Hi All,  It's been a while since I contributed anything to MMD.
I've been busy restoring a few organs.  One in particular is the
Mortier organ playing the 165 Wurlitzer rolls.

Upon further examination of the scale, plus the performance of the
organ, I had come to the conclusion that Wurlitzer messed up.  I'll
bet all of you think I'm nuts! Here then is my explanation.

According to the tracker scale layout [which defines the Wurl. 165 music
roll], hole number 2 is "brass trumpets and trombones on" and hole
number 8 is "wood trumpets on".  Since most of the 165 and 166 organs
have this, I ask you this question:  Why didn't Wurlitzer join the two
trumpet ranks, and why two sets of trumpets?

Second: when hole 52, the general cancel, goes into operation, there is
a general fault for trumpets to remain on.  According to the music roll
this is not supposed to happen.

 [ Gordy, which instrument has this problem: the Mortier or the
 [ standard Wurlitzer organ?  -- Robbie

Now, the way the Mortier is set up, the number 2 hole controls
trumpets and trombones, and number 8 controls counter-melody flutes
and Baxophones.  The general cancel shuts all ranks off and whatever
register hole stays open after the cancel turns on the pipes that are
required to play.

Matt Caulfield has a recording of this organ as it actually performs,
and if you read this Matt, and if you can, please send an audio file
of the recording to MMD to put in the Archives.  That will be self-
explanatory in itself.

By the way, this organ, in my opinion, has the sweetest sounding
counter-melody violins that has ever been made by Mortier.  They
really show off the organ (sound-wise, of course).

I think that when I'm done with the restorations, I'm going to build
me a replica of that organ.  It sounds fabulous.

Gordy Forcier
perrrfectguy@webtv.net

 [ Last summer David Wasson displayed his home-built fairground organ
 [ with a new rank of Mortier violin pipes which replaced the previous
 [ Wurlitzer style pipes.  All who heard it agree with you: those
 [ Mortier pipes are really sweet!  -- Robbie