Unusual Advertising Statements

[myorgan]

I just ran across something on a CL ad that made me wonder what other statements people make to advertise their organ online. The statement I scratched my head about was this advertisement for a Conn:

This is one reason the 642 is a valued model among players who prefer the all transistor designs, it has the best of both worlds- the quality of the tube models, but the more up front pipe like sound of the transistorized models.

Huh? What does this mean to the average searcher? Are the tube models "down back" instead of "up front?" That statement is preceeded by:

The organ was working fine when I stopped playing it 35 years ago.

Does that mean it doesn't work fine now? I wonder why?

That's almost like the statement:

...definitely NOT a fix-me-up, because everything works well and it sounds splendid. This has recently been inspected [by a MITA technician] and all of the notes, pedals, pistons and stop controls are fully functional.

(I added the brackets because it used to be used by this salesman to advertise organs.)

Then for a non-self-contained organ, there's this generous offer:

For a large room, a pair of external speakers is available for an additional $400.

What did they think the organ was going to do without speakers?X-( I wonder if pedals and bench are included or extra?

Do you have any other interesting statements you've seen to advertise an organ?

Michael

[AllenAnalog]

Ha, I was just thinking about starting a thread like this, having run into some real head scratchers in recent ads. You can't make this stuff up!

"Organ was working when last played but the peddles [sic] and bench have been sold." (The photo showed the front of the organ where the pedalboard would have connected.)

"Piano organ for sale. Works great." (This was for an ancient Thomas organ.)

"Organ was purchased in 1990 and serviced in 2007. Last played in 2013. Works great." (This for a MOS-1 Allen)

"We can't find the bench." (I think there are bench gremlins among us who go out in the dark of night to steal unsecured benches.)

"Classic tube organ, worked great when last played." (Photos show that all of the tubes have been removed from the tone generator chassis."

"Organ works but power cord has been cut." (Yeah, right.)

"Organ worked before it was disassembled and moved." (Run, don't walk, from that one.)

"We think it works but no one here knows how to run the controls." (Is it really that hard?)

"Tone wheel doesn't spin but I have oil for it." (Just saw that one today. Begs the question of why didn't they use the oil they had before the tonewheel stopped spinning? On second thought, it probably is the dried up gummy can of oil that came with the organ when it was new in 1958.)

I've seen many more classic statements that I should have copied to a file when I read them but they are now forgotten after that first chuckle. Many of them use amusing terms for the manuals and pedalboard.

[human-potato_hybrid]

"Car was running when last driven but the driver's seat and dashboard have been sold."

[jbird604]

I love it when an organ comes with "foot petals." Got a love it when the organ brings its own flowers!

[andijah]

Got a love it when the organ brings its own flowers!

Very useful for weddings. O:-)

[samzer]

My favorite. “Wooden organ for sale.”

[tbeck]

Mind the splinters!

[myorgan]

My favorite. “Wooden organ for sale.”

Well, a metal one would be heavier-wouldn't it? They're so common!;-)

Michael

[myorgan]

So, I'm looking on our favorite Bay and see this: Eminence 18" Speaker 4 Ohm 67-7403 Custom Built for Allen Organ HC-12. Anyone see anything wrong with that description?:o

Nothing looked right about the speakers. One had an accordion surround, so it might have been a replacement, but the other had a foam surround that went quite far past the edge of the frame.

I'm still trying to figure out how they fit an 18" woofer in a speaker that only measures 17-1/2" side-to-side!=-O

Michael

[Organfella]

I'm still trying to figure out how they fit an 18" woofer in a speaker that only measures 17-1/2" side-to-side!=-O

Michael

Their inches are perhaps smaller...or by "woofer" they meant a small dog..:o
Nico

[John Vanderlee]

Could have been from an HC18, so the lister assumed....

[voet]

I'm still trying to figure out how they fit an 18" woofer in a speaker that only measures 17-1/2" side-to-side!=-O

Michael

Diagonally! :->

[myorgan]

That was my thought, Bill.;-)

Michael

[ChristopherDB113]

Wife says must sell.

[myorgan]

I wonder how much she costs?!!!

Michael

[andyg]

Just picked up on this thread. The 642 has internal main and leslie speakers. Maybe the external speakers are the usual Conn 255 and 256 cabinets.

I liked the one that said 'Hammond organ, tonewheel not working'. Photo showed a Hammond Phoenix!

Maybe the often used "Fully working but has some issues". Or the wonderful 'needs tuning' on a digital model!

[Organfella]

How about "working but needs some work"

Nico

[myorgan]

Here's one I just found, but the issue is with the picture: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...9078274318131/. It's listed as: Protege by Allen - STORY & CLARK Electric Piano Organ As is / 4 Repair. It looks like someone took an Allen Protégé label and tacked it on a Story & Clark piano.

Michael

[you795a]

That one is relatively close to me and I was just curious. Not that I was interested or anything. I asked them if they knew the history of the organ and all they said was it was free. It is listed on 'raigslist as well. I wonder where they got the nameplate from.

[andyg]

Looks like there are a couple of other Allen plates at either end of the console. Thanks for the photos, BTW. I happen to be preparing a Lowrey timeline for members of the Lowrey and Vintage organ groups and I'm including Story & Clark as they re-badged Lowreys. The tongue tabs are Story & Clark but everything else is Lowrey. I'll add these photos into the mix!

[myorgan]

If you need any DSO-1 photos, let me know (internal & external).

Michael

[guylavoie]

Here's a serious contender in the bad ad pictures category. Saw this one on Facebook marketplace. No other pics were included. Ad just says "Hammond organ, $300"



Looks like a spinet, but that's almost certainly a Leslie cable on top...

[voet]

I suppose the pall over it suggests that it died.

[myorgan]

I guess it was a closed-casket funeral! This must've been during the viewing hours where they pulled the shroud back.;-)

Michael

[Organkeys Jones]

I saw an organ ad that had no brand or model and the only picture had the roll-top closed. Seller never responded to my inquiry.