Just picked up a B2 with an HR40 and a 145. Questions about the 145 and pics!

[Jet420]

Hey there,

Long time lurker, first time poster, just picked up my first real hammond. It's a B2 with and HR40 tone cab and the guy also threw in a 145 with no amp for an extra hundred bucks. I have a few questions about getting the leslie up and running. Obviously I need a tube chassis for it.

Question #1:
Are 122 and 145/47 amps interchangeable and is there an advantage to plugging in a 122 if they are?

Question #2
It appears to be missing a bottom slow motor. Not too sure how these work. Can I run it with just the bottom fast motor so that when I switch to slow just the top will spin? I have briefly powered up all of the motors one by one with a surge protector and can confirm they all work, just not sure how the switching works in the power unit.

Question #3
Just how loud are the 40 watt amps that come in these? The 145 is going to be used for gigging with a roland vk-8. Is it going to be able to be heard above a drum set in a small to medium gig setting (bars, small clubs) without being mic'ed. I know that the volume I am getting from the HR40 would never work without a mic at one of our gigs, but the tubes in it are ancient and I am not sure how many watts those usually push. Seems like 10 watts or something from the HR40.

Pics to help with your help. Thanks in advance!

Nat

145 pics:

power cables

lower rotor fast motor

top fast and slow motors


- - - Updated - - -

also gratuitous pic of the flawless B2

[Jet420]

If you need more pics to help feel free to ask!

[Jet420]

also, scratch that, it's a BV not a B2, just took off the rear panel for a look. It's pretty much spotless in there. Unbelievable.

[ShadyJoe]

Quick answers, someone will fill in details:

The 147 and 122 amps are different. They sound a bit different, handle the speed switching differently, and the 6-pin are wired differently. As long as you account for these differences, the rest of the parts are basically the same so you could swap the different types of amps among the speakers.

You can ignore the slow motor, just as you suggested, so that the lower rotor does not spin when the upper is slow.

I can't tell you if the 145 will work for your gigging situation (my guess is it does) but the age of the tubes is not generally an issue regarding volume. Typically either they work or they don't is my understanding. The capacitors, however, may need to be changed and this might have some effect.

[Jet420]

Quick answers, someone will fill in details:

The 147 and 122 amps are different. They sound a bit different, handle the speed switching differently, and the 6-pin are wired differently. As long as you account for these differences, the rest of the parts are basically the same so you could swap the different types of amps among the speakers.

You can ignore the slow motor, just as you suggested, so that the lower rotor does not spin when the upper is slow.

I can't tell you if the 145 will work for your gigging situation (my guess is it does) but the age of the tubes is not generally an issue regarding volume. Typically either they work or they don't is my understanding. The capacitors, however, may need to be changed and this might have some effect.

Thanks for the info ShadyJoe! So it pretty much doesn't matter then what amp I put in there as far as just straight ahead plug and play functionality? I have read that the 122's switches speeds a bit more quietly so maybe they would be the way to go? I am looking for like a greg allman type sound, with a bit of melvin seals or merl saunders thrown in.

I play in a Rock/jam rock band, we are not terribly loud, but it it definitely rock and roll, you know fender twins for guitar amps and 4x10's cabs for the bass. Typical gig is like local watering hole type bar or good sized party, with festivals in the summer. I am pretty much just worried about stage volume, as anywhere larger than a bar it will be mic'ed. I have played guitar through tube amps before and I know that 40 watts is plenty for an all tube guitar amp, so I bet it will probably be fine. I was just curious thinking maybe I should power it with a guitar head or something for more volume, but that sounds like a pain in the butt to get set up as opposed to just slapping the proper amp in there.