I'm the sort of guy that enjoys the DIY challenge
Restoring an old classic like that would make an excellent winter project
Gary
PS. And I'm old enough to remember changing vacuum tubes whenever the TV set blew out as a kid
I hear you, if that's something you can do, then it's a great option. Unfortunately, most of the organs that are free or low cost, are all local pickup only, and they all seem to be located far from me.
I'm not mechanically inclined, so getting a vintage Hammond that's been serviced was a better option for me, even though it cost more, the peace of mind was worth it, to avoid having a large organ gathering dust because I had no idea how to fix it lol.
I do have a few tube guitar amps around too, all are working last time I checked, and inside they're pretty straight forward; but looking at the insides of a Hammond tonewheel organ was enough to convince me this was beyond my level
The A-100 - A-105 usually cost less than the C-3, which are less than the B-3. For those who may not know, A-100's organs, unlike the B's and C's, have an internal amp and speakers which are perfect for home use for me. I'd been looking for a good, clean A-102 in fruitwood for a long time before finding this one.
I did get spoiled by the digital organs having many more presets; now I actually have to work the drawbars, chorus, vibrato, etc., and I'm having a blast.
I have a few digital organs, two are portable (Hammond SKx and Vox Continental 73), one really isn't (Hammond A-3); I originally purchased the A-3 because I didn't want to deal with maintaining a vintage organ. After doing more research, I learned enough to take the plunge on the real tonewheel.
