help me build a guitar amp from an old organ with lotsa tubes!

[silmarillion09]

i have a 1965 baldwin organ with lots and lots and lots of tubes, a power amp and an actual leslie rotating speaker. the organ is working, but as i have a hammond already, and a few keys are missing, i wanna convert it into a guitar amp. can anyone point me in the right direction? who knows how to build a tube amp from old organs?

[abyssinianson]

i have a 1965 baldwin organ with lots and lots and lots of tubes, a power amp and an actual leslie rotating speaker. the organ is working, but as i have a hammond already, and a few keys are missing, i wanna convert it into a guitar amp. can anyone point me in the right direction? who knows how to build a tube amp from old organs?

two things: learn to read a schematic and look into point to point wiring. i built a tweed copy a while back and these are two skills that you need to know when building an amp.

[chuck sabbath]

wow...what about selling it and buying a guitar amp? if you do go ahead with your plans however more power to you and be sure to post pics

[KitC]

How about pics of leslie?     I mean the leslie. 

[abyssinianson]

by the way, why would you tear apart a working organ with a leslie to make a tube amp? this seems like a gross misuse of a prized music piece eve if you do already have a hammond!

[KitC]

by the way, why would you tear apart a working organ with a leslie to make a tube amp? this seems like a gross misuse of a prized music piece eve if you do already have a hammond!

I was kinda thinking along the same lines, plus it's a Baldwin. Doesn't that account for something?

If tubes are available there, why not build a new guitar amp from scratch? The old tubes might be nearing the end of their service life anyway.

[skunkyfunk]

Dude, what Hammond do you have?  B3, C3, A100, A101, A102, RT3?  Can we be friends and bandmates?      /*switches on user-friendly mode*/

[abyssinianson]

by the way, why would you tear apart a working organ with a leslie to make a tube amp? this seems like a gross misuse of a prized music piece eve if you do already have a hammond!

I was kinda thinking along the same lines, plus it's a Baldwin. Doesn't that account for something?

If tubes are available there, why not build a new guitar amp from scratch? The old tubes might be nearing the end of their service life anyway.

true...true. a fully working hammond, wurlitzer or rhodes of the vintage kind is a prize to have that should be maintained and kept in good shape because those things appreciate in value even if you don't play them. around my neck of the woods, there are always vintage rhodes and hammonds that are in really, really bad shape but finding one in great condition because the owner appreciated what it was, is always a pleasure to see. it would break many hearts (including mine) if you gutted the poor Baldwin to make a tube amp that you could easily buy.

[silmarillion09]

thanks for all the replied guys! i have an L-100 given to me by my bandmate who has a b3 back in cdo. apparently, hindi siya bilib sa L-100 lang na hammond, pero i love this organ!

@skunkyfunk: game! pero you have to play the hammond, as i don't play keyboards very well! hey, you have a nice studio right? /*switches on user-friendly mode*/

after hearing you all talk about the baldwin that way, i now feel like restoring it... but i still need a new tube amp!

its a theatre organ if i'm not mistaken, it has around 4 dozen 12ax7 tubes at the back, not including 12 big power tubes. its in full working condition (console lights included!) the only problem is when i bought it, it had 5 missing keys. the contact bars are still there, but i don't know where to get baldwin organ keys... does anyone know a repairman for old organs?

and btw, they really don't make em like they used to!

[silmarillion09]

oh, and pics to follow, so that we all have something new to gawk at. and sir kitc, i'm just from QC!

[balta]

oi gyte! just buy a tube amp man. leave the organ alone!!! hahaha
uy tagal ko na gusto makita yung stuff  mo ah especially the hammond! hehe

[abyssinianson]

thanks for all the replied guys! i have an L-100 given to me by my bandmate who has a b3 back in cdo. apparently, hindi siya bilib sa L-100 lang na hammond, pero i love this organ!

@skunkyfunk: game! pero you have to play the hammond, as i don't play keyboards very well! hey, you have a nice studio right? /*switches on user-friendly mode*/

after hearing you all talk about the baldwin that way, i now feel like restoring it... but i still need a new tube amp!

its a theatre organ if i'm not mistaken, it has around 4 dozen 12ax7 tubes at the back, not including 12 big power tubes. its in full working condition (console lights included!) the only problem is when i bought it, it had 5 missing keys. the contact bars are still there, but i don't know where to get baldwin organ keys... does anyone know a repairman for old organs?

and btw, they really don't make em like they used to!

you can start by asking local piano tuners. those guys usually know of a person who stocks spare parts for pianos. when my parents' piano needed some work, they needed a couple ivory and ebony keys and the tuner guy was the person they asked.

[KitC]

oh, and pics to follow, so that we all have something new to gawk at. and sir kitc, i'm just from QC!

PM me your location. Me and some of the keyboard forum/pro audio guys just might sched a visit sometime.

[silmarillion09]

eto na pics!

sir kitc: pm sent!

balta: sama kana kina sir kitc!













here you go!

[silmarillion09]

oh man the pics are too big! anyway, wiill fix that later..

addendum, the organ pala is a conn, not a baldwin, mistook it for another organ we had before. would the fact its a conn make any difference to your sentiments towards saving it?

[chuck sabbath]

  wow....that looks awesome...and like a fire hazzard at the same time

too bad about the keys...i would keep it for the fun factor but i would understand if you wanted to chop it up

been listening to juan garcia esquivel all day (brilliantly cheesy/quirky lounge martini music)  this looks like it belongs on that album:mrgreen:

[KitC]

Esquivel was a man ahead of his time.... 

I was looking up the Conn and it says here that, quote: "Conn used an independent tone generator for each note and employed special keying gates to slow down slightly the attack of the notes, imitating the lag of a pipe organ.  This intentional slow attack and bold voicing of the Conn organ produced an instrument that bore an uncanny resemblance to a pipe organ for purchasers in the mainstream commercial market.  The Conn organ was famous for its string tone; if you closed your eyes, you’d think a real violin was playing."  Sound like this organ will be great for playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor.

You can find replacement parts for the Conn here. Just out of curiosity, how on earth does one break keys that thick?  Talk about heavy handed! 

[BAMF]

Good grief...save it !

Making tube amps isn't that hard anymore. In fact, I already collected parts and will be putting together 2 5Watt tube amps. It was the transformers that had me stumped before...but now that's solved .

Then up to 18 watts, then up to 50 watt marshall head.

Save the darn organ !