Help Identifying a Mystery Baldwin...

[ProfSinister]

Good evening, folks:

Tomorrow evening, I'm going to look at a Mystery Baldwin that a friend of a friend is sellin' for a song, now that he's got his home pipe organ up and running. I've found some videos of this model on YouTube, but I still haven't been able to figure out what model it is so that I can do some in-depth searching.

Anyone ever see one of these before?

[arie v]

Hi,

My guess is that it is a D-912.

Actually a Viscount product.

AV

[jbird604]

I agree with Arie. It's a D-912. Not a bad organ if it's in good working order.

[ProfSinister]

Thanks, gentlemen... I'll be finding out tomorrow whether or not it's worth the asking price!

[ProfSinister]

...aaaaaaaaaaaaand it's not in very good working order.

A number of the pedal keys are sticky, requiring a "double tap" to get them to sound. The drawknob lights flicker (and dim when you pull more than a couple stops). All the adjustment knobs on the nameboard cause the speakers to make horrid crackling noises (more horrid crackling noises than they make just being powered up anyway). There's a stop permanently stuck on (but the DK light for that stop is only illuminated when you actually draw it).

A bunch of weirdo problems, and given what I've read about this model here on the forums, I'm not going to bother... not even if the seller begs.

Back to the drawing board...

[arie v]

Hi,

Good move!

Most of these organs ( first generation Viscount digital from the late 80s to about 1992, so about 30 years old), are already in the dumpster, or used as a basis for a VPO.

When they came to market,they sounded pretty good, but with poor build quality, poor parts quality, some lousy engineering, and the organs just did not last long before the troubles started.

Viscount product improved a lot since then, and are less problematic. The Viscount Prestige series (models 5xx), were a great improvement sound and tonal wise. These came out around 1997.

Again, I think you saved yourself a few headaches.

AV

[ProfSinister]

Thanks, Arie... I think it was the right move. Cheap as it was (few hundred bucks), if the thing doesn't work right... it just doesn't work right!