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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 old finish was a light oak color and did not go with the walnut wood of the console. In addition, it appeared that the oak
finish was not the original Wurlitzer finish. It looked like in places the finish had been applied with a brush. 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.
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 very 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, several of the wire contacts were replaced and 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. Once all the electronics were installed the 38 digital T.O.E. 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,
and am very pleased with the end result. Next up was to do the programming necessary to control all the organ functions (all the stop
tabs, pistons, toe studs, etc). After that was done everything had to be tested, checked and rechecked. This also took a good deal of
time. The final action was the tonal finishing which was done for me by a professional concert theatre organist friend of mine.
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 old finish was a light oak color and did not go with the walnut wood of the console. In addition, it appeared that the oak
finish was not the original Wurlitzer finish. It looked like in places the finish had been applied with a brush. 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.
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 very 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, several of the wire contacts were replaced and 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. Once all the electronics were installed the 38 digital T.O.E. 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,
and am very pleased with the end result. Next up was to do the programming necessary to control all the organ functions (all the stop
tabs, pistons, toe studs, etc). After that was done everything had to be tested, checked and rechecked. This also took a good deal of
time. The final action was the tonal finishing which was done for me by a professional concert theatre organist friend of mine.
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 |
