Which keyboard of Tony Bank's does he use at the end of Supper's Ready?During the 9/8 Apocalypto and As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs. It has a really nice reminiscent tone and I've been thinking of buying a Hammond Organ to mimic it. But I don't know how efficient Hammond Organs are either, are they easy to lug around for performance and gigs and are Bass pedal boards also a pain to move? |
The Hammond Organ that Tony Banks used was a spinet model called the "L122" which was made from 1961 to 1972. He used the Hammond L122 from 1970 ("Trespass") to 1973 ("Live").
On "Foxtrot" (October 6, 1972), he used the following equipment:
Piano
Hohner Pianet N (possible that Banks ran the Hohner through a Fender Blender fuzz pedal to get that 'synthesized tone')
12 String Acoustic
Mellotron Mk II - hired from King Crimson
Hammond L-122 tonewheel organ -> Leslie speaker (possible two custom 50 watt Leslie Speakers).
Remember, Banks did not use any synthesizers until "Selling England By The Pound"
I should also point out that the Hammond L122 was also used (and severly abused) by ELP keyboardist Keith Emerson when he was in the the progressive rock band, The Nice (1967-70) and in ELP when he did the dual organ setup (Emerson started doing the dual organ setup with the Nice around early 1969).
The Hammond B3 & the C3, though they are the most desired of the Hammond bunch, are not only a roadie's nightmare, but well out of the average person's price range (unless you have a large bank account where money is no object) and they are both heavy. The C3 weighs at 450 pounds while the B3 weighs at 425 pounds.
My advice: Go after the Spinet models. They consist of the following models:
L100 series (1961 to 1972)
Tony Banks & Keith Emerson both used the L122.
M Series: M1 (1948 to 1951), M2 (1951 to 1955), M3 (1955 to 1964) Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the MGs used this organ on the 1962 recording "Green Onions.
M100 (1961 to 1968)
Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum used an M-102 on the 1967 recording "A Whiter Shade of Pale", John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin used an M-100 on the 1969 recordings "You Shook Me", "Your Time Is Gonna Come" and "Thank You". Rick Wright of Pink Floyd used a Hammond M100 series spinet live (Watch "Live At Pompeii") from 1968 to 1977 (not too sure about the studio, possibly a C3).
The reason to go after the spinet models is that the L100's and the M100's are not in demand and you can get one for under $500 ($1,000 if they come with a Leslie speaker cabinet which is a bonus), sometimes even for next to nothing. They aren't as heavy as the big console organs, but it'll still take around 4 people to lift one. The bass pedal boards come attached to the organ (only 13 in total). The M series, M100's and the L100s have two sets of keyboards, 44 keys on the lower and manual, offset.
The M series and the M100's would be the ones to go after for the vibrato and chorus on those organs are scanners, just like the big console organs, but the closest organ in the spinet bunch that sounds like a B3 is the M3 and the prices would be even higher on this organ.
The L100s no SCANNER in the organ, and vibrato and chorus are produced electronicly with vacuum tubes, but still a great organ if you want to Keith Emerson/Tony Banks sound. You can get these for practically nothing.
Once you buy a spinet, get a Leslie Speaker Cabinet, either a 147 or a 122 (or any of the two equivalencies).
Avoid the T series spinets for they are solid state.
Hope this helps.
David
