Vintage Hammond T-500 Tonewheel Organ with Leslie 710 & Bench

A cracking complete vintage Hammond setup comprising a Hammond T-500 Series tonewheel organ, genuine Leslie 710 Rotosonic speaker cabinet and wooden organ bench.

The T-500 was one of Hammond’s later genuine electromechanical tonewheel organs, giving you the unmistakable Hammond character without stepping up to the sheer size and cost of a B-3 or C-3 setup.

You get two 44-note manuals, a 13-note pedalboard and 17 adjustable tonebars, alongside a surprisingly broad selection of additional sounds and controls. The panel includes percussion, upper and lower presets, vibrato, chorus, reverb, pedal bass and a number of orchestral/percussive voices including chimes, celesta, guitar, marimba, xylophone and banjo.

The real bonus here is the accompanying Leslie Model 710. This is a genuine Leslie Rotosonic cabinet rather than a generic external speaker, with separate rotary and stationary channels and slow/fast rotary operation. The 710 uses the nine-pin Leslie interface found on suitable period Hammond organs.

What does it actually sound like?

This is proper vintage Hammond territory.

The tonewheel section gives you the warm, gritty organ sound associated with classic Hammond instruments, with the tonebars allowing you to shape everything from softer jazz and church registrations through to brighter rock and blues sounds.

Run through the Leslie 710 and you get the movement and swirl that really brings an organ like this to life. The 710 is a solid-state Rotosonic Leslie, so it isn't the same design as the more famous valve-powered 122/147, but it was designed for this generation of Hammond and makes a very natural partner for the T-500.

Key Features

• Vintage Hammond T-500 Series organ
• Genuine electromechanical Hammond tonewheel system
• Two 44-note manuals
• 13-note bass pedalboard
• 17 adjustable tonebars
• Upper and lower manual presets
• Percussion controls
• Vibrato and chorus
• Reverb
• Pedal sustain
• String bass
• Tremolo / chorale controls
• Additional percussion and instrument voices
• Built-in amplification and speakers
• Glass music rest
• Genuine Leslie Model 710 included
• Wooden organ bench included

Leslie 710

The included Leslie is a genuine Leslie Model 710 Rotosonic speaker system.

The identification plate on this particular cabinet shows:

• Model: 710
• Serial: EA-17717
• Mains: 240V
• Frequency: 50Hz
• Power consumption: 270W
• Current: 1.4A
• Made in USA
• Manufacturer: Electro Music / CBS Musical Instruments
• Rotosonic speaker system

The Leslie 710 is a two-channel design with both rotary and stationary audio sections and provides slow/fast rotary operation.

Condition

This is a pre-owned vintage organ setup and naturally shows cosmetic wear from age and use.

There are various marks, scratches, scuffs and areas of edge wear to the wooden cabinets. There is also general age-related wear to the keys, switches, pedalboard and control surfaces.

The Leslie cabinet has similar cosmetic wear and marks to the wooden finish.

The wooden bench is also used and shows scratches and marks across the top.

Nothing here has been cosmetically restored, so it retains plenty of its original vintage character.

Please study the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.

I would add one line here once you've confirmed the test:

“The organ and Leslie have been tested and are working as they should.”

If there are any little faults at all, tell me and I'll rewrite that bit accurately rather than overstate the condition.

Specifications

• Brand: Hammond
• Series: T-500
• Type: Vintage Tonewheel Organ
• Manuals: 2
• Keys per manual: 44
• Pedalboard: 13 notes
• Adjustable tonebars: 17
• Tone generation: Electromechanical tonewheel
• Expression pedal: Yes
• Vibrato/Chorus: Yes
• Reverb: Yes
• Percussion: Yes
• External speaker: Leslie 710
• Leslie type: Rotosonic, two-channel
• Leslie mains: 240V / 50Hz
• Finish: Wood cabinet

Hammond's service literature gives the T-500 cabinet at approximately 45" wide × 25" deep × 44¼" high with the music rack, with a quoted weight of around 235lb including the bench.

What’s Included

• Hammond T-500 Series organ
• Built-in pedalboard
• Genuine Leslie 710 Rotosonic speaker cabinet
• Wooden organ bench
• Glass music rest

Who is it for?

This makes much more sense for somebody specifically looking for a real vintage Hammond rather than simply wanting an electronic home organ.

It would be great in a studio, rehearsal room, church, venue or collection, and having the matching-era Leslie already with it saves the buyer having to source an appropriate external cabinet separately.