Thomas model 585 Paramount Deluxe - fired up - issues

[ya_hey_dere]

Admins - first post. If I'm not in the right place, slot me to it and let me know where to go. I'm guessing.

2-1/2 years ago I picked up a Thomas Paramount Deluxe. Tried to get it up the stairs that day and couldn't (with a friend). Today I used a winch and a tow strap and got up and into the house. I found a few issues.

The low E-flat pedal is sounding continuously. I'm going to look at the hold-down pins on it tomorrow and expect it's just loose. The pedal is a bit rattly as is the high B-flat.

I have broken highest B and B-flat keys on the lower keyboard. I'm going to try epoxy, but in case it doesn't hold, does anyone have parts?

On the upper keyboard, second B above middle C does not have any reverb or sustain. Is the problem in the key contact or farther downstream? Got a few dead keys too, and I'll try electrical contact cleaner on them.

I also have to two right-most accompaniment stops broken off. The white one I know is an 8' concert flute. The black one I can't quite read what it is in photos I've found. Again, parts? Anyone got 'em or do I whip out the Smooth-On rubber and cast my own?

I may run across other issues as I dive into this thing, but for 2-1/2 years in the garage, it's not in bad shape for the contacts.

Thanks in advance,

Jay

[bnelson218]

I love that pre-Californian era of Thomas models. I had a Paramount and played it at Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. I then owned a Lawrence Welk, two Celebrities, a Palace III, and an Electra that I used on the road. Anyway...the pedal problem sounds like something go broken during the move. As for parts, there used to be a service and parts center in the UK, but I'll be darned if I can remember their name. Someone on here is bound to know. Hey....I just remembered! Check out www.wdgreenhill.com. The loss of reverb and sustain on certain notes is most likely an non-polarized capacitor on the sustain keyer board. The Paramount doesn't have actual reverb on it (using a reverb tank), but rather uses a short sustain to try and emulate the reverb effect. (Cheesy, I admit. You don't get actual reverb until the Lawrence Welk model.) On the Paramount the keyer board is located under the upper manual and there are 61 keyer circuits, each of which has a 47uf non-polarized capacitor which is what you want to replace. The problem is that Thomas used a particular brand of NP caps that, after about ten years, dried out. They would then become brittle, developing cracks and usually opening up. They're easy to spot as they are black with red ends. You can use an electrolytic as a replacement--just position the - side toward ground. It be in your best interest to replace all of them, since more are bound to go bad. In fact, I'd replace any of these you find in the organ. Lastly, I can't for the life of me recall what that black tab for the accomp manual would be, other than to tell you that any black tabs are either effects or couplers. Hope all this helps.

[bnelson218]

Well, here's more info. There's a 585-C on Ebay that I stole the picture from and as you can see, that black tab is the Solo to Accompany Coupler.

[bnelson218]

There's also a spinet pedal board for sale on Ebay that would probably provide you the necessary parts to repair yours.

[Suhndog]

Hi! I had a Paramount Deluxe, and the pedal contacts are easy to fix.. Usually, the contact wire will be dislodged, and can easily be bent back to its original position. Contact cleaner may help as well. You just grab the wire, and bend it back in position. My pedal board had the same issues. You just have to fiddle with them. It's an easy fix. You might try super glue on the broken keys, or some type of bonding adhesive. Frankly, of all my organs [I have 8].. The Paramount had the best sounding Tibia's!! I love that hollow, woody sound.. True, the real Tibia pipes had different characteristics from rank to rank depending on who built the Theater Organ.

[Larrytow]

ya_hey_dere , Welcome to the Organ Forum, from a fellow Wisconsinite. I lived in Milwaukee most of my life, till I retired and moved up to da sticks. My compliments on using a winch and straps to move an organ. I've done the same on organ moving jobs many times.

I'm sorry to say that I know nothing about Thomas organs though, so I'm of no assistance in your current issues. However, as you can see , there are many knowledgeable folks here about most brands and models.

Good luck getting it fixed up.

[bnelson218]

I apologize for a mistake I made. On your Paramount there would be 37 keyer circuits, not 61.

[bnelson218]

Frankly, of all my organs [I have 8]. The Paramount had the best sounding Tibia's!! I love that hollow, woody sound.

What other organs do you have? I agree with you about the Thomas tibias. Back in the organ heyday there was a product artist with Thomas by the name of Byron Melcher. He was a really fine theater organist and worked very hard with the Thomas engineers to get the tibias sounding right.

[toodles]

Byron was working at Thomas when I worked there--he was a very fine organist, and had a keen ear. Also was a very kind gentleman. I heard he went on from Thomas to Kimball during the fall of the home organ market.

[Suhndog]

Sorry for the delay..
I have the following organs: Wersi Spectra, Wersi Delta, Wersi Beta TS, Baldwin Cinema 2, Conn 650 with small symmetrical pipes, Kimball 'Fascination' K800, Thomas Floridian Classic and a Lowrey MX2 ...

[Suhndog]

The Baldwin is sorely in need of service, but I am poor and can't afford a tech. visit.

[RogerM]

You might not have oodles of money but if you can play the organ as well as your listed collection suggests, you're certainly not poor 😀

[Suhndog]

Well, Most of those organs were free! The most I paid for one was $300 for the Baldwin.I paid $100 for the Kimball, and $60 for the Lowrey.. That was all.

[bnelson218]

Byron was working at Thomas when I worked there--he was a very fine organist, and had a keen ear. Also was a very kind gentleman. I heard he went on from Thomas to Kimball during the fall of the home organ market.

He was a really nice. We teased him over the fact that a dealer had once introduced him at a concert as "Thomas artist, Myron Belcher!" What did you do at Thomas? Our Toledo franchise did rather well for them and we often had Ralph Wolf, Bob Ralston, and Byron here for concerts. ALso a gal that played at Shea stadium, but I don't remember her name. Thomas hired me as a product artist and would send me to surrounding dealers for in-store concerts and new model demos. They sent me to a dealer in Columbus once, but the Celebrity I was supposed to play broke down that morning, the store's serviceman had the flu and couldn't fix it, and the only other model they had at the time was a Belair; go figure... But I miss those days a lot.