Our pastor just denied my son Justin access to our parish organ for practice and lessons. No explanation, as our DOM made the inquiry and reported the answer via text and email. The DOM himself was instantly supportive of Justin's aspirations and said he would support the request --and volunteered to make the request of the pastor, and then beat me to it as we were composing a letter of application....

Anyway the DOM (who plays organ at or church but wouldn't give Justin lessons because he's "not an organist" --rather he is a voice teacher and choir director --and very good!) has been asking around to try to get Justin access to another organ locally but no luck yet.

Meanwhile he sent me a phone # to a friend of his selling a Hammond organ. The seller says it was his uncle's, a retired Catholic priest who died recently and the nephew is preparing the house for sale. He says he had someone from that TV show on antique appraisals (forgive me, I have no TV and forget names of shows) go through the house (many items, not just the organ) who commented that was the Hammond model some famous jazz player used, etc. I told the seller on the phone that if he wants market value I am not the right buyer but when he heard my son is this week at a Gregorian Chant day camp, that he wants to become a church organist and has 10 years of piano lessons as a starting point, that he is a "student" of our DOM...he said his uncle would want him to have it and maybe just a few hundred bucks would be ok.

I go tomorrow to the house to look at the organ. My son won't be with me (away at his mother's this weekend) and I do not know how to judge the condition of the instrument other than close visual inspection and trying all the keys and pedals and switches. How do I judge whether this is a good instrument to bring home as a surprise for my son?

I've been reading many previous discussion threads from this forum, found by searching the word "Hammond," and below I paste the excerpts I found most relevant. I paste them to show I've learned there that Hammonds are controversial among organists. My guess is they don't conform to AGO Console Specifications, among other things....

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RELEVANT EXCERPTS of past discussions here:

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M. Jackson Osborn wrote in 2009 that “Going to the church to practice is, to me, just part of being an organist.” In that discussion and again in 2017, he recounts with some satisfaction a story of thousands of Hammond “organs” being dumped into the deep sea after WW2.

Also in 2009, “henry” started a discussion (there were zero comments) that said “Selling a Hammond A101 organ. 25 pedals, self-contained speakers. Very good condition. Located in Chicago. Asking $2,500 or best offer.”

In 2016, “teachermom24” wrote: “Three years ago someone from our parish gave us an old Hammond organ (though we had to spend $300 to haul it to our house) which replaced a Wurlitzer (circus organ, in my opinion) someone else had given us (sometimes, you should just say "no, thank you" real loud over and over). The Hammond certainly doesn't sound as nice as our church organ (an Allen) but it has enough registers and pedals to allow my son to practice at home instead of trekking to church, which is 25 miles away. And he plays for our family prayers every day--I'm glad we have it.”

Later in the same discussion, she wrote “they are durable and tend to last forever. I had one in a school chapel that seemed indestructible. No, they don't sound like "real" organs. My understanding is that they were never presented as such, but were introduced originally as a new type of instrument.”

In a 2017 discussion, “matthewj” asked, perhaps rhetorically and in response to M. Jackson Osborn’s condemnation of Hammonds as “simulacra” of organs: “Are Hammond organs actually simulacra? Are they intended to simulate or imitate a real organ? Or are they intended to be something else entirely?” To which “francis” gave the most relevant reply, that “Actually, the B3 is mainly a rock and jazz organ... it was originally intended to be a church organ by its inventor but reality took over.”

Regarding the suitability of electronic organs as home practice instruments for people playing real pipe organs on the weekend, “Steve Collins” wrote “I …emphasize the [full-size] pedal board. But the whole console really needs to be to AGO standard measurements, especially if you are practicing for playing a pipe organ on the weekends that IS to these standards. Even some electronic models, while they might have 61 notes on 2 manuals and 32 pedals, are quite far from the AGO standard, and would not be a good investment at any price.” Investigating further, I found this document summarizing the AGO Console Specifications:

http://westminsterorganworks.com/pdf/agoconsole.pdf