To you Ebayers who are hoping to land a great deal on a great artifact from music history--the Hammond Organ.  There are a lot of different models out there with letter and number names like "B3", "A 100" and, my favorite, the "baby B3" (what the heck does that mean?).

First and foremost:  The standard for all Hammond enthusiasts is the B3.  There simply is no other organ that copies its marriage of shape and sound.  You probably will not go wrong investing in a clean, maintained B3.  This organ was also very commonly used in the church and unknowledgeable church councils and leaders replaced the aging organ with modern, pipe-sounding types like Allen and others.  The B3 and its external speaker ("Leslie") were usually moved into a storage room or sold to a parishioner for a home entertainment piece.

Here is the caveat:  These organs were manufactured as long as 50 years ago.  While their classic sound is substantially unable to be reproduced completely, there are obvious issues with purchasing them.  Parts are becoming increasingly more difficult to locate and technicians who are trained and experienced in their maintenance and repair are becoming obsolete.  Consequently, if you are truly driven to want to have one of these classic organs, you need to follow the following recommendations to insure that you don't get burned:

1.  The Hammond B3 is, by far, the most valuable Hammond organ and will likely retain its value, or possibly appreciate, more regularly than any of the other Hammond models.  The B3's sounds, etc. are generally replicated in other Hammond models such as the A, C, D and H models but the cabinets are substantially different, rendering them less valuable in the market. Models that contain a "2" instead of "3" following their letters (i.e. B2) generally are lacking "percussion" which is an integral and popular part of the B3 sound.  It can, however, be added on by an experienced technician.

2.  The Model A100, 105, etc IS NOT A B3 even though Ebayers like to advertise it that way.  The A100 level Hammond has its speaker system built in underneath the main keyboard structure--similar to those regular, cheap organs that people had in their living rooms.  Granted, it has similar keys, drawbars, etc. as the B models but has a substantial departure from the B in terms of appearance.  Besides, if your intent is to move the organ around for performing, you will not appreciate the additional weight that the internal speakers create.

3.  The "baby B3" term that is associated usually with Hammond's "M" level organ is deceiving also.  It's a "baby B3" like a Chevette was a "baby Corvette".  Don't be fooled by its substantially lower price.  It's not worth buying--at least as an investment.

4.  Finally, here is the tip of the day for you organists out there who are considering a Hammond because of its classic sound:  Find a Model A (I don't mean A100, A105, etc but an actual Model A Hammond.  They were built by Hammond primarily in the 1930s and were the pre-B3 versions.  They are meat-and-potatoes when it comes to kicking out the sounds and I recall that no percussion was standard on these from the factory.  The real advantage of having a Model A Hammond (besides the substantially lower price) is that (a) it's easier to haul around, being much less "thick" than a B (not nearly as deep, fore to aft) and (b) the octaves on the keyboard do not annoyingly repeat like the Bs do when you head downward on the keyboard but it ACTUALLY GOES AN OCTAVE LOWER all the way down!  Match that organ with the old "phone booth" Leslie cabinets (31H) and you've got HUGE bass capabilities besides all the drawbar combinations that the Bs have.  I saw a couple of these on Ebay over the past few months and I think one sold for $750 and another for around $1300. 

I have played professionally for 40 years and spent many of those years hauling around B3s and a Model A.  If I had my choice, I'd take the A anyday.

Hope this information helps those of you who are looking for a Hammond Organ and for your practioners who think the B3 is the only classic organ to buy.