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  • I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



    Hello everyone. My mother in law just moved out of state and left behind a Gulbransen Transistor Model B-2. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how old it is, how much its worth, where I can find parts if need be, and basically anything else about the model, I dont know anything about Organs and I want to know all about it because I wouldhate for this to just waste away in the garage!




    Here are some pictures:




    <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...slist011-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">




    <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...slist010-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">




    <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...slist008-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">




    <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...slist007-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">




    <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...igslist005.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">




    <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ouse/organ.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">


  • #2
    Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



    Hi,



    I'm sure that someone (Jimmy?) that's actually owned or heard one of these may chime in with their comments but based on one of the organ lists the B-2 dates from 1958 and it has independent tone generators which generally gives an organ a richer sound. I've got a Gulbransen Rialto K that dates from around 1961 that I really enjoy. Although the technology of these older instruments can be a bit crude the cabinet work, keyboards, etc. are generally very nice on these older Gulbransen. I do all my own tech work so I've never had to look for a service person that would be willing to work on these older models. The technical documentation for the Gulbransen are available as are a lot of the parts and how-to advice from these types of forums as well as some of the folks that sell the documentation and parts.



    The best thing you can do for these old organs is to keep playing them on a regular basis. After they sit unused for a while all sorts of bad things can crop up with key and control contacts getting dirty or oxidized, capacitors going bad, etc.



    In terms of price the standard and true answer is whatever a buyer is willing to pay. Unless it's a particularly rare or unusual model of organ or you run into the occasional organ nut that just has to have that model to complete their "collection" you're probably looking at somewhere in the $75-150 dollar range best case for most spinets. Of course there are just as many that go for $0.






    Gary

    Current: Rodgers 340 "Special", Gulbransen Rialto K (Both Versions), Allen Theatre Deluxe, Rodgers Olympic 333, Roland Atelier AT70 (I hope)
    History: Rodgers 321B, Rodgers 740B, Gulbransen Theatrum, Hammond H-133, Thomas Malibu, Heathkit/Thomas Paramount

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



      Hello,




      I'm a newbie here and having a difficult time getting around here and wondering if someone here could help me.




      I'm not an organ player but I came across a Gulbransen "President" the other day and found it to be captivating. I turned it on and played with it a bit and the sound was wonderful. I was so enchanted by it that I'm considering buying it.




      I don't know how to test all of the functions, I would like to know what would be a resonable price to offer for it? Also, what, if it did not work out for me, I could possibly sell it for if it did not work out? It appears that there may not be a big buyers market for organs. If anyone can help me with any information on this organ I sure would appreciate it.




      Sincerely,




      Jon

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



        Tinker,



        I am considerably impressed with the list of your 8 organs. Where do you put them? Which one(s) do you like to play the most? I used to have a Wurlitzer console model electronic in addition to my Style D Wurlitzer but sold it as I rarely played it even though it was a fine instrument ( two 61 note manuals, one 37 note small manual, 25 note pedal).

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



          Jon, there were two Presidents, pretty similar, but you'll spot the later one as it has a Harpsichord tab at the extreme right of the stop rail. If you do a search on Gulbransen President here, you should turn up a lot of threads discussing the organ, with plenty of information.



          It does make a lovely sound, even though it doesn't have the independent tone generators of previous models. If it's fully working, make a low offer. It is very much a buyer's market, so maybe $75-100.



          Trouble is most sellers have no idea of values these days, thinking that if it cost $x,000 when it was new it must still be worth something like that that now.



          Andy

          It's not what you play. It's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.

          New website now live - www.andrew-gilbert.com

          Current instruments: Roland Atelier AT900 Platinum Edition, Yamaha Genos, Yamaha PSR-S970, Kawai K1m
          Retired Organs: Lots! Kawai SR6 x 2, Hammond L122, T402, T500 x 2, X5. Conn Martinique and 652. Gulbransen 2102 Pacemaker. Kimball Temptation.
          Retired Leslies, 147, 145 x 2, 760 x 2, 710, 415 x 2.
          Retired synths: Korg 700, Roland SH1000, Jen Superstringer, Kawai S100F, Kawai S100P, Kawai K1

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...

            I owned a Gulbransen B briefly a few years back. It had a deep throaty tone much larger than most spinet organs. It was the first organ with transistor generators, dating back to the very early 1960's. Present value is around $50 in very good condition. Replacement parts are available mostly on Ebay or at some repair businesses. Do an internet search under organ parts for those suppliers as they are possibly becoming more scarce in this depressed economy. Organ Service (one of the leaders is being discussed on this forum) but I haven't checked that thread yet today to see if anyone has had successful contact with the company.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



              Hi Allan,



              I'd missed this post so I'm catching up a bit... Yes my "Noah's Ark" of organs has got a bit out of hand even for me. Here's the story on them starting in the order I'd acquired them. I'll probably get a little long and windy on this one since I'm waiting for a huge software download/install to complete on my work computer. Just in case you don't wade through all this (I think I must have set a post length record, at least for myself) for the answers to the questions you asked here's a summary.



              It's pretty dynamic around here but currently the Rodgers 321B, Gubransen Rialto K 1135 and the Rodgers 740B are inside. The Rialto K 1107 and the Hammond H-133 are set up nicely in the garage. The Rodgers 322 and Allen Theater Deluxe are also in the garage and can be set up to play in 15 minutes or so. The Gulbransen Theatrum is on a dolly and looking for a new home. I'd rank my current favorites as 321B, 1107, 740B, 1135, H-133. All except for the H-133 get played anywhere from daily to a couple times a week.



              And the long version...



              Gulbransen Theatrum - A thrift store purchase many years ago, maybe 15? It replaced my tired Thomas Malibu which wasn't much in the sound department but it was something to play. The Theatrum was a joy compared to the Malibu and it looked like it just came off the showroom floor. It recently got squeezed out of the house to make room for the new console arrivals. I'm lucky that I've got a big three car garage (doesn't look big anymore) and live in a mild climate so a garage "studio" isn't out of the question. I'd love to find a new home for it to save it from going back into the thrift store system (they're still taking organs here) but so far no takers -- it's free to a good home. It's got a nice full sound (three channels) for a spinet with built-in Leslie. A decent set of voices, an outstanding piano and harpsichord, realistic traps. Also has a set of drawbars, a lot of built in rhythms, automatic walking bass and a pull out chord button drawer. The drawbars were a fun feature but the automation went unused except when my nieces came over to play [:)] I don't really play it anymore since I've got all the consoles so I consider this one in "storage".



              Hammond H-133 - The freebee that started all the collecting. I'd always liked the Hammond sound for some types of music so when it sat out on Craigslist for a few weeks with no takers I took the plunge. Nobody told me how heavy these are nor how frustrating they can be to access different areas of the console for repairs. Quite a few of the Hammonds that I've seen had a habit of the plastic keys breaking off the metal channels. Two screws up into plastic posts that get brittle after a lot of years. Came up with a good repair system for those and she's up and running fine. A big full two channel sound with some nice dual tremulant/celeste features and some real bass in the pedal. She's in the garage and set up to play. I don't play it as often as the theatre style instruments but when the Hammond sound urge strikes it's ready to go.



              Rodgers 321B - I have the H-133 acquisition to thank for this one. While picking up the freebee in his garage I noticed another instrument in the back under a cover. We got to talking about it and he showed me this beautiful three manual Rodgers that had belonged to his recently deceased uncle. Built-in speakers along with two huge Klipsch La Scala with external amps. He said it had some problems and we wasn't sure what he was going to do with it so we agreed to keep in touch via email just in case. Months passed, he had an opportunity to move up north and he probably wasn't going to take the Rodgers with him since he was a guitar player and the organ really wasn't his thing. They lived way the heck out in the high desert so I think that helped keep the outside interest in the Hammond and the Rodgers low, good for me. They sold it to me for almost a song except for the La Scala's which he wanted to use for his audio system. I ended up putting on a couple of freebee Allen HC-12 speakers thru a little Alesis Microverb and it sounds great to me. I had fond memories of playing a three manual Rodgers of some sort (probably a Trio) back in my teens at an actual organ store. Although it does have a few weak points that I hope to someday address it's probably the instrument I play the most. It has some snappy post horns and a built-in glock which are very nice. If it had better traps and a piano like the Rialto K then I'd be in heaven. It's in the living room and since it's the only organ I have that both my wife and her friends consider "pretty" it's a welcome addition to the household.



              Gulbransen Rialto K (1107-100) - I'd heard a couple of YouTube performances on the Rialto II and was still enjoying the Theatrum so I started looking for a real deal on one of these. About this time I'd figured out that there were a lot of interesting organs out there almost for the asking. I missed out on some Rialto II's but I received an email right out of the blue about a Rialto II about 75 miles north of me. When I finally drove up there it turned out to be a Rialto K and not a Rialto II. I'd heard enough about the "legendary" Rialto K to be more excited than dissapointed in the find so with the help of a few strong folks we loaded it and the Leslie into the back of my pickup. After replacing a fuse, a good cleaning that included all module contacts and rewinding a bad relay coil she was in perfect condition. Besides a great vintage analog organ sound and outstanding Tibias there's something about the touch on the keyboards that's different than all my other instruments. They're wood core and have such a smooth and light touch on the action that it makes playing a joy. Maybe it's just me but I wish I had the same feel on all my organs... It's been pretty much trouble free for about two years except for blowing a power resistor in the 4 channel Leslie amp. Fixing that reminded me how much I like working on transistor and IC circuits rather than tubes, one bite from a capacitor that wasn't fully discharged made a believer out of me. Luckily those are the only tube circuits in it. I think the full sound comes from the fact that there's two complete sets of independent tone generators, one for Tibia and one for the complex voices. In addition each Tibia tone generator only starts when it's keyed so while it might be my imagination I think that adds to the realism of the Tibias. It also incorporates what they called an Isomonic system which separated the adjacent complex notes (C-C# channels) to reduce or eliminate the IM distortion. Quite advanced for the day, I think Don Leslie held the patent on Isomonic. From what I've read lately there are some newer organs that have adopted the same technique. This organ occupies a place of honor in my garage studio and is played almost on a daily basis. The rest of the household isn't as fond of organ music as I am so it's great to have a place where I can play early in the morning, late at night or at other times without disturbing everyone. I never did like playing with headphones.



              Rodgers 322 Deluxe - I found this one sitting on ebay with no takers. It was located down near the Mexican border which is less than a 100 mile drive for me. The ad was terrible and the seller wasn't willing to ship it anywhere. My opening bid was the only one. My orginal plan was to swap the wood core keyboards from this organ into my 321B and vice versa. Remember that I had "wood core keyboard fever" from the Rialto K. I found out that all wood core keyboards are not the same and it was going to be a heck of a lot of work so I scrubbed that notion. So the planis to finish the restoration, just a couple of minor keying issues left to resolve and give it to my brother to replace his dying Conn Caprice. It's a nice console done in antique white with gold trim. It sounds surprisingly good with the two Rodgers speaker cabs, one a Leslie style effect and the other a nice rear firing three way system with two big Jensen woofers, Jensen mid range horn and a tweeter. I only play it when testing and it too is out in the garage.



              Rialto K (1135-102-103) - Since I already had the Rialto K bug and heard that the version with the 102 and 103 Leslie's was the ultimate when the opportunity came up to get this one, also sitting on ebay with a low minimum and zero bids, I had to bid. So far this is the only instrument that I had to make a decision to have shipped rather than pick it up myself. It was up in the mountains around Reno Nevada in the winter so it seemed like the right thing to do. I won't detail the whole experience but it was quite a challenge. Other than figuring out how to clean the piano option's contacts which is a bit of a delicate nightmare the organ works fine. I also had to do some fixing on the Leslies due to broken pulley mounts on the Space Generators (a phase shifting gadget designed to add a bit of randomness into the sound). Eight channels of sound, three different rotating speaker units, some with two speeds. Pretty darn exciting configuration for the 60's. Needless to say it's a sonic experience with all that swirling sound. I originally intended to replace my original early model Rialto K with this one but they're just too different a sound. The early Rialto K has a nice solid simple pure sound that I'd miss. I've got to do some digging into this "new" Rialto K to see if there's something a bit off that changed the Tibia sound a bit. The tremolo sounds a bit too fast and choppy. They also routed the piano and pedal sound through the Space Generator which gives a bit of shimmer to the piano. I can live with that effect but it also seems to add some tremolo to the pedal which I don't like. I'm going to try bypassing the Space Generator for the pedal and maybe the piano to see if it's more to my liking. This organ, complete with the two Leslies is also in the living room. I play this one quite a bit since the piano is excellent and the fullness of the sound coming out of those two specialized Leslie is pretty unique.



              Allen Theatre Deluxe - I wasn't looking for this one but it was posted as a free organ. I was curious but resisted the temptation for several weeks until the owner posted about his plans to dismantle and dispose of it at the local dump. A big road trip up the state and I brought back a very nice two manual console with some very interesting insides along with 4 different nicely finished speaker cabinets. A couple of Allen gyros, some upward facing reed horns with little rotating tremolo "butterflys", a bass cabinet and a traps cabinet. After some cleanup I found that it all works great but ends up being a pretty big system when it's all connected. I did discover a very interesting feature that so far nobody, even some folks at Allen have been able to explain. It's a hand held wooden "stick" that's connected to the console with a thin cable. Small switches allow you to assign the various traps to one of two sides of this big wooden rocker switch on the "stick". So it appears to be designed to give the organist or most likely an assistant percussionist the ability to play along with the music. Quite unique and so well constructed and matching the Allen that it must be part of the original organ. Currently this one's also out in the garage waiting for the 322 to head over to my brothers so I can set it up a bit better. This one also has multiple sets of tone generators as well as an abbreviated string celeste rank. The strings do sound quite nice.



              Rodgers 740B -My latest and last adoption... honest. This was yet another one that fell out of the air courtesy of Craigslist. I wasn't looking for another organ, especially not a church/classical model but it looked interesting, in good condition, was free and had no takers. I figured at the very least I could fix whatever needed fixing, learn about a newer technology (mid-80's), play around with it a bit and then perhaps pass it along to a church or someone that might appreciate having a practice instrument. Having never played an organ with this type of specification it's been fun learning about the voicing differences, registration, etc. It came with a big bunch of column speakers and a big dual speaker, ported subwoofer to support the 32' pedal stop. Once I got some documentation throttled it back a bit to match a home rather than church environment it sounds good to me. It's given me a chance to learn some different material, some hymns and simple preludes. It's a good match for some of the Christmas music so if I can manage to keep it inside until then it should be fun. Technically it's very interesting since Rodgers combined elements of their original analog organs (independent tone generator ranks, diode keyers, etc.) controlled by a microprocessor middleman that scans the keyboards and other controls. They were able to add a lot of interesting features to the organ (alterable mixtures, multiple carillion tunings,assignable celestes and more) and reduce a lot of wiring and contacts. This one is especially nice because I found out it had MIDI (in/out) so it's given me a chance to finally have some realistic playing experiences with the Miditzer VTPO.



              If I could only pick a couple to keep around I'd probably say my number one would be the Rodgers 321B followed by one of the Rialto K's. I enjoy tinkering with these vintage instruments and admire both the craftsmanship and the engineering probably as much as playing them. If it wasn't for those interests and the fact that almost nobody seems to want these things these days I'd probably have much fewer instruments around the house [;)]













              Gary

              Current: Rodgers 340 "Special", Gulbransen Rialto K (Both Versions), Allen Theatre Deluxe, Rodgers Olympic 333, Roland Atelier AT70 (I hope)
              History: Rodgers 321B, Rodgers 740B, Gulbransen Theatrum, Hammond H-133, Thomas Malibu, Heathkit/Thomas Paramount

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



                Gary: Your remarks about the plastic insulating posts on the Gulbransen Space Generators are interesting. I have had to repair a few of them as I recently got an 1107 and a 1135. I also got a spare set of generators for the 102/103's. I carefully remove the plate assembly and remove the broken tapped part from the center of the shaft with the 8 x 32 thread. Usually the upper broken part stays in the brown pulley, and I drill out the threads from this portion only. Then, using a plug tap, I clean out the threads in the capacitor part of the shaft and then put it back together again using a new brass 8 x 32 x 1/2" screw, inserting an external lock washer for friction or two (as required to tighten the screw). By rotating the brown pulley and the capacitor shaft as you tighten it, they can be aligned so the pulley runs as "true" as possible. This seems to work quite well.





                One thing I am playing with is the selection of the 7189 tubes. I am aware of the internal connections they have on pins 1 & 2 and 6 & 8. Has anyone used the Russian 6P12P "equals" with success? I may buy a couple and try it out. I won't try using the EL-84 or 6BQ5 because of the issues with the lowered ratings. I would like some feedback on this. Thanks



                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: I need a little help with my Gulbransen...



                  Sounds like a good alternate way to fix those space generator pulley mounts. Besides the organs I've also got some metal and woodworking equipment so I rarely pass up any opportunity to use them to fabricate some replacement parts for one of my other hobbies. I frequently use my lathe or mill to make up some spacer, mount, pulley, jig or whatever. Having the luxury of all these tools makes a lot of situations an opportunity to build something from scratch. Not always "cost effective" and often a bit of overkill but I learn something new with every project to justify (at least to myself) the time I spend [:)]



                  On the tube issue I can't offer any input. I've got a number of tube amps in my organs but so far I've never had a bad tube (knock on wood). I've had to rebuild one of the 4 boards in my 100GK Leslie amp due to a burnt power resistor and curiosity about replacing the caps but that's been about it. I'm more of the transistor and IC generation so if the tube stuff seems to be working I don't mess with it. I've seen others on the boards that seem to enjoy the tube stuff so maybe they'll chime in. You might also consider starting a new topic with the tube number as a subject to grab some additional attention. If nobody chimes up here you might try the Hammond list, a bunch of folks on that one are always talking about tube stuff.



                  Gary

                  Current: Rodgers 340 "Special", Gulbransen Rialto K (Both Versions), Allen Theatre Deluxe, Rodgers Olympic 333, Roland Atelier AT70 (I hope)
                  History: Rodgers 321B, Rodgers 740B, Gulbransen Theatrum, Hammond H-133, Thomas Malibu, Heathkit/Thomas Paramount

                  Comment

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