From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Mon May 12 14:49:50 2003
Subject:Re: B4/SRM450 top octave EEK!

Hi David,

>YEah, could never understand why one would pay more than $2500 for a 200
>lb clone when you could easily get a custom chop of an A100 for the same
>price. Unfortunately, if the weight is above 70lbs, I might as well be
>hauling a B3. I can barely lift my CX3 on some nights.. That why I use a
>hand truck....

One possible answer: MIDI. I use four "keyboards" on stage; only two of them happen to have keys! I also sequence a couple of songs per night, and have on occasion MIDI'ed the organ and Leslie. My rule has always been, "Never sequence a harder part than the one you play." This means that sometimes, a simple organ pad is the one that goes to the "robot." I know you can get MIDI retrofits for Hammonds, but they are expensive, and a chore to initially set up if they have velocity sensitivity. They also have limited MIDI functions.

And I guess I have to take exception to the, "If it's over 70 lbs., it might as well be a real Hammond" philosophy, because it's just not quite so. My BX3 weighs 70 lbs. out of the case, and about 90 lbs. in the case. In a pinch, at 4:00AM, I can dead-lift 90 lbs. into the house without waking my wife or son. It's not fun, but I can do it. OTOH, the best chops I've ever heard of weigh about 150 lbs. I'm not sure I can dead-lift 150 lbs. at 11:00AM after twelve hours sleep! And even if I do manage to carry it, I'm going to bang up the organ, the door jambs, or both doing it. That's definitely a two-person job.

Regards,

-BW
--
Bruce Wahler
Ashby Solutions™ http://music.ashbysolutions.com
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com