What it is and what it was built for
Hammond introduced the A-100 series in 1959. It was effectively a self-contained version of the B-3 and C-3, with an internal power amplifier and speakers. That is the point of it: most console Hammonds had no built-in power amplifier or speakers, so they needed a special external keyboard amplifier and speaker cabinet. The A-100 put both inside the organ.
How it works, in terms a player would use
The B-3 and C-3 it was based on are tonewheel organs. Rotating metal wheels pass electromagnetic pickups, each assembly producing a tone close to a sine wave, and the player mixes those components with drawbars. Console Hammonds have two 61-note manuals and a pedalboard, with presets as reverse-coloured keys beside each manual. The B-3 and C-3 added harmonic percussion in 1954, a decaying second or third harmonic when a key is pressed.
What it does better than anything else
Its distinction is the packaging. A B-3 and C-3 design that carries its own amplifier and speakers is a different thing to place in a room than a console that needs outboard equipment.
What it does badly
No fault specific to the A-100 is on record. What is on record is what Hammond later removed: the E-100 series, a cost-reduced version of the A-100 introduced in 1965, had only one set of drawbars per manual, fewer presets and a slightly different tone generator.
What people made with it
No particular recording is tied to the A-100. The B-3 whose design it carries is the organ in Jimmy Smith’s playing, which inspired a generation of organists, and Hammond use spread into rhythm and blues, rock and reggae in the 1960s and 1970s.
Who should use it, and who should not
It suits a player who wants one cabinet with the sound system included, and who will choose by style and finish. The cabinet style was set by the last two digits of the model number: the A-105 had Tudor styling in light oak or walnut, the A-143 a warm cherry finish in Early American style. That numbering scheme was reused for later console and spinet series.
Is it worth your time
Selectively. It is worth it if a self-contained Hammond in a furniture cabinet is what you want. It is not the one to pick for a documented sound or a set of known strengths, because the record for this specific model is thin: a 1959 date, a self-contained design, a numbering scheme and a cheaper successor.
