From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Mon Aug 26 07:14:10 2002
Subject:Re: Analog tonewheels are back!


>Well - I was a bit confused by the prices also... It shouldn't be too
>hard a task to make some more MIDI controlled digital switches as the
>17 missing keyboard "switches" in addition to the 44 present. (There
>are pretty many this kind of projects in the net also.) I'd suspect
>that the tone generator is the same in all the models (wouldn't make
>any sense to do it otherwise). I think also that the "extra features"
>are a bit overpriced. With those prices I'd go for the original B-3/B-
>2/C-3/C-2/A-100/BV/CV instead. You'd expect to see some of them
>around with that price tag. Leslie included.

Actually, the tone generator might not be the same. I would imagine that it would be easier to find leftover spinets than consoles, so the 44- and dual-44-note versions might be a direct adaptation from a spinet architecture, while the 61- and dual-61 might require additional work.

Also, never confuse the cost of raw materials with the cost of the finished product, or the cost of creating a product with the perceived price point that the item should sell at. If I take $1 worth of parts and create something that replaces a $100 item, should I sell my product at $3 (200% profit), or $80 (20% less cost than the competition)? While we list members would love to see the "philanthropic" approach, successful businesses lean toward the $80 mark. Also, there may be other justifications for the higher price, such as additional development effort required to make the complicated version work, or a need to hand-select parts for the higher-end model.

>> Are Hammond B3's being sacrificed to create the B-Free?
>>
>> No.
>
>It doesn't say a thing about the other tonewheel models (such as C-
>3,A-100,L-100 etc.) to be precise. But it would be quite cheeky of a
>company to try to fool customers like that wouldn't it..? Well -
>don't know. Haven't seen or tested one for real..

I don't see any other way to obtain "genuine Hammond tonewheels" at this point in time. The idea of obtaining a stash of repair parts for a product that has been out of production for almost 30 years is pure fantasy, IMHO.

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions™ http://consult.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group and HiNote moderator
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com