Baldwin D911 powering up problem

[reed.munson]

Hello Folks -
yesterday my daughter reported that when powering on her Baldwin D911 the speakers do not "TWHUMP" and she is not getting any sound out of the speakers. The organ powers up - just no power to the amp and no sound to the speakers -

This organ has an external amp and 2 speakers - when powering up the organ from the switch on the console, the external amp is powered up through a 12V relay switch.

I brought the amp over to a friend's shop and he was able to determine that the 12V relay between the organ and the amp had failed.

As a temporary work around while the relay is on order, I bypassed the relay so the amp powers up when switched on by a power strip. Amp powers up with normal "WHUMP" to the speakers - To test the amp, I connected the 1/4" signal plugs into the back of our electronic keyboard and the amp and speakers worked normally --

Now here is where it gets interesting -
When I plugged the signal connections back into the organ - no sound

The organ's internal speakers have been disabled - but I do get sound from the headphone jack -

Is there an order of startup required for the signal from the organ to be sent out to the amp?

Any recommendations would be appreciated - with Christmas services just a week away my daughter is right in the middle of preparations -- I was hoping my relay bypass would allow the amp to be plug and play -- but that doesn't seem to be the case --

Thanks!
Reed

[jbird604]

You may have to use the headphone output to drive the external amp. Get a proper adapter that has a 1/4" STEREO plug to go into the headphone jack, with two RCA plugs on the other end, then whatever adapters are needed to run from there to the inputs of the amp.

I say this, because there could be something really obscure causing there to be no signal coming out those AUX OUT jacks, some internal muting circuit that is malfunctioning, for example. And you will need a tech with a schematic to figure that out. So probably not going to get that fixed before Christmas!

The headphone output should be perfectly acceptable as a signal source as long as you adjust the level with the headphone volume knob and also re-adjust the amplifier input controls for the correct level and best sound.

[reed.munson]

Thanks John -
well - we had a good outcome -
we removed the back panel and decided to reconnect the internal speakers and test the system.
The system operated normally and we like the sound of the internal speakers.

So I have a nice Organ Crafters amp and 2 speakers available if anyone is interested.

When I was last inside the case, I noticed the cut speaker wires. Is this done so you can use an external amp and speakers?

Thanks for your help on this issue -
some pics from the Baldwin D911 https://ibb.co/album/iTAx6F
Reed

[reed.munson]

I think we've almost solved the curious case of the Baldwin D911 - just a couple remaining questions:

if the issue was the relay between the amp and the organ, and if that relay is replaced - if the amp fires up normally from the organ power switch, will the organ use both the internal speakers and external?

Why did the previous owner defeat the internal speakers? Was it because he preferred the sound from the external speakers and didn't want to hear the internal? Or is there a problem with trying to use the sound from both aux out and the internal built-in speakers?

[jbird604]

If it's like most organs it will play from both internal and external speakers at the same time if you want it that way. The previous owner probably preferred to have the sound "out there" away from the console, as many people do, so he cut the wires on the internals as a way to silence them. When you're playing a typical pipe organ, the sound is coming from some distance away from the console, so it's more like the real thing to have the sound in the externals, especially when you are in a large enough room. (Of course there are small pipe organs and even large trackers that do have the pipes right at the console, so my statement is a generalization and not always true.)

In church it is especially beneficial to have the sound in externals rather than in the console. Big reason: with the speakers in the console, the organist will get an earful and think the organ is plenty loud enough, even if folks out in the pews are barely hearing it. So disabling the internals is very often a good idea in a church setting. There are some church situations though where that is not possible or not even important. I have been in a few churches that are so lively and reverberant that the sound of the organ's internal speakers was all that was needed, and it rolled around the sanctuary so well you'd never have guessed it was all coming out right at the organist's knees.

So your daughter should try it both ways, if you like, and see which way she prefers. She may be perfectly content to practice with the sound in the console speakers alone. For me, I often want at least some of the sound to come from elsewhere so that it sounds more three-dimensional. So for my current home setup, I have speakers in the console, plus on top of the console facing up at the ceiling, and back behind me as well, so I'm surrounded by the sound as I play. But then I'm old and cranky and I want it my way!