LF: used Trek II organ reverb

[Soul Stream]

Hey ya'll. I need a Trek II reverb unit for my organ, but cannot afford a new one. Just wondered if anyone had one they didn't need anymore. Jim, perhaps you know of a used one for sale? Thanks....

[Jim Alfredson]

I wish I did, I'd probably grab it for myself! Unfortunately they are hard to come by on the used market. I'll keep an eye out for ya and good luck!

[Soul Stream]

I wish I did, I'd probably grab it for myself! Unfortunately they are hard to come by on the used market. I'll keep an eye out for ya and good luck!

Thanks Jim. I'm playing a weekly gig in a room that sucks the sound in. It's the dryest sounding room ever and the sound's just in need of some liveliness. I just don't have the bread to plunk down $280 bucks on a reverb (can you say gouge?!)

[Jim Alfredson]

A less expensive option: A reverb in the Leslie? What model Leslie do you have? I have a 147RV that I converted to a 122. It still has the little 6x9 reverb speaker mounted on the side. I've always wanted to find the reverb amp and a spring reverb tank for it.

That said, if you don't have an RV style Leslie, you could take the speaker output from the Leslie (the red and black wires coming from the amp) and tap off of them so that they are still going to the Leslie speaker, but put a 1/4" jack on your tap. Plug into a direct box that has a speaker pad switch, take the XLR output of the direct box and plug it into a digital reverb unit or a mixer that has built-in reverb, and out through a separate speaker/amp or powered speaker.

Or, you could buy a direct box from a buddy of mine and do the same thing from the organ itself instead of the Leslie. His direct boxes are great for recording, too. And they properly balance the output impedence of the organ to an XLR/mic level.

Or you could ask your organ tech if he could put an insert connection on the organ and how much that would be. I had one on my M3 and I have one on my BCV. I can route the signal from the organ's preamp out to an external effects unit and back in again. It's just a tube-extender and you take the signal off one of the tubes and put it back in again. My tech did it for $100, I think... could be wrong. It's been a long time.

I take it the club has no PA? I usually put reverb on my signal via the PA and have them send me that through a monitor that I would put on top of the Leslie when I played my B3.

That's one of the things I absolutely love about the XK System. The reverb is fully customizable, sounds great, and the XK-3 also has inserts, so you can put whatever effects you want on that puppy. I sometimes hated having a dry Hammond sound as well in certain clubs.

[Soulstation1]

i could call the people in town that repair organs

i saw one on ebay for $280ish

[Jim Alfredson]

I could ask my tech about an insert option that would be removable (ie, the expanded tube socket idea). A little Alesis MicroVerb is $100 on eBay. That would fit the bill.

Then again, after all is said and done, you'd probably be around $280 again. It's an expensive option, for sure. I wonder if anyone salvages them out of M-100s or the L series or whatnot.

[Jim Alfredson]

Ha, look at this little fart:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hammond-Tube-M3-M-3-19...1QQcmdZViewItem

Never seen the extension cabinet for an M3 before. Never seen the real back of an M3 either. Usually the back is gone or some cheap particle board.

[Soul Stream]

Yeah Jim, I'm usually not into M3s...but that's a cool one with the back and the reverb extension...!

I've got a Trek II reverb in my other organ and dig it a lot. I've got 2 organs in 2 different clubs that I play at. I'm working my ass off, but since my wife lost her job we just don't have extra dough for something like a $200 plus organ reverb . Anyway, thanks for the input. I've got a call out to my organ guy and he's gonna follow up on some stuff, so maybe something will come up.

[Jim Alfredson]

See, this is what I need to make my 147RV back into a true 122RV:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Leslie-reverb-amp-tank...1QQcmdZViewItem

Missed that one, though. Damn. $55 is cheap.

[Soul Stream]

Jim, I played that gig last night and ended up moving the organ and leslie out of the corner where I usually play and pulled it to the other side of the stage which is more open and has an alcove next to it. Getting more air around the Leslie made a huge difference in the sound. Now, I think I'll be o.k. without a reverb. Would still like to get one, but now the sound is much better in that room.

I was in the corner which was just boosting the low end so much and masking so many frequencies that it sounded like crap. (p.s...now the drummer gets that spot , he wasn't too happy about it.)

[Jim Alfredson]

Damn right. Stick drummers in the corner, where they belong. That way they'll at least get a tiny sense of what it means to be in a pocket.

BA-DAP BOOM CHING!