Take your contact cleaner and spray a generous amount into the "guts" of each switch, then switch the rocker switch back and forth 20 to 30 times, turn the organ back on and check the switches for noise, and repeat as needed. If no amount of cleaning stops the crackling, suspect a cold or loose solder joint somewhere.
Full Answer
Can an electric bellows be retrofitted to an antique pump organ?
An electric bellows unit can be retrofitted to your antique pump orgran so that you can have an option of whether or not to manually pump the organ by foot. Meet the Brass Reed
Where do you keep an antique pump organ?
The most common antique organ we see today is the parlor style pump organ because back in the 1880s, families would usually keep their pump organs in their parlor rooms (later called living rooms, today called family rooms). To view one of the articles listed below, simply click the blue article title. Do You Have Questions About Your Pump Organ?
Why are antique organs called pump organs?
However, the one thing that almost all antique organs have in common is, you have to pump them with your feet, as a consequence, the general public came to call them pump organs. But if the truth were known the pump organ industry, the people that built them, always called them reed organs because their sound is produced from brass reeds.
Who is the owner of pump organ restorations?
Pump Organ Restorations Rod Fudge, Owner and Technician www.pumporganrestorations.com All content Copyright © 2009-2020 Pump Organ Restorations· All Rights Reserved · Site Map Site Designed and Hosted byzConnect
How do you repair an old pump organ?
5:4320:16HOW TO REPAIR A VINTAGE PUMP ORGAN (Part One) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThere's four screws that go into it they're very old screws I've taken them out of it just. So I canMoreThere's four screws that go into it they're very old screws I've taken them out of it just. So I can easily remove. This piece to show you some of the internal workings of the organ.
How much does it cost to restore a pump organ?
The cost of relocating, refurbishing, restoring, renovating a vintage organ is typically 2/3 or 3/4 that of commissioning a new organ. Residence organs, to fit under ten-foot ceilings, typically cost up to $50,000, “soup to nuts.” The Organ Clearing House does not offer or encourage “fire sale” prices.
How much does a pump organ cost?
It should sell in the $1,200 to $1,500 price range. However, there is a very limited market for antique pump organs.
What is a pump organ made of?
4:1312:06What Is A Pump Organ? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo the pump organ is a type of free reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibratingMoreSo the pump organ is a type of free reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame the piece of metal is called a reed.
Can you tune a pump organ?
True, you can tune it when it's inside the organ, but it's a lot easier and safer doing it outside. The reed can be tuned to its octave, i.e., in other words, if you're tuning Middle C, you can tune it to either Tenor C or Treble C. You can also tune it to another reed in a different rank.
How old are pump organs?
While some experts claim authentic antiques must be over 100 years old, others consider pumps to be antiques if they date back before the Great Depression. Due to their early manufacture between 1895 and 1910, most pump organs are now considered antiques.
Are old organs worth anything?
Antique pianos and organs can be valued anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. It is important that sellers realize the real value difference between a restored instrument and an unrestored instrument.
Do pump organs have ivory keys?
If your white key tops, or naturals, have two parts, as seen in the picture below, they're made of ivory. If, on the other hand, they're just one piece, more than likely they were made from a fairly common materials back in that era, called Ivorean, which was an early form of plastic.
How much is a church organ worth?
The cost of a pipe organ can be as low as $30,000.00 for a used instrument relocated to a new home, to millions of dollars for a new instrument built for a major church or concert hall.
When did they stop making pump organs?
Many churches found pump organs more convenient than pipe organs. The pump organ was eventually replaced by the electric organ in the 1930s, and that essentially affected the pump organ's popularity ever since. The pump organ is still widely used in Indian music, interestingly enough.
Are pump organs heavy?
The organ featured in addition to pump treadles a side lever for pumping by an assistant. The organ was designed for larger chapel and smaller church settings. The organ with the pipe top weighs over 600 Ibs.
How do pump organ stops work?
0:332:02Pulling Out All the Stops: The Estey Reed Organ - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd when you introduce air into the lower end. It even sounds a bit like a flute reed organs haveMoreAnd when you introduce air into the lower end. It even sounds a bit like a flute reed organs have brass reeds to make their sound. They're different than the cane reeds used in oboes and clarinets in
Are old organs worth anything?
Antique pianos and organs can be valued anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. It is important that sellers realize the real value difference between a restored instrument and an unrestored instrument.
How much does a new pipe organ cost?
The cost of a pipe organ can be as low as $30,000.00 for a used instrument relocated to a new home, to millions of dollars for a new instrument built for a major church or concert hall. The range of cost for a pipe organ for a small to medium sized church is in the area of $200,000.00 – 850,000.00.
How much does a pump organ weigh?
The weight of a pipe organ is dependent on its size, how many stop it has. A good rule of thumb for determining weight is 750 lbs per stop.
Where is the biggest pipe organ in the world?
Atlantic City, New JerseyThe console of the 1932 Midmer-Losh organ at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the largest organ in the world.
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Broken pump organ, likely bellows... how to fix?
So I'll attach some pictures. This is my parents' pump organ, which my mother has had for many decades. One day, it stopped working, and when you pump the left side you hear a clack. They suspect the bellows are broken, but there is no obvious way to take the thing apart and even look at it.
Why are pump organs called reeds?
But if the truth were known the pump organ industry, the people that built them, always called them reed organs because their sound is produced from brass reeds. Incidentally, some of these brass reeds can be as small as 3/4 of an inch in length to over 5 inches.
How many stops does an antique organ have?
While some of these organs might have only a few stops (the dowel-like things that you can pull out) others could have over 20 stops. However, the one thing that almost all antique organs have in common is, you have to pump them with your feet, as a consequence, the general public came to call them pump organs.
What is the most common antique organ?
The most common antique organ we see today is the parlor style pump organ because back in the 1880s, families would usually keep their pump organs in their parlor rooms (later called living rooms, today called family rooms). To view one of the articles listed below, simply click the blue article title.
Which organ company survived the passing of time?
Burdett Organ Company. Unfortunately, this is just about all the information that’s survived the passing of time on the Burdett Organ Company. Cable Hobart Organ Company. Unfortunately, this is just about all the information that’s survived the passing of time on the Cable Hobart organ Company.
What is wrong with my vintage organ?
The first problem you’re likely to encounter on a vintage combo organ is dirty rocker switches. Sometimes you’ll hear a ton of crackly, crunchy noise when you change the position of a switch, or sometimes, it’ll be so dirty that it will seem to not work at all—you’ll turn a sound setting on and hear no change.
What are the features of vintage organs?
While vintage organs are mostly very similar, each one has its own odd design features that can initially be a bit difficult to figure out. Some have tube preamps and reverb tanks. Some have optical (light-controlled) percussion envelope generators.
What to do if a tone generator board is bad?
If a part of the tone generator board (an oscillator or a certain octave divider) is bad, the first thing to do is replace all of the electrolytic capacitors in that circuit section.
What instruments were made in the 1960s?
The warm sounds of 1960s electronic "combo" organs from makers like Vox, Farfisa, Ace Tone, Yamaha, Elka, and more have been heard in popular music for more than 50 years. Though the majority of vintage organs that exist today have their share of issues, as some of the first fully electronic instruments ever made, they are also some of the simplest.
What is the note generator on a combo organ?
In a combo organ, each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale typically has its own small circuit board, often referred to as a "tone generator" and labeled with its note name. The first circuit on each tone generator board is a simple oscillator with a large inductor coil that you can turn with a screwdriver to tune.
Can you clean the buss bars?
If possible, you’ll want to clean both the key contacts and the buss bars, but depending on the design of the organ, this can be tricky. The basic procedure, like with the switches, is to blast the key contact and rod with contact cleaner and work the key up and down many times. Cleaning key contacts.
Can a bad capacitor cause problems in an organ?
If not, other resources on the internet can help you choose a substitute. Bad capacitors and transistors are also likely causes of problems that you may have in other areas of your organ, like vibrato, tremolo, percussion, and preamp circuits.
