Re: Wurlitzer Monster and Elect. Band Organ
By Gordon Forcier
[ Editors note:
[
[ I spoke with Gordy by 'phone today and asked him to describe
[ his organ projects. The conversation and his follow-up letter to me
[ are quite interesting, presented here somewhat edited.
[
[ Robbie Rhodes
My Wurlitzer Style 155 "Monster" is actually the first one, and was built for Wurlitzer by the Eugene DeKleist organ works. It was built in 1905 for a skating rink in Massilion, Ohio, where it played for 2 years until it was traded-in for a 165-format organ, possibly a Style 162 or Style 164 organ. The Monster was then sold to an amusement park in Pittsburgh, Pa, with a 30-note vibraharp bell system added to it.
[ From his description on the 'phone I'd say that the bells would
[ be named "Harp" or "Chrysoglot" in a theater organ. The Deagan
[ "Vibraphone", with the rotating butterfly-throttle by the resonator,
[ was a later instrument. -- Robbie
Dr. Bill Black's Monster was the second one built by DeKleist, around 1907, shortly before Wurlitzer bought the company, and it is the only Monster playing 155 rolls and 165 rolls as well.
Last, but not least, is the Kit Carson County Monster in Burlington, Colorado, which was built by Wurlitzer in or around 1910 to 1912. It is the only Wurlitzer Monster with the original cabinet on the organ, and it has leaded glass panels for volume control on the trumpets.
Regarding the "Electronic Band Organ": The organ I built from the Searle plans uses Devtronix tone generator circuits. I did some experimenting for my trumpet notes to get them to sound like or as close to real trumpets as possible, and the same applies for the mother board and voicing filter cards. You have to do some circuit modifications, but the end results are breathtaking. To hear it play a 125 roll is fantastic. Who would ever think that it was an electronic organ -- minus the wind sound, of course.
Gordon Forcier |
(Message sent Thu 2 Jan 1997, 03:56:44 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.) |
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