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| Theatre Organ Enhancements |
Rebuilding of this organ took over 2 years to complete. I began by completely stripping the finish from the organ, bench, and pedal board
assembly. The finish was a light oak color and looked like it had been applied with a brush.in places. It did not go with the walnut wood of
the console, and was certainly not the original Wurlitzer finish. All in all, it had to go.
All the old electronics were removed and discarded, as all new digital electronics would be installed later. The only electronics that were
retained were the Syndyne switches, although, during testing it was discovered that three were bad and had to be replaced. Fortunately
the vast majority were in very good shape which saved considerable expense. All wooden components were stained with a custom blend
using 2 parts mahogany to 1 part walnut. Multiple coats of hand rubbed polyurethane were then applied. The whole refinishing process
took a great deal of time, but was worth the time and effort spent.
The front left and right lower sections were carefully removed and were replaced with hand made decorative corbels. While this task was
in progress I made other modifications on the console so that it would fit through a standard 36' wide door opening. This was critical since
the console is 43" wide and my door opening is only 36". This was a time consuming task and had to be done very carefully to retain the
overall integrity of the console itself.
The 3 keyboards were disassembled and all the keys were removed All the felt was replaced and sharps were individually stripped to the
bare wood which is ebony. This was also a very time consuming task, but was definitely worth the effort as the sharps are just beautiful.
In addition, all the springs were replaced and the integrity of the keyboards was checked. The pedal board was then addressed and all
the felt was replaced and several of the wire contacts were replaced. Several of the worn pedal naturals were replaced, and all the old
sharps were replaced with new ebony capped sharps.
The organ has 192 stop tab switches and each had to be removed and repositioned to match the new specification. In addition, 192 new
stop tabs were ordered to match the new specs. This all had to be reassembled which was a very time consuming task as the positioning
must be exact. All new engraved thumb pistons were ordered and had to be installed and rewired. When this was completed all the tab
and pistons had to be wired to new driver boards and input boards. I also installed new pots and linkages to control the 4 expression
pedals.
Next, all new electronics were installed which had to be wired to the new control system and sound engines. Needless to say, much
soldering had to be done during the rewiring process. Next, 42 digital Artisan ranks and TEP's that I selected had to be installed into the
hardware and software. I spent a good deal of time pondering over the right set of specifications. Next up was to install the ranks and do
the programming necessary to control all the organ functions (all the stop tabs, pistons, toe studs, etc). This was done for me by a friend
from Artisan Instruments. The problem in my case is that the only person on staff who can do the serious programming has been dealing
with health issues for a long time. I have been dealing with them for several years, and it took over 8 months to get the programming
done on the sound engine.
This was a brief summary of the major tasks undertaken. However, there were many additional tasks done throughout the rebuilding
process, too numerous to be documented here.
The organ speaks through numerous small speakers designed in a surround sound pattern. In addition, behind and above the organ is a
pipe facade which houses 2 -- 8" speakers/subwoofers that speak to the left and right. There is also a 15" sub-woofer and 2 Mackie
SRM450's which are top end systems, each having a 12" large speaker and smaller speakers. In addition, enclosures were built for each
of the Mackies as shown below. You will note that the enclosures have shades that can be opened or closed. This provides even greater
individual control over each speaker and provides a similar resonance to what one would experience with swell shades. These speakers
are located at the opposite end of the large room, so one can truly experience the surround sound common with theatre pipe organs.
The organ sounds magnificent and I couldn't be more pleased. The finished product is truly a dream come true for me.
assembly. The finish was a light oak color and looked like it had been applied with a brush.in places. It did not go with the walnut wood of
the console, and was certainly not the original Wurlitzer finish. All in all, it had to go.
All the old electronics were removed and discarded, as all new digital electronics would be installed later. The only electronics that were
retained were the Syndyne switches, although, during testing it was discovered that three were bad and had to be replaced. Fortunately
the vast majority were in very good shape which saved considerable expense. All wooden components were stained with a custom blend
using 2 parts mahogany to 1 part walnut. Multiple coats of hand rubbed polyurethane were then applied. The whole refinishing process
took a great deal of time, but was worth the time and effort spent.
The front left and right lower sections were carefully removed and were replaced with hand made decorative corbels. While this task was
in progress I made other modifications on the console so that it would fit through a standard 36' wide door opening. This was critical since
the console is 43" wide and my door opening is only 36". This was a time consuming task and had to be done very carefully to retain the
overall integrity of the console itself.
The 3 keyboards were disassembled and all the keys were removed All the felt was replaced and sharps were individually stripped to the
bare wood which is ebony. This was also a very time consuming task, but was definitely worth the effort as the sharps are just beautiful.
In addition, all the springs were replaced and the integrity of the keyboards was checked. The pedal board was then addressed and all
the felt was replaced and several of the wire contacts were replaced. Several of the worn pedal naturals were replaced, and all the old
sharps were replaced with new ebony capped sharps.
The organ has 192 stop tab switches and each had to be removed and repositioned to match the new specification. In addition, 192 new
stop tabs were ordered to match the new specs. This all had to be reassembled which was a very time consuming task as the positioning
must be exact. All new engraved thumb pistons were ordered and had to be installed and rewired. When this was completed all the tab
and pistons had to be wired to new driver boards and input boards. I also installed new pots and linkages to control the 4 expression
pedals.
Next, all new electronics were installed which had to be wired to the new control system and sound engines. Needless to say, much
soldering had to be done during the rewiring process. Next, 42 digital Artisan ranks and TEP's that I selected had to be installed into the
hardware and software. I spent a good deal of time pondering over the right set of specifications. Next up was to install the ranks and do
the programming necessary to control all the organ functions (all the stop tabs, pistons, toe studs, etc). This was done for me by a friend
from Artisan Instruments. The problem in my case is that the only person on staff who can do the serious programming has been dealing
with health issues for a long time. I have been dealing with them for several years, and it took over 8 months to get the programming
done on the sound engine.
This was a brief summary of the major tasks undertaken. However, there were many additional tasks done throughout the rebuilding
process, too numerous to be documented here.
The organ speaks through numerous small speakers designed in a surround sound pattern. In addition, behind and above the organ is a
pipe facade which houses 2 -- 8" speakers/subwoofers that speak to the left and right. There is also a 15" sub-woofer and 2 Mackie
SRM450's which are top end systems, each having a 12" large speaker and smaller speakers. In addition, enclosures were built for each
of the Mackies as shown below. You will note that the enclosures have shades that can be opened or closed. This provides even greater
individual control over each speaker and provides a similar resonance to what one would experience with swell shades. These speakers
are located at the opposite end of the large room, so one can truly experience the surround sound common with theatre pipe organs.
The organ sounds magnificent and I couldn't be more pleased. The finished product is truly a dream come true for me.
| Rebuilding Process |
