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Help Getting a Baldwin Fanfare Deluxe 131D Working

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  • Help Getting a Baldwin Fanfare Deluxe 131D Working

    Intro:
    Hi! First post here. Anyways I will get right to it. A local budget theater I frequent has an older Baldwin Fanfare Deluxe (131 series I believe. The place opened in 1970 and used an organ for the national anthem before movies way back) that I would love to get working. It's in pretty bad shape and I'm aware that they are not a well like organ. This has made the info on them kinda scarce. It will turn on and light up but I can't get any sound out of it. To make it more complicated I think it has been modified to work with a sound system that no longer exists in the theater.

    Click image for larger version

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    Above gives an idea of the condition.

    https://youtu.be/YtnqiNSbokU

    Above demo has the same organ in the pictures.

    Part I the Cords:
    There are a total of 4 cords coming out the organ. 1 is separate and clearly a power cord with a brick and a switch. This is what has turned it on and provided power so far.
    The next four cords are all in one bundle with a matching extension cord to plug into each. There are 3 XLR cables that have female ends. A little odd considering it's coming out of the back, but I believe it is audio out since there is a panel nearby with male plugs. Male to male XLR adapters are no problem, I just do not currently have any. They are on the way now. We have a separate speaker system we can plug those into. I believe they are left, right, and center.
    Last is the oddest and the one that I haven't a clue on. It starts out as a female power cord (it's separate from the brick and starts with a female end) that another male power cord plugs into. The other end of the 2nd power cord ends in a 2 prong female barrel shaped connector. I have no idea if this cord is required or not because there would be two power cords now. There is no feasible way to get a male to male power cord as it is very dangerous. There is a spot for it on the original panel as well. Wouldn't that electrocute anyone that touched it? Anyways this is part I of questions. I will try the XLR male to male converts first and ignore the second power cord for now.

    Click image for larger version

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    Above is the odd power plug. Really hoping its not needed...

    Click image for larger version

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    Above is the original panel. Yes it is filthy and does not work. There were speakers behind it that are no longer there. The two prongs on the bottom is where the power plugged into. Wouldn't that setup be dangerous? I mean I hope those were not live power prongs! You would get zapped touching them!

    Part II Volume:
    There is a volume knob on the front of the organ and one in the back as well. Turning those up and down has done nothing. Does the pedal in the middle of the organ control volume as well or is it sustain? I guess the real question is what controls the volume? I think the internal speaker was cut and rewired to the cords coming out of it. It may be easier to open the organ and take a look and wire the speaker back up.

    I cannot test any suggestions until next weekend. (9/7/18) I will let everyone know then if I can get it open or if the XLR adapters are enough. I can answer any question, but unfortunately that is all the pictures I took. Nothing yet on how the insides look. Let me know if I need to move my question to a different thread.

    Would love any information! Thanks so much!

  • #2
    Well good news, I was able to get back up there sooner and work on it. It works! Kinda... The nearby store only had one adapter that I was looking for the rest are in the mail so I could only test one sound channel at a time. Seems to be the same on each channel so no idea why there is three plugs. Sound comes out from both keyboards and the petals once I had a male to male pass though. Instruments change fine as well. It only has about 4 for each keyboard as far as I can tell. The rhythm bank seems to be completely shot. Getting nothing out of it. It's missing a few buttons, one of the light bulbs is burnt out at the top, and the volume pedal does not come back up so I duct taped the opening shut to keep out popcorn and trash. Not sure where I would find parts to fix that. I believe the extra power cord was just for grounding as the other power plug is two prongs. Was probably to meet some kind of regulation. Not sure as the back panel was held on with hex screws! I didn't expect that. So I will update latter with a few more pictures and am still looking for any information on it! Thanks!

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    • #3
      OK I was wrong. It's a Baldwin Fanfare Deluxe Theater 135. The 131 is the encore series, but has the same bench and is similar to the 135. Plus the service date of 1974 on the back matched up with the release date. Guess last time it was serviced was 4 years before it was released? Maybe my memory is off on what the tag stated.

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