Concorde Sound Issues

[ridefree]

I posted a week or so ago about getting a used Allen, but thought maybe I could get the old Concorde going again. Had it since new.

It would produce no sound, so I checked the fuses on the amp, 8 of them, and all looked good. Cleaned where the fuses sat also. Cleaned the contacts on the on all the boards on the swing out door on the right and all wire plugs I saw from the back. Tried it and everything works on the upper manual and expression pedal changes volume. Lower manual has a faint sound and appears to work with all presets and most drawbars, but the expression pedal will not raise the volume above a faint sound. Any suggestions? I do plan on going through and cleaning all the boards contacts and wire connections. That is going to take a little while to get through them all.

Also, how do you get the manuals to swing up? I've read that there are 2 bolts each and the will swing up, but I don't know where they are at. Is there something I can read on cleaning the drawbars. One set was sticking and I got them moving so I will clean them all also.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[ridefree]

Don't know if the pedals work either as I took them off to make it easier to walk around while out from the wall.

[KC9UDX]

Edit: making a video proved impractical. The screws go into the manuals from underneath.

As for the expression pedal, it sounds like the pedal itself is the source of trouble.

[ridefree]

After about 8 hours of cleaning connections and boards, trying to be thorough, I have almost everything working. Still have a little more to do to have them all cleaned. Drawbars still need cleaned to work right, one key needs lifted up a hair so it isn't playing and a few pedals are not sounding, So progress is made.

Now if I can find those screws holding the keyboards down and get to everything under them It should be fully back to life. Then going through the leslie 710 and finding the cable to it all should be good.

Edit
Pedals work. After looking at them again and moving them 3/8 inch right they all work.

[KC9UDX]

Crawl under the manuals, where the pedals are, and look up. There are screws for the lamp, screws for the tape deck (if you have one), four screws for the manuals, and I'm pretty sure nothing else. There might be screws for the headphone jack, I don't recall.

The screws for the manuals are outboard, actually under the cheek blocks, not directly under the manuals, if my memory is correct.

[ridefree]

Thanks. Those were the bolts I thought were the one for the keyboards.

Now that I raised them up, cleaned connections and drawbars the pedal drawbars have quit. Haven't tracked that down yet.

[KC9UDX]

So the string bass works but not the pedal drawbars? I wonder if that's a dirty switch. I don't think there's a switch that can cause this to happen though.

[ridefree]

String Bass works. Lower to pedals work. No drawbar. No switch that I recall.

[KC9UDX]

There isn't specifically a switch that disables the drawbars, but maybe the sustain switch could cause this if it's not conducting. I don't really know, but I would try working/cleaning switches. If that fails, I'd guess that there must be a connector that's not right.

[ridefree]

Thanks again for your help kc9udx.

Found the problem after tracing back the wires. I missed cleaning the pedal filter board contacts plugging into the wiring harness. Cleaned them all good there.

Two problems left.
1. One key is silent on all the black preset keys except the b and b flat (drawbars). On those 2 keys ,it plays the note as stuck on. Can't stop it from playing on its own. Stumped there.
2. I'll call it the rhythm box. Its volume control works and seems loud till you add the organ playing., It sounds muted compared to the rest of the organ. I know before it was a lot louder than it is now.

The only other thing to do is go over the leslie cabinet. Can't hook it up cause the wife moved the cable and can't remember where she moved it to. May have to find a new one.

[KC9UDX]

1 Somewhere to the left of the manuals, perhaps behind the swell cheek block, is a backplane where the cards for the preset keys plug in. If one of those is misaligned, it might cause what you're experiencing, I'm not sure. I would remove them all (make sure to note where they came from or your presets will get rearranged). Then I'd clean and install them one at a time and try those keys out every time you plug one in.

2 this is most likely a dirty connector. It could be at the rhythm unit, or at one of the preamp boards. There's two of them, and they seem to be in different places on different model numbers.

I wish I could be better help; I'm not actually very familiar with the way this organ works, other than what I discovered on my own, whilst fixing mine.

As far as the Leslie, do you mean the internal one, or do you have an external one?

[ridefree]

You have been a great help and will try your suggestions tomorrow.

It's an external leslie 710.

[KC9UDX]

Thank you

At least with the 710, the cable shouldn't be too expensive or hard to get.

[ridefree]

UPDATE

1. Nothing has solved the highest f# playing on upper manual.
2. The constant on key, which i'm not sure is the f# now, only makes sounds on the precussion tabs. No longer playing constant sound on the drawbars.
3. The rhythm box was at least making sound, though not as loud as it should, till a half hour ago and stopped putting out any sound. Didn't expect to go backwards on that one.

At least I can play it again, so not all is lost.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[ridefree]

UPDATE

1. Nothing has solved the highest f# playing on upper manual.
2. The constant on key, which i'm not sure is the f# now, only makes sounds on the precussion tabs. No longer playing constant sound on the drawbars.
3. The rhythm box was at least making sound, though not as loud as it should, till a half hour ago and stopped putting out any sound. Didn't expect to go backwards on that one.

At least I can play it again, so not all is lost.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

To number 1.
It appears there is corrosion between the pad of the board and the riveted piece the key depresses. I took the board for the middle of that manual, though different numbers, everything matched up and f# works. Moved board back to original location.

To number 2.
I should have stated it is with the percussion with the second tab down. It is the second D that is playing.

To number 3.
Haven't looked at that one further yet.