Recently we ran a Tech Tip (see the TTOTD from 6/14/02) about working with different AC line frequencies and the impact it has on the equipment we use. One unresolved aspect of this pertained to the effect they have on old motor driven tonewheel instruments such as the legendary B3. One inSync reader responded to our request for more info about that.
I saw the question about line frequency in Europe. From personal experience I can tell you a domestic B3 will not play at pitch in Europe. You can correct the voltage with a regulator or transformer, but the B3 uses a synchronous motor that derives its rate of rotation electronically from the line frequency, so the motor will run too slowly.
B3s that were built for European sale work fine. Don’t know if they used different tonewheels or if they modified the speed control circuitry somehow, but the shaft the tonewheels are on connects directly to the motor, so there isn’t any gearing to change. I played rented instruments when I toured over there many moons ago (And boy, were they crappy!).