HAMMOND X-77 REBUILD NEWS FROM IMAJICAL

[ImaJical]

OK all you X77 people...this is the lowdown on where I'm going on this project.
First of all there is one VERY UGLY reality all of you MUST face. The organ is 35 years old and is NOT going to function as a fresh new instrument without some SERIOUS overhaul work.
The VERY first thing to do is the DEAL BREAKER that makes this wonderfull rig a performance dream. That thing is to REMOVE the UPPER and LOWER MANUALS and pull ALL 16 BUSS BARS on EACH MANUAL, then RE-INSTALL THEM!!!
Now...if anyone is STILL listening, this is what I've discovered:
1/ I have NOT run accross ONE HAMMOND tech who has pulled the BUSS BARS on an X-77 or a model H100!!!....reason....its too scary...and not a cost effective repair job.
Soooo, I have ordered an UPPER and LOWER maual set ( from junked organ ) and will pull the BUSS BARS on these, and depending on how it goes....will do the X-77's manuals next.
I will have FULL photo coverage to offer. There is NOT ONE IMAGE of ANYONE doing this on an X-77...or H100 series organs. I already have a battle plan, and the confidence is high!!
The NEXT thing I will do is to REMOVE ALL SOLID STATE BOARDS and replace all this with what HAMMOND should have done...which is to use an AO-28 (B3) preamp modified for three channel operation. Hint....if you study the B3's preamp schematic, you see that its actually a THREE channel amp... but all three channels are combined into one for a single stage volume control.
Remember...that I already have the vibrato scanner thing done.
Maybe I'll just end up with a single channel system.
Hint...the LESLIE ALSO has to be re-worked.
That means replacing the "ROTO SONIC DRUM" witha rotati baffle type LESLIE 122 unit.
YES...that means removal, and replacement of the bottom shelf ENTIRELY!
As to the MANUAL LUBE JOB...I expec to have the spare manuals in about two weeks.

[anvis]

Please forgive me, I am new to these forums. I have an X77GT with cabinet. I'd be interested in the images and following the progress. How do I do that?

I am currently chasing pops and cracks that seem to be coming from the Leslie as my current project. Any advice?

Thanks,

[John Bittner]

That sounds like a very challenging undertaking, but what you're going to end up with is not an X77, so I'm wondering what your goal is.

Is it just to gain the extra harmonics and drawbars and lack of foldback on the manuals that X-77 offers?

[Orgrinder010]

I'd love to see it.

[ImaJical]

Hi There
GREAT NEWS for all those owners of X77, X77GT, and H series.
FINALLY, I have completed the rebuild of my X77...took 2 months of weekends and night work.
End result is STUNNING!!. Will have photos in about two weeks. Every Hammond nut I have talked to is extremely interested in seeing photos on an X77 with waterfall keys. The sound will make even the toughest jazz player cry with joy...nuff said.
PS: There will be an MP3 available to PROVE just how good this new instrument sounds.
See you soon
Don

[g3]

My X-77 and I can't wait.

G3

[bourniplus]

Hi everyone,

I just bought an X77 with Leslie 77L. I'm looking for the service manual and am willing to pay. I'd like to add a 1/4" output to the organ (by mixing the main channel, reverb and perc). And also the percussion is intermittent, sometimes it stops for a few seconds and then comes back. Any help would be appreciated.

thanks

martin

[Orgrinder010]

We should be hearing from "Imajical" and his rebuild News sometime soon now.... actually, we should have heard from him a few days ago if we follow his schedule.

I am ever-growing interested in this information he has. Not often that you see an X-77, even less one that was overhauled.

[John Bittner]

Do a search on ebay for the manual. There's a guy there that seems to have a great deal of organ service material for sale.

As for your percussion problem, you need to be more specific. Does the problem seem to be mechanical in any way? Like if you wiggle the percussion tabs does it have any effect? Is it on both the harp and the other percussion voices? Does it effect the brush and cymbals?

Could be anything from a bad contact to a bad capacitor in the preamp or in the Leslie.

[bourniplus]

Hi John,

i can't tell if the percussion problem is mechanical or not. Wiggling the tabs doesn't affect it. The problem is with all the percussion voices. (but the only one I need is "super quint"! (2nd harmonic)

If i put all drawbars to 0 and only set one or many of the percussion voices on, then it's easier to hear what it does. i play notes and hear the percussion, and then it fades away, and then sometimes comes back. what is weird is that if i put many percussion voices at a time and play many notes at a time, it is more likely that the percussion will be heard.

anyway, thanks for your help

martin

[John Bittner]

what is weird is that if i put many percussion voices at a time and play many notes at a time, it is more likely that the percussion will be heard.


Are you saying this makes the percussion come back? If so this is symptomatic of a bad capacitor in the percussion audio channel somewhere. You'll need a service manual to trace it down.

Another question. If all the drawbars are set to 0, you're not playing any notes, and all the percussion tabs are up, do you hear a percussion note sound when you flip the percussion tabs down?

[bourniplus]

Hi John,

first of all thanks for your help, i really appreciate it. yes, playing many notes at a time makes the percussion come back. i don't think flipping the tabs down does anything (can't tell for sure cause the organ is at my parents' house)

i really have to put my hand on this service manual! (i checked on ebay but without results)

martin

[Orgrinder010]

We ever going to see this X-77 anytime soon? Its been about a month.

[bourniplus]

Hi everyone,

the other day I hooked up my X77 to my leslie 145, and the result was fabulous! This is the closest thing to "the" sound that i've played on so far (next to a B3 and 122).

i just posted a message on hammond zone about how i could mix different signals (drawbars, percussion and pedal) and send them to an 1/4 output, maybe some of you guys on this list can help me with this. if i find a small, cheap 4-channel mixer i will use it, but i'd rather just build a simple circuit that would do the same job. i don't need to set the volume of each channel, just merge them together.

i also noticed something about my percussion problem. the 2 2/3 drawbar (from which, i assume, comes the "super quint" percussion, doesn't work on the upper manual when i use the "drawbars+perc" preset key. on the other preset key it works....

cheers

martin

[g3]

bourniplus:

I tried to find the Hammond zone, but no luck. The ones I found, either the forum links didn't work, or when I found a forum, there was nothing there.

Please give us the web address. I'd like to read your post.

Thanks!

G3

[bourniplus]

Hi G3,

you will find Hammond Zone in the Yahoo! groups. You might try this: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/hammond_zone/
It is similar to this forum, but with more members and more posts. However, nobody there ever talks about the X77!

As for my question about a 1/4 out from my X77, I found a very simple circuit that will do that, it uses only 3 resistances.

martin

[Orgrinder010]

Where can we find your website?

[Orgrinder010]

Don, if you are still on the forum, check your PM inbox.

[donald7551]

organ service company has what you need.I just got one 50.00 plus shipping</P>


1-7083528011</P>


Good luck. Don Roberts</P>

[donald7551]

John.My </P>


X77Gt has no sound in any percusion tabs,When I use the second voicve tab I get a full sound,but only then.Flip the S.V tab up and nothing.Do you think its a capasitor at fault?I have the achematic and have recorded all the caps in the percusion pre amp,and will replace then on Wednsday,if you think this is the problem.Any help you can give will be appreciated.Don Roberts</P>