Thoughts on Allen analog theater organ

[Vercus]

Hello all,
What are your thoughts on this Allen theater organ? The seller says it's a Theater Deluxe. It comes with 2 gyro speakers and 1 stationary. Seller is asking $250 and says it was serviced by an Allen tech last year.

[Vercus]

Anyone have any info or opinions?

[Admin]

Hard to respond without knowing the actual model number and more about what you're seeking. It appears to be a small analog model. It probably consists of single rank of flute generators from which all non-flute voices are derived. I don't see a setter drawer so it's possible that it has a fixed, blind combination system. It's also not evident from the photo whether it has "princess pedals" or a full pedal board.

Considering it has gyro cabinet the price isn't unreasonable if that's what you're looking for, but I don't think they'll be many interested in this model regardless of the price.

[Jay999]

Are you interested in this organ for yourself? If you are, here are some considerations you might want to think about.

There is a good deal of heavy equipment to move....console, speakers, etc. If you move it yourself, you'll need some dollies, or preferably, a strap on dolly for the console. If you have a professional mover do the job, you will probably spend at least twice the $250 purchase price having that done. A very important detail in moving the organ is to be sure you have labeled each plug and it's mating plug, so you won't have frustrations trying to find which plug goes where, when you get it home.

Do you have the physical room in your home for a "comfortable" setting up of the console and speakers. If this is a typical Allen Theatre Deluxe, you will need all three speakers to generate the sounds this organ produces. Gyro cabinet 1 is for Strings, Gyro cabinet 2 is for Flutes and Reeds, and the Third cabinet is for bass notes in the pedal, Flutes when you turn off the flute tremulant, and all the "Toy counter" sounds, (Bass drum, wood block, castanets, etc). If you are buying this instrument, it would be a good idea to examine all the speakers in each tone cabinet, so see if the speaker cones are rotted or damaged. You may be faced with a speaker re-coning job, and there are a lot of speakers in these three cabinets.

Another consideration is, how good of an organist are you. Will you be happy with two manuals, or would you be happier with another organ that has three manuals. If you are presently playing a two manual organ of another brand, do you find yourself wishing you had another keyboard to play an alternating set of sounds. If so, you will find this two manual Allen will continue to make you wish for that third keyboard, for alternating sounds.

Church music or popular music? Most of the stops on this organ are designed to play ballads and up beat pop tunes. If you are more interested in playing hymns and liturgical music, and especially if you are wanting to play the more intricate music of Bach, etc., you will find this instrument very limited in sound resources for playing church music. There are lots of two manual, classical organs available on the various internet sites, and if you are interested in playing classical music, you would be much happier finding a church type instrument.

Analog vs. Digital organ? This Allen organ is an analog type of electronic sound generation. Because of its huge amplification system, and the generous supply of speakers it uses, it has a wonderful, almost magic kind of sound that you would be hard pressed to duplicate in another instrument. On the other hand, if you are wanting a more authentic Tibia, Concert Flute..(they are different kinds of flute sound), and more authentic sounding reeds, you will find this instrument limited in producing authentic pipe organ sounds. A digital organ will produce much more authentic pipe organ sounds, and again, a two manual Allen digital theatre organ comes up on the internet sites quite regularly, and for not a whole lot of difference in prices.

Reselling this instrument: If you find yourself advancing to a level of playing, where you desire a larger organ, or a more authentic sounding chorus of voices, you will find yourself in much the same desperation as the current seller, trying to move this instrument on to another purchaser. There are a very limited number of prospective buyers who want an older, analog type instrument, and usually, they are looking for an instrument that is much more compact...self contained amplifiers and speakers, etc. For this reason, you would probably find yourself desperate, trying to "unload" this organ onto another purchaser, even offering it for free.

Maintenance: Any electronic organ, (pipe organs too!) do require maintenance in keeping them playing in a happy state. If your are good with electronic circuits, and enjoy working with electronic components, and finding yourself rewarded with this kind of repair work....then an electronic organ will be a rewarding hobby for you. If you will be depending on an outside source of maintenance, (electronic organ repairman), you should be equipped with a full set of schematics for this organ, (lots of schematics for this organ are available through various members of this Organ Forum). Also, if you are depending on an electronic organ repairman, you should be aware that you will spend some additional funds on keeping the organ happily playing.

Have an enjoyable experience!

[Vercus]

Thank you both for the very helpful information. That gives me a lot to think about. Sounds like it might be fun as a goof around organ, but definitely not a serious practice organ.

[rts2]

Looks similar to my 3 manual Allen Theatre Deluxe, this 2 manual version has possibly 2 or 3 ranks of single tone generators (strings, flute, celeste).
Germanium transistor technique, main part of the organ is build as a traditional pipe organ, i.e. lots of multi-channel relais, wooden keyboard. Rotation speakers are unconventional but hard to repair. But you can get original replacement parts from Allen still today!
Sound is very good for an old analog organ. However it is more a collector's item.