Some several Qs...

[damon]

Hi, I have a couple of questions about combo organs -

1. Apart from cosmetic, what are the main differences between the smaller, vinyl covered proper 'combos' and the larger, wooden, built in speakers organs (such a Lowreys, etc, not Tonewheel organs)? Do they sound somewhat the same, is what I'm asking?

2. I honestly don't have any experience at all with any organs apart from awful 90's digital ones, so I'm just wondering what the tabs and switches do - for example, hitting the 'flute' tab - will that make the organ sound like a flute, and the 'brass' one make it sound like a trumpet, etc? If so, what is the sound most commonly used in old 60's garage rock music?

3. Are real combos as common as the larger wooden ones? I see those in free ads and on Ebay all the time, often going for mere pennies (even "free to a good home" sometimes), but I never tend to see combos, apart from prohibitively expensive Vox Continentals - where should I be looking if I wanted to buy a reasonably priced combo?

4. (and finally!) Could anyone recommend a compact, relatively common (and cheap) combo that I would get a 60's psyche/garage sound/vibe from?

Muchas gracias,

Damon.

[fleshtonejm]

Hey Damon!

To have an idea of what's going on in our little world, you ought to pay a visit to Combo Organ Heaven, the site that covers almost everything that exists in terms of combo organs.

If you"re in the States, Craig list seems to be the best internet site to find organs at fair prices.

Of course, the old garage/estate sales can prove fruitful on rare occasions.

Good luck!
jm

[Franz]

The "large wooden ones" are called console organs. Some certain older ones sound kind of similar to combos. Like some Lowreys and Wurlitzers and Philcordias. However, their built in speakers tend to make them sound boring.

[bradx]

ive been chopping down spinets for years, the only difference between a console organ and a combo is the case it comes in, from my experience, most times. my chopped farfisa is basically the same as a compact. even the really old heavy hammonds with tubes and tone wheels can be hotwired with a simple twist of the vibrato pot (with a plastic screwdriver) and a pair of alligator clips connected to a 1/4" cord off the speaker terminals. if you have power tools, a working knowledge of electronics, and some time on your hands pick up a cheap spinet and try giving it the chop. if you see a silvertone or any other crappy little wood organ pick it up, just make sure it has a speaker and isnt an air organ. the smaller and cheesier looking the better. dont worry about stuff like foot pedals or whatever, that can all just be cut off. if youre not good with wood but have a skil saw you can always just chop off the bottom.


the difference with lowerys in particular, their 70s models sound like bullsh1t. so do 70s hammonds. so try to find an ugly a$$ little piece of junk from the 60s if you wanna cut up an old wood one.

what do the tabs do? they change the sound. for garage its usually best to turn everything on, but you can try some other settings too and see if you like them. tabs arent as exciting as drawbars though, that is some serious sound sculpting!

these were both console organs at one time. i paid $30 for one and $25 for the other. i dont have any pics of the silvertone or my old tonewheel hammond. for recording purposes, a 60s console organ can be wired off the speaker for a good sound in most purposes. if you need one thats portable though i would suggest taking a saw to an old crappy wooden one. the only reason i chopped the farfisa was to make it small enough to fit in the back seat of my car.

[mtwallet]

Feb 1, 2009 6:17:32 GMT -5 bradx said:

ive been chopping down spinets for years