Where are all the organs?

[TG]

Awhile back I came across an old organ in a charity shop....one of the ones from the 60s/70s with lots of buttons. Different voice options including piccolo, violin, guitar, clarinette, and built-in percussion with choices such as bossa-nova, tango, salsa, march, etc. I'll insert a photo below so you can zoom in and explore the marvels.

It got me remembering when I was a kid and there would be stores with dozens of these things.
Did people really have these in their living rooms and spend evenings playing polkas and sambas? Did they play along to Lawrence Welk?

And the big question......where are they all now? It's not like you could put them out on the curb for the garbage man to take away when you no longer wanted it. Is there an enormous organ landfill site somewhere?

 

[TG]

This is a clearer image, I think.

 

[Refugee]

Ah, the old Spinet. Too funny. My Uncle used to sell these. They were Lowreys in a shopping mall. My grandmother had one. There should be tons of them around, collecting dust.

Or, they're used for writing songs that are interpretations of classic Led Zeppelin songs, done in a reggae style, fronted by en Elvis impersonator...

 

[blue metalflake]

Found in the back yard of a music business.
probably taken as a trade in & never moved on!

 

[Refugee]

Found in the back yard of a music business.
probably taken as a trade in & never moved on!
View attachment 968985

Too funny! I used to do JamKazam with a guy named Dave in Dublin, Ireland. We would jam at 8:00 PM Pacific time (America West Coast), and would be like 4AM for him in Dublin. Great player! MIM Nashville style, killer chicken picker!

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

Awhile back I came across an old organ in a charity shop....one of the ones from the 60s/70s with lots of buttons. Different voice options including piccolo, violin, guitar, clarinette, and built-in percussion with choices such as bossa-nova, tango, salsa, march, etc. I'll insert a photo below so you can zoom in and explore the marvels.

It got me remembering when I was a kid and there would be stores with dozens of these things.
Did people really have these in their living rooms and spend evenings playing polkas and sambas? Did they play along to Lawrence Welk? View attachment 968962
And the big question......where are they all now? It's not like you could put them out on the curb for the garbage man to take away when you no longer wanted it. Is there an enormous organ landfill site somewhere?

no, not the land fill. They are in the Organ Bank.
Your gonna cry, 96 tears
cry, cry, cry, 96 tears your gonna cry 96 tears

 

[TG]

no, not the land fill. They are in the Organ Bank.
Your gonna cry, 96 tears
cry, cry, cry, 96 tears your gonna cry 96 tears



View attachment 968987 View attachment 968988

Love that song...

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

Love that song...

tHE DUO suicide HAD HYPER CRAZY FUN ORGAN MUSIC .TRY IT.

 

[drmordo]

Sadly, they are at the dump. People don't play music anymore, they program it.

 

[bgmacaw]

Some thrift stores still take them when grandma has to go into assisted living. Then, bottom feeder guitar players steal the tubes out of them. For example, this Hammond M3 (being sold for $75 as I recall) I ran across had its 6V6's removed. I considered buying it, although fixing it back up would have been quite a challenge for me. When I went back the following weekend to take another look, someone had pulled the rest of the tubes. So, I passed on it.

 

[scook]

Sadly, they are at the dump. People don't play music anymore, they program it.

Sad but true.

I have an old pump organ my grandmother had and I can’t even find someone to do any repairs on it. I’m sure when I’m gone it will probably go the same route as me.

 

[bgmacaw]

Sadly, they are at the dump. People don't play music anymore, they program it.

I like programming my music sometimes with a MIDI controller and vintage organ VSTs, like this one with Mellotron ones.

 

[uriah1]

Ya, the Farfisa ?, vox Jaguars (rascals), and Kustom padded keys
You have not lived until you have helped cart a b3 down a basement or to
a gig with leslies. We had coffin holders nailed to the side that made it easier.

 

[3fngrs]

Sad but true.

I have an old pump organ my grandmother had and I can’t even find someone to do any repairs on it. I’m sure when I’m gone it will probably go the same route as me.

Landfill?

Just kidding, saw an opening and couldn't let it go. Sorry.

 

[Red Ryder]

My mom still has and plays hers. 88 years old, her first one was a small portable type then she bought this huge double decker contraption, just amazing.

 

[bgmacaw]

You have not lived until you have helped cart a b3 down a basement

I had a Hammond portable organ (it looked similar to the photo below) that I sold in my big gear purge of 1992. The guy who bought it showed up driving a Fiero with his girlfriend. It was funny watching him trying to fit it and his girlfriend into that tiny car. I think he almost considered leaving her behind.

 

[bholder]

I have a Hammond A3 Heritage (modern B3 with every possible bell and whistle) sitting in a storage unit because I haven't cleared a place to set it up. Sigh. Gotta get to that!

 

[StoneH]

You have not lived until you have helped cart a b3 down a basement or to a gig with leslies.

Same, but with an M3 (I don't think a B3 would have fit). The club was a basement bar aptly named "The Downunder".

 

[jackal]

I used to work in a TV store that sold the ones with the built in sound effects, drum beats and such. They sounded so bad, used to drive me crazy when the salesman would fire them up. In shopping malls they would drive customers away. So cheesy.

 

[loopfinding]

no, not the land fill. They are in the Organ Bank.
Your gonna cry, 96 tears
cry, cry, cry, 96 tears your gonna cry 96 tears



View attachment 968987 View attachment 968988

those are worth money. it's the home organs no one cares about...ironically, they are the same thing (a top octave generator and a bunch of dividers).