I get your point, Russ...we have an act here (actually on the mainland Nova Scotia) where they always bring a B-3 and Leslie 122...they have the wooden strap on dollies for the organ and the Leslie is a bit modified for the road (that means it has handles installed...hee hee) and they also carry a Rhodes 88 and a Mini-Moog. They are, as you say, "what they are known for" and I doubt if they'll ever change.

Don, when I had the Hammond and the other beasties, I used to use a restored 1957 GMC Suburban truck with V-8 and Hydramatic to haul my gear, and I was lucky to get 10-12 mpg, even on the highway. It sure LOOKED and sounded cool, though! I finally decided to sell it to a collector, and at the same time, I downsized my keyboard rig to a Yamaha SK-20 organ/synth, Roland RD-300 and a pair of hotrodded Fender Twin Reverb (with tweeters and crossover added). The stuff was still heavy, but it would fit in the back of my 1987 Toyota Tercel 4-wheel drive station wagon, with careful packing. Man, what a huge difference in running costs.

Now, all my present gear fits in my '02 Honda Accord SE sedan and still leaves an empty passenger seat in front. It's my 5th Honda Accord (first was a 1988), and they have all been very reliable and very low maintenance. Same goes for my gear...it's always been mainly Yamaha (and sometimes Roland) and very reliable.

Sure the old stuff was awesome and a real joy to play, but, as you say Don, it needed regular maintenance; tuning the Wurly was a nightmare that involved adding and filing away solder from the metal tone reeds which could only be done with the instrument unplugged. It all became harder to move, and luckily, new technology allowed me to downsize, and I haven't looked back.

Now, a Tyros4 and two lightweight powered speakers does what a whole stage full of gear used to do.

The old stuff was pretty cool, but, I sure don't want it back again.

Ian