From jukefox@jukejoynt.com Sat Nov 10 07:45:33 2012
Subject:Re: Warranty and shipping on overseas orders

--- In CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com, "mrk7421" wrote:

> Getting them on stages these days is another issue. Very few venues even have room for a B-3 on their stage.

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The "stage real estate" argument is one I have always had a lot of trouble buying. While B-3s and C-3s are unquestionably massive and do not break down into smaller packages (unless chopped), the actual footprint (at 47.6" x 27.5") is no larger (and actually shorter width-wise, about the same in depth) than that of a typical professional two-tier keyboard rig holding 73- and 61-key synths.

Assuming your "real Hammond" rig includes a Leslie (and even if it doesn't), a 122 is only 21.5" deep (within an inch or two of your typical bass rig) and 29" wide. I've stacked keyboard and guitar amps on top of Leslies many times and they're typically about the same width, though some hang over the sides a bit.

My own general preference through the years has been to set my Leslies off (or under) the stage when I could (in a closet or an iso-room if available), away from and off-axis of other stage volume sources, making for less bleed into the Leslie mics. In these cases, stage real estate became a complete non-issue. It is really already a non-issue with most console Hammond/Leslie rigs (if it is not an issue with a typical professional keyboard rig), whether you choose to believe it or not. Do the measurements!

Now if, on the other hand, your issue with getting a Hammond on the stage is more related to the weight of the instrument, the height of the stage and the condition of your and your bandmates' backs, that's an altogether different issue, but nobody will ever convince me that any venue with "no room for a B-3" can therefore have "enough room" to accommodate even a single-tier stand with a typical professional-grade 73-key axe on it. The logic is just not cogent, particularly given the spacial geometrics involved.

I make these observations and testify to them based upon 4 decades of experience with stages of all-sizes in venues of all sizes, and in past-tense, of course, since I have rarely taken the big-rig out since acquiring Mojo.

YMMV ... but the size of our organ hardware won't ... much.

Peace,
Fox