Everett Orgatron 1930's

[Guest]

I am one of many pianists who have the task of playing the church organ and I am taking lessons. An opportunity has risen to purchase an Everett Orgatron which is currently for sale on-line. The price has been reduced as it didn't sell at the end of August. The instrument is in the Indio, CA area and needs to be transported to my home in Silver City, NM.
A friend will be traveling through that area and has a Ford 250 pick-up. My question is: Can it be transported safely? The only 'cushioning' would be a couple furniture blankets between it and the bed of the truck, which does not have a bed liner. My concerns is having an instrument that plays in CA and the chance of it not playing once it reaches NM. I am not a technician.
I look forward to your opinion(s).
Bajaguy

[Admin]

These use wind driven reeds as the basis of tone generation. They are very heavy and bulky, but well built. The reeds are not free running so speech can be awfully sluggish. Wind leaks and valve problems should be expected of this instrument unless it has been rebuilt in the last decade or so. On the plus side they can sound decent when in good order.

But, from a practical standpoint, they have no value today and would require specialized knowledge of reed organs and electronics to repair. In my opinion it's not worth the effort of moving it a great distance even if free. I think there are members with Orgatrons on the Forum that may have differing opinions. Give the forum a search or scroll down this page to see links under the Similar Threads heading.

[m&m's]

Definitely do not pay anything for one of these. They have no resale value whatsoever. Only a collector would really want one.

[SBurton]

Definitely a museum piece.

Perhaps a fun instrument when it works properly.

I've repaired some accordions and harmonicas...wind-driven reeds can be challenging!

Really, it's impossible to know what could get jarred loose on a trip from CA to NM...even with the best of care.

[Jan Girardot]

Baja, the original Orgatrons were built like a World War II tank!. Everett used many 1930-era pipe organ components, so it is fairly straightforward to service. As has been pointed out, you may be disappointed in the action and the sound, though the console could be converted to a MIDI Virtual pipe organ.

Moving it in a pickup should work, especially if you have some strong friends and a set of Rol-Or-Kari dollies. Pad the console, strap on the ROK, run it up a rented ramp then tie it down securely. (No pads are required underneath).

I have an original Everett Orgatron service manual for sale from my collection: send me a Private Message (aka PM) if interested.

. . . Jan
the OrganGrinder