie also (which was free).

No brain surgery here, fewer drawbars than the full sized (and priced) B's and C's. Simple tabs for selection of various 'presets' or drawbars as one chooses. Makes a quick midnight recording frenzy pleasant.

Keyboard (or rather "manual") action is typically organ, very easy to the touch. My rating here will include neither the cymbal effects nor the percussion reiteration; none found useful nor ever used. Old spring reverb records nicely in a wood room. Has just the right amount of dirt in the key switches for the 'scratch' ya love to 'itch'...and that LESLIE...mmmmmmm. The rating is reduced by one as it doesn't have some of the tonal quality and capability I'd like to hear, but great for my situation nonetheless, and hey, it ain't the 'big B'.

Sequencer? MIDI? Software? WHY?

This little sweetheart has recorded for me some of the most heart-wrenching blues I've ever created, and yet still drives home the point of funky and grinding rock. Expression pedal works beautifully and very smooth. Good overall depth of expression, no sudden attacks of volume or lack thereof. The great tonewheel sound you just can't mistake. Not quite as 'fat' a tone as the tube jobs, but that's why you run a line from it's own jack (eliminating the power amp) out to an external tube amp and/or leslie. (Try a class A guitar amp, then overdrive it a little! Hee hee hee...>8-D )

Has been very reliable but noticing a little stickiness in the tone generator drive motor. COULD be thirty plus years of grime...and there is definitely dirt in the drawbars, they need cleaning from time to time (and please DON'T use aging Hammond oil in the generator, this stuff's already broken down and WILL cause problems. Seek out modern generator oil on the 'net; it's out there and works great. ;-) ) Probably not a good gig organ, but possibly easier to move than the 'B'.

Hammond who? Been gone for thirty or more years. :`~(

Doubt it would be stolen, more money in the guitars, synths and other recording stuff. Also difficult to move; weighs in a little over one hundred pounds, not too good for live application as a result. Tried other Hammond spinets, but this one touched a deep place. Was in a small church locally the doors of which have long since closed. Played a wedding there and on this same instrument. Didn't know until a couple of years ago the outcome until the organ turned up at a local ARC thriftstore. Couldn't pass up the $40 price tag and was happy to tip the two large gentlemen who picked it up and ran with it to my van.
Began playing piano 35 years ago and organ for around five (seriously anyway!) and it's a permanent fixture in my home studio. Looks nice, also and still has the dedication tag the church had engraved for it.

It also doesn't hurt to have a 3 conductor modern plug installed for grounding purposes, particularly in a studio setting.

The preez are typical hammond & "theatrical organ" in nature.

The manuals have a nice touch. ( I know; I've built pipe (real) organs for 25 years!

1> beats me! (2)Keyboards are called "manuals" on real instruments.
3. effects \ y. 4. Y 5. realisticly, no exp. 6. itz 1968 tech. 7. no

1. imagination required! 2.sing alongs & jazz (my
$free$ t-seres is installed in a recording studio!) 3. 1968\great 4 hammond. 4. static with a soul 5.intiresting featured effects!

My t-seres has noise problems 60cycle noise and some unwanted distortion; when it distorts (almost always now days) the pedal goes out of tune ... esp. d 2.would absolutely use it on a gig esp. w/ my bass booster system ( a bass amp w/ the highs rolled off anc large cab faceing the wall about 1.5 inches from.

1. out of business since the early 70's
2. many will service any hammond , for the price!

!. would buy Hammond "colonade" 2. rank amature, beginner 3. I love the hamm soumd... very famous! 4.no comperables. 5.stated 6.yes
7. split octaves and pedal boards less than 30 notes are always dumb; I love it anyway

The T-series are a single switch (like the L's)... Sit ass on bench, Turn it on, pull the drawbars, play. Don't have a manual.

Full polyphony. Keyboard action - well, like an organ.
The T-212 (all the T-200 series) has a built in 2-speed Leslie. Scanner vibrato. It has percussion but not the traditional percussion like the organs before it (but still sounds good). The percussion on the T-series are six pre-voiced percussion tabs - celeste, chimes, guitar, marimba, xylophone, and banjo. There is also a Reiterate feature for the percussion, with a reiteration rate knob, but that is worthless, I don't know what the hell anyone would use that for, it sounds dumb. There is a brush switch for the lower manual (like a brush drumstick), and a cymbal sound for the pedals - two more worthless features. It has pedal tabs - Pedal Legato, Pedal Sustain, Pedal Mute, etc. The sustain and legato features are great - they allow you to play a smooth bass line. I can't stand playing on choppy sounding pedals. Also, there is a Brilliance tab, which brightens the sound, I never play without using this tab, it's great. It also has a 1/4" output, but one time I hooked my amp to that, and there was a lot of static, I'm not sure if that is just the way it is, or if it is because the organ is 35? years old. The only thing I could think of to use this output for anyway is an imitation Leslie, which I might actually do because the tone cabinet interface is some odd-ass seven pin connection that is not very "Leslie-friendly". For now, the built-in Leslie is good enough. It has No Foldback, but overall, it sounds like a tonewheel Hammond.

It's a genuine Hammond Tonewheel organ, so it sounds similar to the beloved B-3. However, it is solid state, so i guess it doesn't sound as "fat" as the consoles or tube spinets, but... DAMN CLOSE. I have never played a console or tube spinet, so I'm just going by what others say and what I hear on recordings. As far as what types of music it works for, I like to play classic rock (Pink Floyd, to name one... Rick Wright RULES!) All things said, it's a Hammond Tonewheel organ, and it rocks.

Here's the thing - I always heard about "Hammond Organs" from when I was little - bit little did I know that we (my family) had my grandpa's old Hammond sitting in our living room the whole time. It wasn't until about a year ago that I started sitting down and playing it and figuring out the Hammond playing style (definitely different from playing piano, which I've done since I was 4 or 5). Long story short, I've basically just started playing it and it has never given me any problems besides a non-functioning drawbar and the "D" pedal not working. I am not in a band (not yet anyway, I hope to be in/start one someday) so as far as gigging reliability, that's N/A. Can I depend on it? Yes. I play it (loud as hell) when I have nothing to do (which is most of the time) and every time I sit down to play, It works the way it should.

I do want to get my non-functioning drawbar (2' on the upper manual) and "D" pedal fixed, but I will probably find a local organ repair person/shop to do the fix.

Who the hell would steal a T-212? Great organ, but probably not a high theft rate. No one knows I have it, and who would come into my house and steal a 200+ lb. instrument? Not bloody likely. Anyway, if it WERE lost or stolen, I would like to find an M-3 (they're cheap!)or if I really had the cash, a C-3. Personally, I think B-3's are UGLY... a big box on legs. I think M-3's are the coolest looking spinet, and the square-front keys help, too. Someday I want to get a console, and the C-3 (IMHO) is the neatest looking organ (and cheaper than a B-3!!) A-100's are ugly, too (IMO). If I were to join a band, something makes me never want to go digital for my organ sound, I would always want a real organ (mostly because when I tell people I want to play my organ in a band someday, they laugh - "You would tote that heavy f***ing thing around?") I think I would always gig with a real organ just to prove my friends wrong. Anyway, the overall rating is an 8 because it is a transistor spinet, not a tube console, but still a GREAT sounding tonewheel organ (and I got it free). Don't forget that the T-200 series have the built in Leslie - VERY cool! I also like the spinets because they're (not that I would really know) easier to move around than the consoles. What do I love about it? Well duh, it's a Hammond Organ with a Leslie speaker. What do I hate? It's solid-state and its sorta ugly. What do I wish it had? FOLDBACK, DEFINITELY FOLDBACK! I want that full harmonic sound. But I can't bitch since the organ was free. If you are looking for a great starter organ, consider the T-200. It's a genuine Tonewheel Hammond with a Leslie Speaker. How long have I been playing? I started on piano when I was 4 or 5, on the Hammond, When I was 21. I also own a Yamaha PSR-225 and a Roland RS-9. I bought the Roland mainly for its electric piano sounds. The organ patches are so-so, nothing beats the real thing. Someday I want to get a Wurlitzer 200A and a Fender Rhodes, but I'm in school and too damn poor......