|
|
|
Being a keyboardist by trade, it's time I show some of my vintage "axes". Here are five classics. The top two are proven workhorses, they are on hundreds of recordings. They are on all top 10 keyboard lists. The 3rd shot is a rare but wonderful Fender organ. It came along a little to late in the game to have any impact on rock-and-roll history but is a wonderful instrument. The most recent is probably the most used combo organ of all times, a Vox Jaguar. This was an affordable, good looking good sounding organ that many players cut their teeth on. The bottom one is a rare and amazing Kustom II organ. It had built in Leslie jacks and a piano and harpsicord built in. Probably too much too late. By the time this was released, the Hammond B-3 was the industry standard. |
|
The Prophet 5 is the first commercial true polyphonic synthesizer. Made by Sequential Circuits in the late 70's, it changed recorded music. They had a hefty price, $4500. I knew several players who took out car loans to get one of these babies! At the time, you could by a loaded sedan for this price! The Prophet V had 10 oscillators. You could pair them up and make it a true 5 voice synth. You could also stack all 10 oscillators onto one voice and make a huge bass or whatever sound you wanted. They had similar filters to the MiniMoog, which up till then, was the premier synth. Only problem was you could only play one note at a time. This unit, you could play five! 7500 of these were made between 79' and 84'. The last version, 3.3, had midi. It was replaced by the cheaper Prophet 600, which was 6 voice with 100 presets. (Compared to 40 on the Prophet 5). This one is a 3.1, serial number in the 5700s. These are still used and highly collectable. Supposedly there are still around 2000 in use. I remember the first time I played one, WOW! |
|
The Wurlitzer 200A is the most popular electric piano in use today. You can listen to both pop and country records and still hear these widely used. Developed by Wurlitzer as a portable alternative to a piano in the 50s', this is the most popular model. They were used by Richard Carpenter, Supertramp, Steely Dan, the Buckinghams, Ronnie Milsap, Garth Brooks and countless others. It uses small tines hit by a hammer, which gives it a similar feel to a real piano action. The reeds are mounted in a metal harp and amplified. This version also has vibrato which was very popular. This unit was made in 68'. They were pretty reliable but "tines" would break if hit too hard. They were tuned with hot soldier. I can tell by personal experience, this was no fun to do ! All in all, a great instrument that still brings over $600 on ebay. |
Most bands by the mid 60's had combo organs. The
Doors, Dave Clark Five, The Buckinghams to name a few, had
there major hits center around the organ. Vox and Farfisa
were the two major manufacturers at this time. Leo Fender
already had the popular Fender Rhodes elec. piano but wanted
an organ in the market as well. This organ came out in late
67', early 68'. It would have been a strong contender except
for the fact, the Hammond organ had found its way into pop
music by now. Everyone was using a Hammond B-3. I'm sure if
this organ had been out two years earlier, it would have
given Vox and Farfisa a run for their money. The thing I've
noticed is, it can sound like both. The volume pedal slides
back and forth to give either a mellow sound like the Vox or
a reedy sound like the Farfisa. The black tabs above the
keyboard are volume levels which simulate the drawbar
effect, you can control the volume of each octave. It has
separate outputs for bass and regular organ and has a groovy
stand that you can angle (so you can strike cool poses!) I
only saw one in use, by the national cast of "Up With
People". I'm glad I found one. If I ever do a 60's gig, this
and the Wurlitzer are there!
VOX JAGUAR w/Viscount amp
|
Probably the most visible combo organs were made by Vox. These included the Continental, which had a single keyboard and drawbars, the Super Continental, which had 2 keyboards an drawbars, and this one, the Jaguar. This was the cheapest of their line having voice tabs instead off drawbars. This is the 304, the earliest model, made in 67. This one did not have the contour control that was basically a tone control. It also lacked the metal strip that said Jaguar, having the small Vox logo like the Continental. These were probably the most used Vox organ with a price starting at $600 an eventually dropping to $400. You could also buy a kit version from Heathkit for $300, making it a very desirable instrument cheaper than any other on the market. This one is plugged into a Vox Viscount combo amp. This was a very common combination. Also seen in this shot is a pair of Kustom 150SC combo amps that were considered the best of the tuck-n-roll. One is a 2-12" with Altecs and the other a 2-10" with C10N's Jensens. This is a wonderful sounding amp. I plugged a strat into it and was amazed at the tonal variations. Behind the organ is the 67' Dual Showman with a 68' tall cabinet with JBL D140's. This would have been a staple bass rig in the late 60's and could still compete today. The 64' Blonde Bassman , 62' Bandmaster, and 67' Pro Reverb round out Fenders in this shot. This would be another option for a 60's band! Anybody interested? I'll probably use the Super Beatle to make sure you won't miss me! |
KUSTOM II organ
|
The Kustom II is another rare combo organ. This model was made by Bud Ross in Chanute KS to try and compete with the Hammond B-3. It has 2 manuals and drawbars to try and simulate a Hammond. I was privileged to meet Bud at a Kustom fest in Nashville. I was expecting him to come up and check out this organ with amazement, it is very clean and totally functional. Instead he just shook his head and said,"boy, did I take a bath on those! R&D killed me! They didn't sell very well, we quit making them pretty quick. We tried to copy the Hammond but just didn't make it." This unit actually has Leslie jacks with a slow-fast switch built in. Just plug in a 142 or 147 and rock. It doesn't have the key click of a Hammond but sounds surprisingly close through a Leslie. It also has a RMI type piano and harpsichord built in to the top keyboard. You can play piano with one hand and organ with the other! Pretty cool! It's very heavy. The keyboard comes off the stand which breaks into 3 parts, not very portable. I've seen probably 6 or so, either in adds or ebay. I've seen white, blue, gray, and black. When this was made, I think Kustom had dropped cascade and gold from their color schemes. Like the Contempo, a keyboard that came a litle too late. I proud to own this one. Also in this shot, you see my Hammond Porta-B I bought new in High School (now I'm dating myself) with a Red C Clavinet and DX 100 on top. There is a Roland JP 800 leaning on the Hammond. There are also a couple Kustom amps and an AC 50 in the background. What a hobby! |