Bob Ralston - I left my H.i.S.F., Thomas Organ

[@DavidSmith-648]

I think I left mine in Wolverhampton....(video liked, thank you Paul for uploading!!!)

[@testaccount1140]

Great album. I got this when I was a kid. Always loved Bob Ralston's playing. He had such a beautiful take on these popular songs. Also looked forward to see him on Lawrence Welk every week. I was sad whenever the show didn't feature an organ solo by him.

[@ezekielanderson785]

I know it is pretty randomly asking but does anyone know of a good place to watch newly released movies online ?

[@shepherdconor9565]

@Ezekiel Anderson Flixportal :D

[@ezekielanderson785]

@Shepherd Conor thanks, I signed up and it seems like a nice service =) Appreciate it!!

[@shepherdconor9565]

@Ezekiel Anderson Glad I could help xD

[@TheCarambasam]

Loved the sound of the Thomas organ. In the 70s I used to take lessons in an organ shop and I was always happiest when I was put onto the latest Thomas organ. Such a lovely, mellow sound!

[@bobjennings9889]

I new Bob back in the 1970's. He came to our Thomas Organ and Baldwin store in Hayward California and gave a magnificent performance! Bob Jennings

[@davemerrick8432]

At 68 I was born and raised in San Leandro. In 1965 my dad gave me, along with my first [GE] stereo one of two Bob Ralston albums recorded on the [HUH? HAMMOND ORGAN!?!] I had no idea he had ever been in Hayward. Thanks for posting this!

[@MaxThompsonMusic]

Such a warm sound. Love it.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

I do love the Thomas tone. My absolute favorite organ sound though is the JOHN WINTERS ORGAN MOODS.

[@gunderthein3243]

Bravo

[@dalecurry8639]

Hi Bob, I just want to let you know that you were, have been and always will be my favorite pianist. I have watched you on the LW show for more years than I can remember. My all time favorite song that you play is " Rapsody in Blue " and my second is " Bumble Boogie ". I hope someday to see you in person however I don't think that will ever happen as I will turning 77 next month and it is getting harder and harder for me to get around. You take care and keep your key boards warm. Dale Curry -

[@germanmartinez4677]

My congratulations to whom published it 😍😍😍😆😆😆

[@germanmartinez4677]

Really fantastic this music wonderful an angelical sounds

[@drepalla]

Thanks for sharing this one Paul, it is amazing!

[@johnferguson8993]

Amazing sound and amazing performer!

[@louploch3992]

I grew up as a person of the 1960's who played keyboard [Hammond, Gulbranson, etc.] plus experimented with sounds made by transistors and early IC's I built a PAIA synth and had nothing but problems when the smallest surge would blow the IC's. Transistors also had problems with frequency drift and power surges. Zener voltage regulators helped but unlike the Hammond which kept on going and going, there were many manufacturers that couldn't quite get their act together and they came and went. Its totally stunning what a 30 lb digital synth/workstation can do today as compared to a 150 to 200 lb instrument of the past . It's even more amazing that a smart phone has more computing power then all the NASA computers had for the first space launch. If you want a truly analog sound all you do is sample it digitally and its there. Yamaha put on a concert many years ago with what the audience thought was an 8or10 foot grand but in the middle of the concert they just wheeled the back of the piano offstage and there it was, a digital piano. I don't think anything's been the same ever since.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Sadly electrolytic capacitors are the weak link in electronics, but making sure you simply turn on the organ for 20-30mins per month, if even once, it will help prevent the dry rot of the e'caps. Liken it to driving a collector vehicle on occasion so the tires and hoses, etc. don't go bad. Hammond crazily had no fuses on their power supplies/preamps/amps! Laurens Hammond took his clockmaker confidence to the extreme. I've had to replace a couple transformers on my Hammond TW organs and HR40 tone cabs. Like Hammond tone wheel organs 1936-1975, Wurlitzer's electrostatic Reed organs 1946-1963, they last forever. The reeds were zapped with 310 volts DC and the capacitive discharge produces a perfect pure harmonic , which is filtered for the sweetest 'bold flute tone, strings, and horn/ reed voices. Unlike the 1946-1952 models, the '53-'63 _Wurlitzer Continuous Free Reed electrostatic Reed organs, All reeds are blown (actually vacuumed) continuously for instant attack. The reeds are in sound proof enclosures. Check out *North Suburban Hammond Organ Society* nshos.com tech article on the great 1953-1963 Wurlitzer 4600 electrostatic Reed organ- nshos.com/Wurli-Intro.htm . The 4600/4602 and identical, just less keys and pedals, 4410 spinet were the worlds first organs with Sustain. Listen to me demo my '56 Wurlitzer 4410 electrostatic Reed organ as you read the cool animated tech article about it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZXCnaKJjaqdbs0 The DC keying sustain circuit became the industry standard, as it is simple and ingenious . Each key on the keyboard and pedal has it's own cap/resistor bleeder circuit, for real independence of each notes decay like in real life. Of course the truly wild center hub relay, two in fact (SUSTAIN I & II for FLUTE and STRING/REED respectfully) were unique only to these 'ES Reed' Wurli's. Unlike the 1977-1979 Wurlitzer 625/630/950 Top Order Synthesis organs with input/output "sustain circuitry". Although it was good for sustain effects, like 'repeat sustain'. Funny though, My '77 Wurlitzer 625T theater organ worked great except Sustain, and it's Orbit Synth's portamento.

[@Silverado1st]

Ive had two Thomas electric organs, one, my dads organ from the 70's, unfortunately was ruined being outside in the weather for years due to circumstances. I drove 1600 miles to pick one up from an e-bay sale in Kentucky. Grew up with my dad playing for years, usually after dinner and before bedtime. It has a fantastic sound and has been a source of great fun, memories, entertainment for family, friends and neighbors over many years. Still brings a tear to my eye when I play the many songs my father taught me. Its one thing to play an organ, its totally another to make it SING :-D

[@paulj0557tonehead]

+John Andersen Thanks for the sweet comment about how you value the organ in your life. It really is a wonderful instrument that I came to after 20+ years of playing guitar seriously. I had no idea of the tonal world that would open to me upon discovering the organ. I was given a Lowrey Burkshire organ from the late 50's or early 60's. From there I got a Hammond A100 and a Leslie 122. Have had many organs, and still have many. I no longer have my Thomas Palace III, but do have 2 Wurlitzer electrostatic reed organs, a Hammond X-66, a Gulbransen Rialto II, a Conn 543, early Conn all tube spinet...love them all really. Thomas organs have the fullest tonality of any organ I've ever played, but it takes a very special touch to perfect playing one. This is why it is nice hearing a virtuoso player like Bob Ralston play a Thomas. It's always been my feeling that if a person has a really strong piano background the Thomas would be the ideal organ to make the transition to. If you haven't posted a video of your playing please do so, I look forward to hearing it. Be sure to put 'Thomas Organ' in the title. Happy New Years and thanks for commenting.- Paul

[@Silverado1st]

paulj0557 Hi Paul, thank you and hope your having a happy new year as well. Wow you are sporting quite the collection. I have many smaller keyboards, casio, yamaha a old upright piano and a Kitty synthesizer floating around somewhere. Ive been thinking of making a video of all the songs I play by ear, for my daughter, something to have in later years. Last I checked in my early 30's I knew about 300 songs from memory. I will send a link soon as I get one uploaded. Im far from Bob Ralstons league lol, but Im fairly decent I guess.

[@MoolFuzz]

Very good brother!

[@jjas20091]

Beautiful sounding organ! Bob did use the Cello 8' a lot for a solo stop. I wish he had used more reed solo stops.

[@nickgtv]

A favorite record by Bob Ralston. Despite the Thomas Celebrity on the cover, it sounds like several cuts on this album were done on the Trianon (606 series). Trianon giveaways are some the percussions (Swiss Bells, Vibes); Celebrity giveaways are use of the Arpeggiator/Glissando bar, and a slightly richer sound. OTOH, I'd imagine there was some overdubbing to fully utilize all resources.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Well guys the mystery of what a Versatone Footnote is over, someone on the Organ Forum explained it. Apparently it is like the Trek II system of 'string bass' for the pedals. he said the Trek was a better system so the Versatone never took off. Personally I'd like to see actual bass strings under each pedal and then use pick-ups to give it a genuine bass guitar tone ( for those who like that). If you look at a pedal harpsichord this is what gave me the idea.

[@amyknarr2270]

Could you give a playlist? Thanks!

[@paulj0557tonehead]

+Amy Knarr TracklistHide Credits A1Try To RememberWritten-By - H. Schmidt*, T. Jones*2:10A2The Shadow Of Your SmileWritten-By - J. Mandel*, P. F. Webster*2:21A3My Cup Runneth OverWritten-By - Schmidt*, Jones*2:13A4Stranger On The ShoreWritten-By - R. Mellin*3:01A5Petite FleurWritten-By - S. Bechet*2:13B1I Left My Heart In San FranciscoWritten-By - D. Cross*, G. Cory*2:24B2Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My HeadWritten-By - H. David - B. Bacharach*2:21B3Moon RiverWritten-By - H. Mancini*, J. Mercer*2:26 In a simple search for the album you can usually always find a tracklist:) www.discogs.com/Lawrence-Welk-Presents-Bob-Ralston-I-Left-My-Heart-In-San-Francisco/release/2086089 ( Not only do I usually put tracklists on my videos, I usually put more images on them too...have over 400 organ records that one day I will post more. Am looking for a good record/recordings of the GULBRANSEN RIALTO II organ ( prod. 1975/1978) [ I own and play one]. Also looking for recordings of a WURLITZER ORGATRON SERIES 30/31 electrostatic keyed-reed from 1946-1950. Own one of those as well. The videos of the guy playing one setting on his series 20 electrostatic keyed-reed don't do the organ justice. Absolutely zero staccato playing, only legato classical. I have ten top organs including a Conn Classic 815, an all tube model, which I have posted 3 records of this organ- PAUL MICKELSON CONN CLASSIC, JOHN GART ORGAN ON THE MARCH , and I didn't post this record, but shopuld since this one is a sadly iphone miked recording of this record playing on a turntable- GEORGE WRIGHT PLAYS THE CONN ELECTRONIC ORGAN . I do have this record so maybe if I make a point of posting it I will post more. PEOPLE YOU CAN POST ENTIRE ORGAN RECORDS, NOT JUST ONE OR TWO SONGS! Nobody is coming after the copyright infringement I assure you. Not for an old organ record. Maybe the Jimmy Smith titles, but that's about it. All of his records are on on a torrent anyway, a big file btw.

[@kenkendal3143]

Long Live LSI ICs!!

[@paulj0557tonehead]

I got mine for 19.999 cents (10 for $1.99 at Goodwill). So many great organs, so many great organ records! If you are new to the organ then welcome to the coolest, most profoundly enjoyable musical instrument ever- the electronic organ! Of course you must give it a chance. Maybe several chances, but once you get the bug you'll be thrilled you did. Next step is buying a good organ for about $25 to $300. Today a perfect Wurlitzer 4500R just sold here in Columbus Ohio for $25. I like my 4500 best.

[@pedritoortiz5017]

paulj0557 that's funny I have a wurlitzer 4500

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Yeah' mine too. These exclaim, 'HEY WORLD THE ORGAN IS OVER HERE,WAKE UP!'

[@Eurodollartrader]

Wasn't this played in that big boiler room at the House on the Rock in Wisconsin?

[@Wurlitzer2ify]

The analog organs sound more "alive" than digital. I have heard a few very modern digital organs that are an improvement, but still it is the older models that my ears enjoy the most.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Hi James(?), you hanging in there?

[@pedritoortiz5017]

what is the organ model for this thomas. I must find one!

[@paulj0557tonehead]

It's the Thomas Celebrity, and/or Thomas Lawrence Welk Celebrity. Bob Ralston played the Thomas Trianon (1972' model), and from 77'-80' had, that I know of, the 77' Thomas Trianon at his home studio. I have Bob Ralston song book with several ' Bob at home with his family' pictures. Pictured is his Trianon, a TEAC 4-Track Reel to Reel tape recorder deck. Actually the Trianon, whether, 72',77',or 79', they show up on Craigslist often. As one who has owned every era of Thomas made, I suggest you seek any of the following Thomas> Trianon, a Celebrity/Lawrence Welk ( on this album), 60's Malibu, and although rare, the blonde cabinetry Thomas console organs...very high quality, will have several chrome foot stop switches. I posted another album with a Thomas organ with a black & white push-buttons across the face, pictured in the videos thumbnail image, as well on the cover of the actual record sleeve. It states the model of Thomas it is in the video. Anyway, this is an early 1960's Thomas console organ. It is transistor w/ a vacuum tube amplifier. As with all Thomas, Gulbransen, and Rodgers organs, these brands were never vacuum tube tone generator, but FULLY DISCRETE TRANSISTOR TONE GENERATOR ORGANS [ 'discrete' meaning 'one task/operation, so individual transistors, not IC/integrated circuit 'chips'] . However both Thomas and Gulbransen did utilize VACUUM TUBE AMPLIFIERS on all of their organs until approx. 1965'. About the period you start seeing colorful tab/switches (this current Bob R. album in video) is when the entire organ was discrete transistor. Rule of thumb. if the organ looks great, plays great, and fully operational, you've got a winner. However, there will be a very good chance that other than dirty contacts ( keys/pedals/switches/tabs) which will improve, OTHER failures might start to happen. This is because CAPACITORS which have been dormant and drying out ( see drying out ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITOR FAILURE + VINTAGE ELECTRONICS). IF YOU BEGIN HEARING A LOW HUMMMMM, THAT IS AN EASY REPAIR. PRACTICE SAFETY, ESPECIALLY WHEN SERVICING VACUUM TUBE ELECTRONICS. AT ANY RATE, TO RID THE HUM LOOK UP A HOW-TO FOR> " SERVICING AMPLIFIER POWER SUPPLY FILTER CAPACITORS '

[@josephgraif2588]

what is lost here is the fact that ALL of these electric and electronic organs were intended to re-create the sound of the theatre PIPE organ, which was invented to "give a voice" to the silent film. unfortunately, none of them accomplished that task, even though some of them created pleasing sounds. it is the digital instruments of today that reproduce the realistic sound of the theatre pipe organ. bob ralston is an accomplished theatre organist, who can navigate a wurlitzer console as well as anyone. his accomplishments on thomas instruments are a piece of cake in comparison.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Yeah, both TPO and electric/electronics sound amazing. Totally different worlds, but great ANALOG sound. As a guitar player for years before taking up organ in 1996, I thrive on the interaction of the electromagnetic properties of a Hammond organ pushing vacuum tubes and vintage speakers. When cranked up, my Gulbransen Rialto II has a great theater sound. As does my all transistor 64' Wurlitzer 4300. As far as digital goes, I appreciate the digital Haupterk theater pipe organ, but as with electric guitar, and analog electronic organs, I love the sound of immediacy...of the analog circuits. I play my 1958 all vacuum tube CONN 815 CLASSIC. I use real trombone and trumpet horn bells driven by Jensen horn drivers. Between those and my 3 Leslie speakers, it's as majestic for theater organ friendly tunes as a real Wurlitzer imho.

[@Arrangista-51]

Salve, paulj0557 Vedo che mi sono espresso male: sono perfettamente d'accordo che i componenti da te citati sono di eccellente qualità;possiedo una Radiomarelli ad onde medie del 1938(condensatori Ducati) - era di mio padre - che funziona ancora,basta accenderla una volta al mese;Ho salvato dalla discarica un Farfisa Matador del 1974, un GEM Jumbo 61-R6-anni '70, un Siel LX 61 degli anni '80 e due tastiere autocostruite, di cui una del 1973 con transistori al Germanio:esse sono la testimonianza delle capacità dei nostri padri. Io però io mi riferivo al fatto che mi sarebbe impossibile,adesso,costruirmi un organo,anche semplice,tipo Matador, con componenti nuovi di fabbrica di qualità decente e dal prezzo non proibitivo, (almeno in Italia).Io non voglio costruire Ferrari (come gli organi da te citati) ma delle semplici utilitarie analogiche. Mi ha fatto piacere ascoltare organi Thomas il cui suono è paragonabile a quello delle marche più blasonate ( credevo facessero solo KIT). Grazie per l'attenzione, Saluti.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

+arrangista Yes, our ancestors knew how to build quality instruments. As far as the console organs and spinet organs I mentioned being "Ferrari's" compared to the combo organs like VOX, FARFISA, GEM? Actually they are the SAME QUALITY. Whether you are playing a FARFISA COMPACT DUO or a HAMMOND X-66 $10,000 CONSOLE ( in 1967!), these are the SAME QUALITY AND SAME INTEGRITY OF DESIGN. So I say, sure you can build organs from scratch, part by part, in 2016 but why??? There are so many SPINET and CONSOLE organs being destroyed daily that with very little effort you can convert a SPINET organ into a COMBO organ. Did you know that if you find any YAMAHA ELECTONE wooden SPINET size organ ( 2 manuals X 42 keys & 13 pedals), you can turn it into a COMBO organ very easily that has the same sound as the famous YC-10 and YC-20. In fact, you can take a YAMAHA ELECTONE BK4, B4CR, etc. and simply remove the back cover of the organ and disconnect the speakers,reverb tank, and AC power cord, you can then cut the organ in half- removing the entire upper half of the organ from the lower half. The plywood under the keyboards is solid enough to simply reupholster the organ with Tolex covering ( like what was used on Fender or Marshall guitar amps, or Vox, Farfisa, or Ace Tone combo organs). You mention the 'Ferrari', well you can also make a 'Ferrari combo organ' by doing the same upper/lower split organ with ANY organ, not just making a home-made "Hammond Porta-B" , but you can make ANY organ into a portable organ. There are many creative ways to do it. I took a WURLITZER 4500 and removed the TOP HALF from the BOTTOM HALF. The Bottom half I turned into an amazing speaker system. The WURLITZER 4500 console organ has 2-12" speakers ( one is a high wattage Jensen Special Design), 2- 6X9", a WURLITZER SPECTRATONE ROTARY SPEAKER SYSTEM,a JENSEN HORN, and a 5" midrange speaker! It was easy to then put a LID on the BOTTOM HALF to make an ALL NEW: STEREO, FULL FREQUENCY RANGE ROTARY ORGAN SPEAKER! Also, it can serve as a piece or furniture ( the Wurlitzer 4500 is a beautiful amber stained hard wood veneer), or you can cover it with Tolex, etc. and sit the 4500 ORGAN TOP HALF ON TOP, OR USE IT FOR YOUR COMBO ORGANS. I have owned 2 COMBO organs as well - VOX JAGUAR and a FARFISA FAST 4 ( the FAST 4 is a great organ! It is ALL METAL, no wood, it has legs built-in too! No more 'lost legs:(' I also got a great deal!>> I saw an ad in Craigslist for a " WURLITZER PIANO 120" $25. WOW!! I ran to the 'antique store' that advertised it that day. Sure enough, it was MINT CONDITION 1950's WURLITZER ELECTRIC PIANO ( exactly like the one RAY CHARLES PLAYED [Jamie Fox played in the movie 'RAY']. Mine has the wire that runs horizontally through the music rack. It cam with the BENCH,4 Legs,LID, and plays perfect! I did have to make a sustain pedal for it though. Yes, that was my best find ever I think. Although I did buy a BONVICINI ELECTOCHORD, or PIANOCHORD 'pedistal accordion' for $30 on EBAY! A few years later I listed my Pianochord on Craigslist. A day later a man emailed me asking me if I would trade my Pianochord for his HAMMOND X-66, it's 12-77 matching tone cabinet, and the organ had the TREK TRANSPOSER, and a LESLIE 122 kit on it as well. Of course I said yes!! He didn't even know I played organ. Anyway, he told me he was disappointed because he paid $2,000 for it a few months earlier 400 miles from his home. He said the organ played perfectly, but when he arrived home with the organ, the organ did not work! So, it sat in his garage and he decided to get rid of it. So we traded. When I got the organ home I suspected the Leslie 122 kit because the half-moon switches were making loud noises when I switched the switches. Yes, that was the problem. It was a COLD SOLDER JOINT that was the fault of the LESLIE FACTORY! The 8-pin mini-socket malfunctioned because the cold solder joint caused the wire to break loose and touch something else too. I re-soldered the connection and that fixed it:) The Hammond X-66 is like the FERRARI COMBO ORGAN if there ever was a combo organ! Well, okay it's not a combo organ, but the transistor flip-flop circuits are just like a combo organ. The X-66 is an amazing organ! You can play ANY STYLE, ANY MOOD, ANY ERA,ANDY GENRE of organ on the X-66, not just Mexican music.lol Watch ' DON BLAIR INTERVIEWS ROSA RIO'. Rosa played music of the 1930's and 40's on the X-66 in this video during the interview. Watch ' OMAR GARCIA' for more modern DAW type playing on the X-66. It was the first HIFI organ made from 67'-73'. You can play it directly into a PA or DAW these days. The X-66 is air tight so when you open the organ it is like brand new always. There are 2 miles of white wire ONLY for the keyboards! The PERCUSSION TABS (key percussion and repeat percussion) uses 120volts on the transistors for an amazing 105db of headroom! So the percussion voices, like MARIMBA,PIANO,GLOCK,XYLOPHONE,etc. they sound extremely realistic and professional. The GLOCK sounds better than even the best digitally sampled real glock! Mostly though, it is the draw bars that are great sounding. Still though, I love my OLD 1950's Wurlitzer and Conn organs the best. Until you own an all-tube individual oscillator conn organ, or a LOWREY DSO or DSO-1 you haven't experienced the ultimate tone. Check out ADRIAN ROSE LOWREY DSO-1 or RORY MORE at the LOWREY HERITAGE organ ( he has a few videos). If you EVER come across a LOWREY DSO or DSO-1 grab it! a great great organ!

[@steveburton2410]

It's just not the same to not be able to see the frantic registration changes.

[@MaxThompsonMusic]

Do you happen to know if all the tracks were from the Thomas, or if they used an electric guitar for example for the picked parts? Being the Lawrence Welk show, I'm curious as some of it sounds close to their band stuff.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

The Thomas organs were the boldest, punchy'est organs. Think Fender Strat clean punch, so on STRING tabs it very decently pulls off electric guitar tones, but I haven't listened to this record for several months. However there are two tracks specifically that has Bob's awesome punchy Thomas tone. A Thomas is ideal for a trained pianist to transition to as a first organ. Preferably a well maintained pre-1974 model, unless their top model 77' and 79' TRIANON. Bob Ralston played the Trianon on the Welk show in the late 70's. Great organ.

[@MaxThompsonMusic]

@@paulj0557tonehead Interesting. I'm referring to the muted guitar parts, which sound pretty much identical to the muted guitars in the various Lawrence Welk songs. Maybe if those are from the organ they used them on the show as well.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

That's right Lou, but who is on first?

[@Arrangista-51]

L'elettronica analogica ha bisogno di condensatori e resistenze di ottima qualità: da quando essi sono fabbricati in Cina, non è più possibile ottenerli. Questo ha decretato la fine (spero temporanea) degli organi ed anche di altri ottimi apparecchi analogici. Saluti, Sebastiano.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

+arrangista Absolutely NOT! The QUALITY of the ALLEN BRADLEY RESISTORS // MALLORY AND SPRAGUE CAPACITORS // SYLVANIA, GE,TELEFUNKEN,MULLARD VACUUM TUBES // FAIRCHILD, AND TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TRANSISTORS....All were made so well that failure is very rare even after 50 YEARS!!!!! So you saying the analog organ has come to an end is simply wrong! I own 11 organs now and have had over 20 organs. ALL have worked excellent with very basic, simple repairs using easy to obtain NEW OLD STOCK, or QUALITY 100% GOOD USED >> ALLEN BRADLEY RESISTORS // MALLORY AND SPRAGUE CAPACITORS // SYLVANIA, GE,TELEFUNKEN,MULLARD VACUUM TUBES // FAIRCHILD, AND TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TRANSISTORS. Not to mention, CHINA might make poor quality components, but remember SO DID WE IN THE UNITED STATES,JAPAN,KOREA,PORTUGAL,etc. even while these great organs were being produced new. The ORGAN MANUFACTURES SIMPLY CHOSE THE QUALITY THEY DESIRED. ABSOLUTELY, POOR QUALITY WAS AVAILABLE, BUT THEY CHOSE BETTER QUALITY. AS IS THE CASE NOW WHEN WE AS PLAYERS/RESTORERS CHOOSE TO RECONDITION OUR INSTRUMENTS! As an owner of THOMAS,WURLITZER,HAMMOND,CONN,GULBRANSEN,YAMAHA, and KAWAI organs I do know which manufacture of these organs chose which quality of parts for their organs. Without any doubt at all WURLITZER used the BEST OF THE BEST EVERYTHING! They even used thick green coated epoxy PC boards all the way back in 1964! Next best was HAMMOND, except Hammond foolishly did not add circuit protection on their organs- NO FUSES! So anyone restoring a Hammond tone wheel organ needs to add them! BOTH HAMMOND TONE WHEEL ORGANS AND WURLITZER ELECTROSTATIC REED ORGANS ARE ELECTROMECHANICAL AND CAN PLAY PERFECT FOR OVER 1,000 YEARS WITH SIMPLE CAPACITOR CHANGES EVERY 40-50 YEARS. Neither branded needs tuned EVER! And the only electronics are for the amplification, not tone generation, because that is done using electromechanical systems, which last forever so long as you oil the tone wheel oil cups and motor on HAMMOND, and ONLY OIL THE MOTOR FOR THE BLOWER ( actually makes vacuum) ON THE WURLITZER ELECTROSTATIC REED ORGANS. I have a 1946' Wurlitzer series 31 Orgatron ELECTROSTATIC KEYED-REED organ that plays like it was built yesterday, and it is 100% original! I have a 1956' Wurlitzer 4410 ELECTROSTATIC FREE-REED organ that plays like it was built yesterday and it too is 100% original! Thomas organs used very good quality, but not the best. YAMAHA used all Japanese components. However BOTH THOMAS AND YAMAHA ORGANS STILL OPERATE 100% PERFECT WITH VERY VERY SIMPLE REPAIRS OF THE ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS IN THE POWER SUPPLY. Just because a part is manufactured in CHINA does not make it inferior. Fact is that CHINA plays the SAME GAME OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND as everyone has ALWAYS PLAYED! As long as there are people DEMANDING quality, SOMEONE will deliver! Even from China! How? It's simple. I buy my CAPACITORS from CANADA. The CAPACITOR SELLER IN CANADA DEMANDS THE MANUFACTURE IN CHINA MEETS HIS DEMAND FOR QUALITY. SO THEY DO! I pay a little more for this extra quality, which is excellent by the way. In fact, I pay about the same price for a good quality electronic component now as I paid 30 years ago! You should be aware also, that NEW OLD STOCK electrolytic capacitors are more prone to failure than a good quality NEW electrolytic capacitor. You should be aware that ALLEN BRADLEY made excellent POTENTIOMETERS,RESISTORS, and SWITCHES, but ANYONE WHO PAYS 1 US DOLLAR FOR 1 RESISTOR, or 30 or 40 or 50 US DOLLARS FOR ONE POTENTIOMETER IS A TOTAL IDIOT AND THE SELLER IS A SCAM ARTIST. Same is true for the BUMBLEBEE CAPACITORS. They are great capacitors, but not that great. I have a 1957' CONN CLASSIC all vacuum tube individual oscillator organ that is has over 100 Bumblebee capacitors in it. I considered changing some to the new versions of MUSTARD CAPACITORS ( The old MUSTARD DIPPED CAPACITORS SOUNDED GREAT IN MY MARSHALL AND SOUND CITY GUITAR AMPS). The new versions aren't dipped, but essentially made the same otherwise. Honestly I could hear no difference in this application so I left my 57' Conn organ 100% original, except I changed a few tubes with EASILY AVAILABLE - TESTED GOOD - USED VINTAGE VACUUM TUBES. 85 of 100 tubes are original and sound perfect, and 15 tubes are vintage original-tested good. BOTTOM LINE. The WORST THING ANYONE CAN DO FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ELECTRONIC ORGAN IS TO MAKE A COMMENT LIKE YOU DID. THIS ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO MISTREAT THE ORGANS OUT OF IGNORANCE! THEY ARE ALL EASILY SERVICED! So please avoid making such comments. I forgive you, but you NOW stand corrected!

[@Robbie1949]

I also am a tech of 40 plus years repairing older electronic organs and an organist of similar years playing. The Thomas celebrity as with most Thomas organs were built for a price, cheaper components and no precious metal used on phosphor bronze contact whiskers. As an organ in the 1960-70's they offered more bangs for buck but suffered in quality of build. Lowery were similar but of slightly better quality. Thomas electrolytic capacitors were prone to go o/c more than most. In all the Conn series of analogue organs probably were the best along with Allen but the later was priced excessively. In 1977-8 Conn started using keyer intergrated circuits along with a fully digital multiplexed system to key all the tone generators used by the organ except in some smaller models where the pulse signals were keyed by whisker contacts on a separate keying rod. The tibia , flute (sinewave) signals were keyed by keyer IC's in a multiplex system. This certainly made them harder to service but a lot less contacts to clean, I own a CONN 652 theatre organ and although it's probably the most complex organ I have ever serviced it's not as complicated as some radars I have meet with discrete components, close though. You certainly can't service a problem with the multiplexers without a dual channel oscilloscope with at least 20 Mhz bandwidth, 100 Mhz is better. The big problem with the CONN key multiplexer 40 pin IC's is their availability, there are none available off the shelf. I have taken to wrecking spinets to keep the more worthwhile instruments :- 652, 644 full console types going. I am presently designing a test circuit to test keyer chips for serviceability as these things do fail quite often, and sometimes new old stock are found to be serviceable regardless of what the seller says. They are MOS technology and it doesn't take much of a static charge to destroy a gate. The fact that most domestic organs went this way especially Lowery, Wurlitzer and other US types, all the Japanese creations as well leaves most 1980 plus organs repairable if an in house IC has failed. Thomas went bankrupt in 1979 so didn't ever get into large scale intergration. In fact most circuitry used didn't change from 1970 to 1979. One last word is the trouble from mice, as these older instruments are stored away in garages due to no longer being used. Mice make their homes in organs so stored and the destruction caused by their urine and defecation can be enormous. I have had the misfortune to be tasked with bringing instruments so infested back to operation and I now hate all these small destructive vermin with a vengeance.........Rob

[@paulj0557tonehead]

My X-66 is mouse proof! Very awsome, considering it was in a garage when I got it. Actually all pre-PCB organs do well with mice, the urine just corrodes the chassis'. Nice hearing from you, I'd type more, but types so much already to night. I decided to type much of what I know so I can just link people back to these two posts I just made instead of rewriting it out. I did enjoy the multiplex keying on my HAMMOND ELEGANTE 81'. I've owned several Thomas organs and know the quirks. The electrolytic caps fail, but they are used slightly different too in places. My 3 manual PALACE III was fairly well made. The only reason I got out of playing Thomas organs was I just found my HAMMOND, WURLITZER, CONN, and GULBRANSEN organs to be suoperior in every way, but Thomas organs greatest asset is indeed in their uniquely bold tone. No ensemble, but in the hands of a person with a solid piano background, then with a year or two of organ playing they can make these organs sing! Bob Ralston proves these are great sounding organs. Of course people have to also be fans of sometimes less 'notey' harmonics associated with certain single solo voices, but I happen to really like the feel of the Thomas vibrato so it all works out that these particular tones have 'cut through' personality with a little animation. Sort of endeering I think. Others just say, "cheap", "inferior". Guess you just have to like lots of tones. This is why I always have 4 brands of organs. Love my Wurlitzer electrostatic reed organs. In fact I have finally gotten my 1946 WURLITZER ORGATRON Electrostatic KEYED-REED organs in place and it's 5' tall WURLITZER 310 'Vibrato' tone cabinet going as well. It's and organ and cab that was found in 2010 in a vacant home since 1971. So it really has only had 25 years of play at the most. All of the tubes test good and I have it hooked up and playing withing the next week, I look forward to playing STACCATO ON IT!!! All of the Keyed-Reed players on KZbin ONLY play Legato and it drives me crazy. Play a blasted chord from an inch off the keys PLEASE!! lol The owners manuals says it was a great organ for skiating rinks, supper clubs, and about every other of a dozen places that play legato...so we'll see. I made a video with my WURLITZER 4410 so maybe I'll hack one out with this series 31 Orgatron too. :)

[@louploch3992]

Oh that early MOS technology, walk across a wool rug and go to play your keyboard. That little spark surely crippled a lot of the instruments that relied on them for sound. I remembered keeping a stock of them to keep my PAIA synth running. Frankly I dont know where you could ever find replacements today plus a little too much heat from your soldering gun also fried them. I serviced the early computers and found that mice also loved the warmth next to the power supply. At least your smart phone is too small for a mouse to get into.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

lou ploch Actually the Top Order Synthesis CMOS chips just produced the basic wave forms of the fundamental notes of the keyboard. You can get generic TOS chips today cheaply. In fact there are organ supply houses that sell the complete generic replacement boards to cover 5 octaves and can be quickly retrofitted to all of the 1970's Thomas,KImball, Baldwin, Hammond,Gulbransen, Wurlitzer, Yamaha etc organs. Sampling is great, but another very cool technology is the FPGA boards people are literally creating Hammond organs ( and hopefully others!) organs from the ground up so that instead of samples the entire tone wheel generators tones are created one by one in their own permanent FIELD PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAY (FPGA). You can even duplicate the key click,cross talk, motor start up sound, VIBRATO/CHORUS scanner, and run individual 9-contacts per key, so it essentially exactly a Hammond tone wheel organ. Really, like all clones the only thing missing is the " sound of magnetism". Belive me I can tell the most perfected clone from the real thing because they can't duplicate the tonality of the magnetism. People might laugh at me, but I have been playing electric guitar and hammond organ for a combined total of 58 years, so yes I can hear it:) ( I'm 51 btw). My Hammond X-66 organ has a TREK 3 replacement PC board tone generator as I described above, which replaced the 12-TONE WHEEL GENERATOR from a former owner. The tone wheels on an X66 operate by following the generated tone from the tone wheel and distorting it into a square wave, then using that to create the TRIANGLE and SAW TOOTH WAVES for the ORCHESTRAL VOICES ON THE ORGAN ( reed,string, diapason), and converted to sine waves for the DRAW BARS. The X66's also have more draw bars than the traditional 9-draw bar Hammonds. It would be nice to have an X66 organ on the FPGA board. The FPGA boards can be purchased unprogrammed for as low as $39 these days! Also because the GATE ARRAYS are permanent you can turn the organ on and off without risk of data loss. KZbin SEARCH " HOAX HAMMOND ORGAN ' to hear an FPGA Hammond ( they have a few videos).

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Whu?? at 5:07 and 5:13 is clearly a bell...not a Thomas chime

[@iFedericoFellini]

Glad to see all the positive comments regarding this child rapist.

[@Organplayer1947]

Loads of studio editing (sustain, chorus, etc). ITS NOT ENTIRELY THE THOMAS ORGAN YOU ARE HEARING!!!

[@NWBehr]

I believe the first song is "Try To Remember."

[@robertcoffey1938]

YES IT IS.