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MMD > Archives > March 2005 > 2005.03.19 > 02Prev  Next


Roll-Playing Electronic Player Organs: Kimball
By Mike Carey

In regards to Kimball Player Organs -- Harold Whipps Sr. was correct
in that there was the 500 series (which I have one), and the 1200
series (which I also have one, but it is a basket case).  There was
also the 700 series (which I had one many years ago, a model 702P).

The Kimball organ rolls were cut by QRS but there were two different
kinds of boxes used: some of the boxes were blue, and (if I remember
correctly) were labeled "Kimball Player Organ".  The later boxes were
the red QRS boxes (like the piano rolls) and the roll numbers started
with "KM-" and then the number.

Finding a working unit may be difficult, due to the age of the organs.
The 500 series had vacuum-tube-type electronics, and would require
extensive rebuilding.  The 700 and 1200 series were mostly
transistorized.

The player mechanism was loosely based on the Kimball "Electramatic"
spinet player pianos at that time.  The valves were the same red
plastic, two valves per block, like in the pianos.  They also used
the same gearmotors for roll drive.

The upper manual played 2-1/2 octaves (from F to top C), the lower
manual played one octave (from F to E, in the center of the manual),
and the bottom twelve pedals (all but the top C).

The keyboards had little pneumatic stacks mounted at the backs of
the keys, moving the keys with actuators attached to the individual
keys.  The pedals were played by a set of pouch-operated leaf switches.
(The pneumatics are about the size of your index finger!)

Organs rolls played on the organ sounded pretty good, but they really
_stink_ when played in a piano.  Conversely, piano rolls played on the
organ will sound okay but may miss some notes at extreme ends of the
roll, due to the fact that the tracker bar is tubed for organ rolls
(which uses the middle of the tracker bar), not piano rolls.

If you are interested in a player organ in general (not just a Kimball),
you might be able to find an "Organmatic" player unit.  These were
after-market units that were designed to be _added_ to an organ,
converting it to a player organ.  I've had three of these units in the
past, and I have one now installed now an a (yes, I know!) Kimball
organ!

The player units were wired into the keyboards and pedals on the organ,
and the tracker bar was tubed for playing piano rolls.  If the organ
had sustain on the pedals, the rolls actually sounded pretty good.
I hope this helps.

Greetings from chilly Tennessee!
Mike Carey


(Message sent Sat 19 Mar 2005, 12:43:53 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.)

Key Words in Subject:  Electronic, Kimball, Organs, Player, Roll-Playing

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