Lowrey DSO-1 Heritage Deluxe demonstration - the famous Beatles organ!

[@opus1952]

They were the most under-rated organ of it's time. As a lad of 17 years old we used to sneak into pubs and often back then, there would always be a organist giving the patrons some good tunes, I loved it, my favourite pub at the time, the Sportsmans had a resident organist who played a Lowery it was bloody great. We also used to go to a dance hall in Chester, Quaintways cake shop during the day but on a Saturday night on the upper floors there was always a big band on the 1st floor and on the top floor rock bands and every Saturday night we used to go there after the pictures and watch a group I really loved to watch, Barabas Hands a Doors tribute band and the keyboard player had a Lowery with two fuck off Leslie speakers, it was a screamer, it really was. I wasn't even aware of Hammond organs back then and for me up till the present day, the Lowery organ and Leslie really is the sound to shoot for. Your Heritage clearly needs the contacts cleaning and a recap all over it, I would think more so than the neon lamps, as you will know a lamp is either working or it isn't working. Yeah! great nights those, always missed the last bus home, the last bus was always 11pm, the last song was always mid-night. At least there was always a free curry at the gig and the girls always wore original mini-skirts , who was worrying about a bus? Well done Steve, excellent video. 😎👍

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thanks Graham! Lovely to hear your recollections. Yes this organ is on my list of fixers - sometime when i have a free week I will recap it all. I moved it yesterday and the mains cable cracked off on my hand. Some quite brittle rubber in thing. I have avoided doing anything to it owing to the rats nest of wires and the amount of dust and dirt covering everything. Soon I will sort this

[@opus1952]

@@VintageKeysStudio Yeah. Soft brush and a vacuum cleaner would be the way to go. Take a 1000 photographs of everything on your phone. Valve pins tarnish something awful which will affect the circuit , be careful pulling them out, just the action off pulling them out and pushing them in a few times will be enough to clean them although a little contact cleaner will help while you have them out and don't be tempted to wipe the valves with a damp cloth as the printing will most certainly wipe off and you won't know which is which is which. Those valves are probably worth more than the organ because they're the ones which the guitarist love in their valve amps. I considered buying one of these Heritage organs a year of so back, just for the valves but it was down the south of England and would have been 8-9 hour round trip which was a shame. Good luck with it and I'll look forward to seeing the other two Lowery's when you do them. 😎👍

[@peterking2794]

The Sportsman's in Whitby, Ellesmere Port, perchance? Ah, the dear old 'Port, my old home town!

[@peterking2794]

@@VintageKeysStudio I'm glad all those lovely ECC83s and EL34s are where they should be, and not adorning the fancy amps of the exotic audiophile 'golden eared' lot! Great channel full of fun and info. Cheers!

[@samot1808]

Those later vacuum tube circuits were absolutely crazy. The workmanship required must have been insane.

[@jameslarge434]

those are some splendid beeps

[@g7eit]

“Blowing this organ!” What kind of channel did I subscribe to 😂. Seriously though, I love them old lowery organs. Great video Steve.

[@revtonynewnham]

Another interesting video. Not an organ I've come across. The background noise (called "beehiving") is common on analogue electronic organs. It's due to capacitive coupling in the cable harnesses & key contacts. Sometimes a poor earth connection in the keying area goes high(er) resistance & makes the effect worse. Nice to see & hear some of the more advanced features. Keep up the good work.

[@edotero61]

Great video. I owned a similar Lowry with a cassette recorder built into it. I gave it to a friend and it sits (unplayed) in her living room.

[@incandescentconker6193]

Thank you so much for showing us the insides of this amazing bit of retro-tech

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Our pleasure!

[@peterking2794]

@@VintageKeysStudio I love it when we can see the withinnards as well as hearing what it can do. I'm not musical by any stretch of the imagination, but am always interested in the electronics.

[@suddenhungerTV]

Tone Color only works as a coupler to the Quint, so the Quint has to be engaged first. It then brings out the higher harmonic already apparent in the Quint to create an octave effect. Alan Haven's 'Image' begins with 16' Flute / Quint / Tone Color. This is an important feature as it helps the DSO sound cut through, esp. during solos. Both the Holiday TLO and Berkshire TBO lack this stop which is why they're not as good (or nowhere near the DSO price). The pedal burble is being caused by a resistor failure within the pedal chassis assembly. NE-23 neons are available and will fix your dead tones - they're not expensive. UK tech Drawbar Dave is now the primary vintage Lowrey restorer and is based not far from you. He can fix your pedals and help with neons. He owns a model Heritage DSA.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Wow! Thanks very much! - sometimes these organs are difficult to fathom without another fully working one to compare it to. I will check out your recommendations. Cheers!

[@minosvoutsinos]

Hi Steve, Me again. I think these bulbs lightening up while keys are stroked are similar or identical to the ones I have in my Philicorda 22 GM 751. It is the tube version. I don't know if yours is the newer one with transistors, they are identical from the outside. The bulbs are called "Gas-Filled Switching Diodes" and they are named ZA 1001 (sounds like a secret weapon in an old James Bond movie). They do not exist any more and the only way you can find a replacement is from an old donor organ. An engineer told me once I could replace them with ordinairy bulbs, but I should test different types. I think the issues you have on this organ are mostly due to leaking capacitors, bad tubes and bad key contacts. I think that under each key there should be a number of fine pins touching a cable. Some of them could be warped or dirty. It can be pretty tricky to clean or bend them. Good luck! Greetings from Paris! P.S: I'm waiting for the shaved shark song, haha

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Cheers Minos - yes I have the tube GM751 too and it has the same diodes. I haven’t really done much with this organ since I got it other than replace the power capacitors for safety. I cleaned the key contacts when I first got it and it seemed to improve, but it has been sitting about for about 8 years since then and needs doing again! It is ok my long list of fixes! :)

[@DandyDon1]

90v neon lamps are still common. The labor involved in repairing a Lowrey of the vacuum tube type with divider technology is a nightmare.

[@androsislandrox]

Tell me about. My LSO is driving me up the wall

[@valeriocecchi8492]

My DSO1 also had problems with the Bass pedal and emitted a distorted sound on all the bass pedals my technician and I changed the 13 capacitors 220nf 400volt and a good clean on the pedal contacts and now the problem is solved a greeting Valerio

[@AlexMcUpright]

I'm in love with this beauty! Hope one day I can try one :D Thanks for sharing! By the way, The Beatles also used it on Let it be (played by the master Billy Preston of course)

[@rexterrocks]

I think that's actually a Hammond being played on Let it be.

[@AlexMcUpright]

@@rexterrocks Yes I think too after watching "Get Back" 😜

[@RichardRoland]

Mike Ratledge was using this model if I am not mistaken, many of the sounds you play are exact reproductions of those can be heard on the first 3-4 Soft Machine albums. I am happy so much to find this rig tour and your channel in particular! Thank you for this upload and walk through of this magnificant and oddly underrated piece of music history.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you very much, Richard! - I will have a relisten to my Soft Machine collection later! I hadn't realised it had been used elsewhere too. It is a brilliant and early example of musical instrument gadgetry.. as were a lot of the later Lowreys too, before Yamaha and Hammond caught on with similar effects

[@suddenhungerTV]

Mike Ratledge played a Lowrey Holiday TLO which was transistorised and came after the valve-oscillator DSO. It has some nice features like Wow-Wow (wah-wah). Generally, they can be found for free on auction sites. The DSO however is now much sought after and goes for ££££.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

@@suddenhungerTV You must be telepathic! We are editing our TLO video now and hope to have it up in the next couple of days.

[@metasudans]

Superb presentation. 👍👍👍

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@floppy12k]

I love this channel

[@skullheadwater9839]

I gutted one just like that yesterday for the tubes, amp and speakers yesterday. Free score Thursdays.

[@helio85384]

Beautiful organ !!!😊

[@Steve-nf7gp]

23:18 Did anybody notice here that when he closes the back panel he has painted his face to look red and cooked from the heat of all the valves? Had me puzzled. Had to rewind to check if he had a skin condition previously. This got me a chuckle. But quite honestly, Still scratching my head wondering if indeed Steve was all right after that clip.

[@peterking2794]

Yep! That's our Steve! 😀

[@johnsonmonsen]

This video starts with a new kind of hybridized electrical woodwind organ - sort of a blowing device, a blower which gets the job done ... So you can simultaneously reed-play and ride the lightning the same time; 240 volts are quite enough for a heart-touching performance. Envelope settings: full attack ;-)! But seriously the tone chord addition shown from position 13:49 is really intriguing for me. Is this some kind of implementation of the chord scale theory? I've read some about and how to choose a scale while improvising regarding a optioned chord extension. (Oh my gosh, I hope this makes any sense in English ...) Hot to theoretically fill the scale from tonic and avoid the "avoided notes" that way. Is it that what the Lowrey do by a filter/mixing circuit or due to new assignment of the upper notes in real time? Would be kind of crazy if the analog circuitry could do the last. (Would be almost like the just intonation plugins for modern age DAWs, like Hermode "HMT" tuning.) At the moment everything which contains more than two diatonic half steps per octave is black (keyed) magic for me so unfortunately I can not rely on my ears here. Thank you - as always - for this great review. Now I have something to do in addition when thinking about the "Vox Humana" switch on the lower effects bank. Where to put the human into the casing, where the voice comes out, has that foot hole another deeper meaning ...? All the best :-)!

[@VintageKeysStudio]

The auto orchestration device has to have you playing a related chord in the left hand with the correct notes, and then you obviously need to play something that fits, but it adds tone clusters immediately around each right hand note You play from the left hand chord! Clever stuff!

[@johnsonmonsen]

@@VintageKeysStudio Thank you for explaining the details. So that function completes the organ play in a way. All the best :-)!

[@VintageKeysStudio]

@@johnsonmonsen yes. It is an interesting effect, instead of just boringly holding a chord down underneath, it automatically re-voices it for you! It would be great if in real life, we could latch onto other people and add their voices to our own for some interesting harmonies while we talked. Walking vocoders.

[@johnsonmonsen]

@@VintageKeysStudio Impressive vintage tech, in deed. In comparison to instruments people can replace a chord voicing with a chord screaming. Sort of emotional biotech audio processing ;-)! No, just joking. I've read about the whole formant thing of the human voice and would never have thought how versatile and precise this natural instrument can perform. Music turns out more and more to be a miracle. All new topic for me ...

[@jorgenucleopromo9789]

Fantastic !

[@avivaben]

WIll there ever be a sample library for this instrument? PLEASE???? 😥

[@craigbrowning9448]

A 147-Type could be easily incorporated on an organ such as this. The input load switch could be set to take the direct Voicecoil Output from the Organ's Amplifier. As Mechanical Noise from the keys would be hard to isolate.

[@suddenhungerTV]

The Heritage DSO range has a factory-installed kit on its generator panel wired for a model 45/47. It also works with a 147 - so it's plug in and play. There's an 'external Leslie' tab on the right cheek block - once engaged it routes the organ's signal to the 147.

[@ajkrill]

Thank you for this video!!! I have this exact same organ, and I learned so much about it! Mine does not have input/output on the back… think there’s a place to wire it in?! Or am I just out of luck with using the Leslie to record flute and vocals?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

It is possible to wire it in but as always, you need someone who knows what they’re doing to keep you and it safe.

[@connor_flanigan]

I want that miniature leaf blower

[@t55a2]

The lights are really cool, a fascinating approach to a circuit. Was it so the function could be tested easily?

[@gibsonkal]

Sounds very similar to the transistor Gibson G-201 (2 manual version of the G-101 famously used by The Doors) built by Lowrey.

[@rays7805]

Apparently you have to add the vibraharp.

[@craigbrowning9448]

Often Tubular Chimes installed on Real Pipe Organs are about an Octave and a Half in compass.

[@willdatsun]

Surely the lucy sound had the vibrato on, i think you can get closer.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes - forgot to switch it on in this demo!

[@KC9UDX]

They must have done a ton of processing is all I can figure. (Obviously they sped it up, too) I have an SS which sounds much like this DSO-1, and I cannot even approach the sound on the record.

[@verkehrsteilnehmer-berlin]

2:14 it was different on the record, like the harpsichord setting in a transistor piano.

[@audiodood]

“I’m blowing the organ with my blower” everything reminds me of her

[@VintageTechFan]

So this thing is FULL of these damn resistor-capacitor-hybrid-thingis?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Oh yes. We used to have a 1958 DSO which had strange old radio resistors in with metal clasps and wafers on, called ‘candohms’!

[@brainndamage]

Sure looks like it. They're called couplets. Have fun making replacements for those when they go bad!

[@KC9UDX]

@@VintageKeysStudio Candohms are simply high-power wire wound resistors. They may have some inductance, but it's inconsequential.

[@hygromanteia]

I'm getting ready to replace some tubes in my recently-acquired DSO-1 and I was wondering how you tapped in to get the direct output. Thanks & great channel btw!

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you! I would need to check the schematic again as it was years ago that I did it. DM me and I will investigate further

[@torbenhellborn3175]

Thanks for a funny + interesting demo. I have a Citation Theatre from 1983 . . do you know the procedure of how to use and connect an external Leslie ?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thanks very much - I am not really sure about attaching a Leslie to a later model like that - I would imagine that it should just work with the correct lead out from the back of the Lowrey and into the Leslie speaker. I advise finding the Citation’s user manual - it will have all the details in there.

[@caspercat0]

Why dont you get the Heritage to Drawbar Dave on the South Coast?He`ll sort it all out for you including those pesky Neons.Hes just restored a former basket case Heritage that i passed onto him.

[@danteurso4049]

How did you wire the Mic to the speaker ? I have a Lowrey MSO and want to hook up a direct output for a headphone jack and looking for somewhere to start

[@VintageKeysStudio]

I will need to refer to the schematics again - I am soon doing some work on this organ so will check it out then - maybe do a video update too - cheers

[@danteurso4049]

@@VintageKeysStudio Hi checking back in and would love some pointers on how you connected the mic to the speakers if you have it available thanks!

[@madbeatlesremixer]

Did the DSO-1 have a vibraphone sound like the Beatles used on the "rehearsal" take of I'm Only Sleeping on Anthology 2 ?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

No, that’s a real vibraphone on that recording.

[@madbeatlesremixer]

@@VintageKeysStudio Thanks, that's what I thought. I was very interested about your comment the DSO-1 could do Leslie effect from external source. I know EMI had Leslie cabinets the Beatles used, but did they ever need to also use the one in the DSO-1 for voices or instruments as well ?

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

There's also Quint

[@verkehrsteilnehmer-berlin]

Yamaha monitors and Auratones?

[@madbeatlesremixer]

OK Nobody else asked so I guess I have to What the H-E-double Hockey Sticks happened to your face at the end? Radiation burns from the neon lamps?

[@geoffmartyn]

So I'm not the only one who noticed this? hahah!

[@eccojedi]

What do you think of that Rode K2?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Not massively impressed with it but it’s ok

[@stephentresca3536]

Is he playing the right notes??

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Very unlikely

[@RingoStarr39]

Hey, do you still have this DSO-1? Care to try a little Beatles related experiment?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

I am intrigued! What do you have in mind?

[@RingoStarr39]

@@VintageKeysStudio Apparently my comment didn't go through. haha It's come to my attention that the organ George is playing on It's All Too Much is most likely the Lowrey. Not a Hammond like has been stated everywhere. I was wondering if you could help in trying to replicate the exact tone from the record with your own DSO-1. Also, if you don't believe the Lowrey to be capable of producing that sort of sawtoothy bass sound, do you have any clues as to what organ they did use? Thank you so much in advance!

[@RingoStarr39]

Here's a sample of the raw organ sound from IATM: drive.google.com/file/d/1O_SCHIk9EFWP6Oa7LKOgq5BQwZRcRCz-/view?usp=sharing

[@RingoStarr39]

@@VintageKeysStudio Did you ever receive my comments above? I'm still curious to see if you can recreate it.

[@dickydoes]

Do my eagle eyes spot a label in the top left saying J P Cornell? Was a music shop in Hull in the olden days. My Dad used to buy stuff from there when he was a club circuit guitarist in the ‘70s.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes! that’s brilliant. Small world!