John Smith - A Tribute

If you are not really familiar with the current crank organ building
culture, it is easy to see John Smith simply as the distributor of
some crude organ plans. In reality, he created a widespread culture
which is expanding the number of people with a direct involvement
in mechanical music.

His original Busker Organ was not his first organ build, it was a
super-lightweight organ built for his grandson. The "plans" for the
organ which he started selling in 1996 were intended for unskilled
amateurs, building on a kitchen table with a minimal tool set, for
less than £100. Instead of pneumatic valves it uses the holes in the
paper roll to control air flow to the simple pipes. The suggested
materials included MDF board, balsa wood, white glue, and a Hoover
vacuum cleaner belt.

The project attracted many do-it-yourself project fans with no
particular musical interest or talent. These included machine
shop enthusiasts and woodworkers and other craftsmen who would not
normally have an interest in busker organs. Worldwide interest in
other mechanical organs has grown as a result.

John's plans for the John Smith Busker were followed by several other
more advanced designs, intended in part for "What can I do next?"
builders. These included the Senior 20 -- a larger and more rugged
organ playing the Busker rolls, the Universal playing standard 20/26
note rolls, and a group of 'Topsy' organs playing from MIDI files.

Fortunately, Melvyn Wright began selling the 140 mm wide rolls for
the organ, so that builders were relieved of the task of hand punching
their music. The arrangements are in the widely used Carl Frei 20-note
scale. Other vendors also offer rolls in this format. Melvyn reports
that far more of the Busker format rolls are sold each year than any
other.

Some builders who have adopted the Busker roll format have built
multiple organs for sale.

John's own building was not limited to his published designs. He built,
and presented, an original 2/3 Scale 96 Keyless MIDI Dance Organ.

The John Smith "plans" are more of a project description than a set
of precise drawings. Builders are expected to design their own cases,
and often see ways to "improve" the design. As a result they have
a greater feeling of personal ownership in their organ and a desire
to share their knowledge with others.

Reflecting this activity, there are two major on-line resources
focusing on crank organ construction with broad participation:

The Busker Organ Forum
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/buskerorgan/?sid=25555f8047c513a3dd2d61dec225acb9 

The John Smith Busker And Universal Organs page at
http://www.melright.com/busker/ 

This website includes a collection of photos of organs built from
John's plans:

John Smith Photo Gallery
http://www.melright.com/busker/jsgall1.htm 

John's designs have brought hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of organ
builders and grinders into our fraternity. His impact has been
worldwide and will be long-lasting.

Wallace Venable