The Organ Forum

What are your opinions on the subject of Hammond chopping? 

I hope this does offend too much, but I think chops are evil, period. A friend of mine is one those guys who plays a C3 with no pedals or bench. His ideal setup is a chopped A-100. I thought the whole reason the A series was so desirable was because they are generally in better shape than B or C. Well, if they all start getting chopped they aren't going to be so nice are they?

Where do you stand on this matter?
 

I think they ditch the pedals because they have a bass player. (Our band has a bass player, but I still want pedals-so if you got some spinet pedals, or even midi pedals-I'll take them off your back).  And plus, it's the real deal even if it's in an ungodly ugly gig box. Cause whenever there's a thirst there's always the real thing (with apologies to Coca-Cola). Even if by some outrageously slim chance, I had to chop a hammond (which I would only do if you PAID me, let alone pay to do it), it wouldn't be one of those half-assed, saw-in-half magic trick cuts with splinters and bare wood visible. This is blasphemy to an artist. It'd have to be fixed up, reveneered, redecorated, etc.

Is it bad that when i saw this thread i thought people would be debating about finger technique.  Wrong kind of Chops.

I understand that this is a dated thread but I think its very relevant as more and more people are making some good money offering services for Chops and other custom services for ToneWheel organs. This business is driven by consumer demand but I understand that its not for everyone.  For me...it makes sense and I think others may have the same wants/needs.

My "situation"

Right now my rig is a Nord Electro into a Motion Sound Pro3t/LowPro.  Its sounds great and its runs about 20 something. I purchased this for the Clav and Wurly sounds(Run through Fender Guitar Amp).  However, the organ sounds very very good and have just been using this board for Organ and keys. However, I need to play the Wurly sounds and organ at the same time...and its not possible with that board.  Do I spend $2k on a single manual digital organ or $400 for a Chopped M3. I could have spent $200 on the spinet but...I wouldnt want that on stage and I dont have the car to transport it..

A)I cant afford a B3 nor would I have the means to transport and store. Chopped or otherwise.

B) A chopped M3 can be moved with help from bandmates,fits in my wagon and may even last longer than a digital organ.

C) It looks very nice on stage. lol

Please tell me im making a mistake because I make alot of them....daily. 

Jay 

OK. We'll it this way. Let's say somebody had a 1956 Fender Stratocaster. Now let's say you they thought it was too big and clunky, so they wanted to cut all the wood around the humbucker circuitry, strings, pickups, etc, and basically end up with a very ugly guitar. But what to  do about that bare wood showing? Let's just stick some nasty tolex on it! You would here every guitarist from here to timbuktu crying to hang the culprit from the highest tree!

I have never seen a good looking chop. Neither have I seen a good looking lobotomy, but I digress.

Have you thought about getting a real wurly?

Re Wurly: I have one but...I need new electronics...I think the preamp board is shot.

Your point is that you feel we should  preserve the Hammond Organ as is...correct? I think that you... along with many other people feel that way.  I could never knock that argument. In fact after my post I took a trip to Hartford for a business trip and stopped into Goff Pro(Newington,CT)sellers/service of all things Hammond.  He mentioned that he will no longer make any chops for just that reason.  He feels that the organ is a dying breed and we should preserve them.  I get it.

I feel like I just purchased a dog from the breeder and not the pound.  Shame on me. : (

Here is a pic.  http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=614101&image=198707391&images=198707391,198707424&formats=0,0&format=0 

First of all, thank you for pointing that out, Clavier LOL.

It's alright if the M3 was already chopped. Just make sure to take good care of it. After all, you may find an unused M3 cabinet!

Tell us more about your Wurly preamp. We may be able to diagnose the issue, there are a lot of electrically minded people on this forum, amateur and professional.

I have no problem with a chop. Lots of guys have no way to transport a full size organ. The drawback is, even though you chop it, you don't save a lot of weight.

Personally, I'd rather see a guy playing a chopped M3 than a whatever synth hammond sounding keyboard.

I disagree with the idea of ruining a perfectly good Hammond organ by amputating the pedals and legs etc.

It permanently wrecks an irreplaceable instrument, and morphs it into a collection of old wires and pieces of plastic destined to be banged around on by some untrained Jimmy Smith wannabe for the rest of its miserable life. And only so that it can be horsed from gig to gig easier (hmmm, what would become of the tone generators if they were to be subjected to countless bumps and jolts???)

I say, that if you absolutely can't stand having pedals beneath your feet, it would be best to go purchase a Hammond XK-3 or one of its derivatives (they make chops that can be disassembled with ease and carried by 1 person) instead of destroying a vintage instrument. This just goes along with the way rock music has robbed America of any musical taste, excellence, or realism.

As with everything else, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. There is no exception when creating a portable Hammond. My thoughts: If a Hammond cabinet gets damaged to the point of not being usable you would actually be helping to save the breed if puting the guts in a chop cab. At least it's still out there being played.

You only have one Hammond for example an A100. Let's say and you need to gig with it. Moving the entire console is not an option for you either. Put it in an aftermarket chop cabinet! I can not condone taking a saw to a perfectly good cabinet. If you save the unused parts, this is a totally reversable modification and the console could at some later date be reassembled.

One last thought that goes against my previous statement a bit. If the unused parts from a chop are returned to the marketplace they will be used to keep other Hammonds running. That is a good thing. If they are put in a dumpster we loose their value forever.

I for one do not like non-reverseable modifications. IMO they should be avoided whenever possible.

H101

I agree with 101 on the damaged cabinets.  When I worked at B3 World, there were a few years when they got in an equal number of Hammonds and Leslies with terminally damaged cases, versus ones that were nice.  Once in awhile, we'd get one that was completely infested with powder-post beetles or termites, and the cabinet would be crumbling apart as we unloaded it off the truck!!  Those were the ones that were made portable (or reinstalled into a reproduction B3 case)  An aftermarket portable case is the best way to go, for looks and longevity.  Many home-made 'chops' are just as clumsy to transport as they were when complete.  To take apart or "chop" an otherwise intact and functional organ for the sole purpose of portability is just destructive.  Once these organs are gone, they're gone!!!  There's something to be said for historical value alone of an instrument that has likely outlived it's original owner by now. 

In relation to chopping and originality and all, here's something that bugs me:  A scanner vibrato would be added to an organ with a chorus generator.  WHY is the blue hell was the chorus generator sometimes removed when this was done??!!!  Vibrato chorus sounds great with a chorus generator, but makes a lousy replacement for it, imho.