Setting up a Baldwin D422

[Reedorgansforever]

Sooooooo... about a week ago, a 1993 Baldwin D422 church organ came into my life via Facebook marketplace, and the temporary insanity that occurred when I saw it listed basically for nothing! I play piano and occasionally organ for a small PCA Presbyterian church, and I had been musing on the idea of getting a better organ for the church, if they were interested. After several phone calls, Facebook messages, and a good buddy telling me he'd help me go get it, we set off Saturday morning to just "go have a look" at it! Anyways, to make a long story short, we met a wonderful family, and got the deal of a lifetime for a really good instrument. This was because they had just helped their church get a new organ and had helped move this one and another for a family member, and were "tired of organs!" The D422 had sat on their carport for a few weeks, and they were ready to see it go, as well as being worried about the damage that the elements were doing to it. The organ is now stored in the hallway at the church, and the congregation is excited to see it installed! It came with two large speakers, but I have no idea how to set it up. I was able to hear it first through headphones, and then through a good friend's small sound system yesterday, by running a 1/4" cable from the headphone jack. I am THRILLED at the quality of the sound for a 90's digital. Now for the challenge- can I get this organ to sound good through a small system? Space is very limited in the sanctuary, so there isn't room for lots of speakers. I'm fully aware that it would need proper amps, channels, and speakers to really bloom out, so how can I go about doing this?? I've contacted Robert Spoon of Music Electronics, but he has only been able to message me back once. He doesn't seem to be very active on Facebook.

[rjsilva]

Congratulations! I hope it turns out to be a blessing for your church.

I’m sure someone will chime in with good information about setting up your specific organ, but I’d like to encourage your thinking to use as many audio channels as makes sense (within the organ’s abilities and space limitations). Space certainly can dictate what we can and can’t do, but more audio channels will tend to sound better. I read a post about that D422 which made me think it can use many separate audio channels. If that’s the case, I suspect that some of the channels wouldn’t need to use large speakers. With some thought and planning you may be able to come up with a really nice sounding setup that works for your space.

[Reedorgansforever]

Thank you! I hope it does turn out well. That little church has done a lot for me, and the pastor talks about his time pastoring a church in Iowa that had a tracker organ. The church’s current little 1970’s Baldwin C720t doesn’t quite come close to that sound, haha! I’d love to be able to get the D422 set up well, and really fill that sanctuary with great music, as I continue to progress with my organ studies. I tune and repair pianos, and have restored reed organs, but digital/electronic stuff is a new frontier for me.

[jbird604]

There are some threads about that model on the forum, if you search. Not sure how long ago though. I once owned one of those, first truly nice AGO classical organ I ever had in my house. It was given to me by a church after I helped them remove it to make room for a newer organ. I loved it so much I really wanted to find a second one if I could and donate it to my church. But then someone wanted to buy it, and I needed cash at the time, so you know that story...

They are HUGE, of course, and it was a nightmare getting it into the house and then back out when I sold it. If you get the documentation from Robert Spoon you will see how it is set up. It can work with just five channels (though that involves blending the 32' stop, which has its own output channel, into the general low-pass channel). The better setup breaks it into 10 channels plus a very large sub for the 32' stop. There are also five antiphonal channels that can be used. So, 16 channels, if fully utilized.

The original speaker system for the five basic channels (not including the 32' stop) was relatively compact. A bass box with 2-12" cones in it and two "cube" speakers that each contained a two-channel mid and treble speaker. So, all five basic channels could speak through a relatively compact stack of speakers, maybe about 3' x 3' and about 16" deep. But if you didn't get the original speakers with it, it can be made to work through almost any kind of decent external amp and speaker setup.

The full set of 10 main speakers plus the bass cabinet for the 32' will yield an amazingly good sound, with some unique characteristics. The tone generation system is programmed to route notes and stops dynamically as they are called upon, so you can play one note and hear it through speaker X and then add a second note on the same stop and it will play through speaker Y. Coupling the swell to the great, the swell stops will also be divided dynamically between the two or four speakers in its set. So you can get some astoundingly good ensemble.

And there are some digital "tricks" employed that give you virtually unlimited polyphony. These tricks involve the use of "composite samples" but believe me, in the years that I owned it and played it I never detected any side effects from this. It just plays like a good organ should, never dropping notes or stops, far as I could tell.

A super nice "orchestral" section too in the little screen. That section is in some ways more useful and user-friendly than the complicated MIDI setups found on today's digitals. And the sounds are marvelous, as are the stops on the organ itself. Very nice find.

It's too involved to give you a detailed set of instructions for setting it up and getting it voiced. Some months ago I was engaged as a "consultant" by a church that obtained one of these organs for nearly nothing. I couldn't afford to give my time away to guide them step by step over the phone and by email. But for a few hundred dollars I was able to tell their local tech just what he needed to know and they got a very nice setup.

Good luck. Please post pics and details about your experience with the organ.

[Reedorgansforever]

Thank you jbird604 for the great info! I’ll be sure to post some pictures as I go. The two speakers that were sold with it are Baldwin speakers, but the seller couldn’t tell me if they are the original ones that went with the unit. The cabinets are both about three feet tall, by about 18 inches wide. I’ll be sure to measure them tomorrow for a definite measurement. I think the two large speakers in each are 12 inches across. One is labeled LP-M5. Label on the other one is a bit smudged. If they are correct for the organ, are they hooked up directly to it, or is an amp needed? I’ll send some pictures in the morning, along with actual measurements on the speaker cabinets!

[Reedorgansforever]

I finally got to the church this evening, and got some measurements and pictures. The speaker cabinets that were sold to me with the unit are 19 5/8” wide, 30” tall, and 15” deep. The speaker cones are 12” deep. One speaker cabinet is labeled LP-M5, and the other is labeled (BP, EP?? It is smudged badly) M5. This site doesn’t seem to be set up very well for uploading pics from and IPhone, so here’s my best try.

[Larrytow]

Jbird will know for sure on that organ, but I'm pretty sure you will need an amp for each of the channels. All the older Baldwin analog church organs needed them, and I doubt they changed the system when they went digital. The outputs of the organ should be line level, so lots of amps are usable.

That looks like a Baldwin M5 bass cabinet in your photos - a 12" driver and a 12" passive radiator in it. There normally would have been two more cabinets with a 8" midrange and 3 & 3/4" tweeter in each one.

And then perhaps a sub-woofer, if it had that option.

All of those would have been driven by one Baldwin EA-5 amplifier which is a 5 channel amp built specifically for that setup. A really versatile amp too, so you maybe should inquire where it went from the previous installation.

There is a thread on here with much more info about the amp and speakers, where John went into specifics about everything.

I only know these details because I am looking right at my service manual for the various Baldwin amp / speaker setups. I'm on the trail of getting an EA-5 for my 626.

[jbird604]

Yes, that one speaker is the LP cabinet for the M5 speaker stack. There should be at a very minimum two more speaker boxes, each one containing a pair of mids and a pair of tweeters. And there is almost certainly another subwoofer, which is huge -- the size of a chest freezer -- and was used just for the 32' pedal stop, which has its own output and amplifier. The 32' stop comes out on a terminal in the back of the organ marked "Extended Bass" or something like that.

But in a smaller setup, it is possible to mix these channels down. You lose some of the beauty of the stops and grandeur of the ensemble, but it can be done in a pinch. I'd try to locate the amps. There should be at least one and possible two or three of the "EA-5" amplifier assemblies. Each one has five channels and is equipped with power relays to turn the amps on automatically when the organ powers up. They are made specifically for Baldwin organs and will make your setup much easier.

[Reedorgansforever]

Looks like I need to contact the church the organ was in before being sold to the folks I bought it from- I did some Facebook snooping, and found said church. I actually found a few pictures with the organ in the sanctuary... looks like the console did a great job holding up a coffee cup during a youth service 🙄 Anyhow, there are two of the M5 cabinets sitting there, I only took a picture of one. I wonder if the organ was properly set up in its former home, because the appraisal and condition paper written by a technician who inspected it there describes lots of stops as being “wildly out of adjustment” and “some stops barely audible”, along with the 32’ not working. None of which seems to be true, now that I’ve played it through my friend’s portable sound system and headphones this week, and actually started practicing on it as well. I’m spoiled by it now!

[jbird604]

Yep. If it was playing through nothing but the LP channel when inspected and appraised, it would certainly seem out of balance, and most stops above the lowest pitches would have seemed quite dead! And the 32' stop would not be playing without its amp and speaker.

[Reedorgansforever]

An amp and speakers has shown up on EBay. I really hope I can get a hold of the rest of the system for it, or something suitable. The church is getting excited about the new organ, so the heat is on to get it done now! No pressure...

[Reedorgansforever]

Should I get it? I’d almost be willing to make the trip to get it if it was worth the risk! https://m.--------/itm/Vintage-Baldw...gAAOxyeglTa8z5

[jbird604]

That is definitely the set you are looking for, and the price is right. I looks like the 12" cones have been repaired, as the foam always drops out of these long before now. So if you're lucky that will be a complete working audio system for your organ.

Would certainly be easier to hook it all up with the right equipment than to have to rig up something. So I'd say go for it, if it's within a reasonable distance.

You can see in the tech manual how to hook the organ up with the simple 5-channel connection. You won't get the 32' stop until you get a separate amp and speaker for it, or else do the quick and dirty trick of connecting the 32' output to the LP amp of the 5-channel system (use a 1K resistor as a jumper, so the output won't overload the amp).

[Larrytow]

I agree with John, that is exactly what you want to get. And I would say the price is very decent. As I said earlier, I'm close to getting an EA5 amp ( only - no speakers ) here that was abandoned high up in a church, and I'll likely need to pony up 50.00 - 70.00 to make the deal happen. And, I have no idea if it is still functional or not.

I would say to take the chance so you can get the organ playing in the church. Then, after everyone loves the "new" organ, you can probably find the funds easier to buy whatever sub-woofer you want.

Remember, Ya Snooze, Ya Looze !

[Reedorgansforever]

You guys have me convinced. I messaged the seller, and am waiting for a response. I am crazy and willing enough to drive to Ohio to get it! Just a 9-hour drive...