Musical Museum Exhibit In-Depth #1 - The Mighty Wurlitzer
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- Join Chris Barber, our resident organist and musical director, on an in-depth tour of The Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ / cinema organ - including "behind the scenes" views inside the pipe chambers and relay room - while Chris explains the operation of this remarkable instrument in detail.
- Наука та технологія
Excellent presentation at a level that even a neophyte can understand. It’s amazing how so few ranks of pipes, relative to classical organs, a theater organ uses for such varied tonal colors.
Chris - I've been involved with theatre pipe organs for decades and have heard a number of these "tour of the organ" type presentations. Most are informative, but just so-so in terms of the quality of the production and/or explanations. Your video is one of the absolute best I've seen. Very clearly described with care given to the style and organization of content. Great job - thank you!
(07:30) Thanks for the information concerning Robert Hope-Jones development of the relay system. I've seen many programs on pipe organs, but never knew this fact.
What a superb presentation - so well explained!
Possibly the most comprehensive and clearest explanation and tour of a pipe organ ever. Thanks Chris and the Musical Museum!
Wonderful video with such clear and helpful explanations.
Well done!
Thanks to Chris and the team for making this fascinating video. As an engineer, I find the opportunity to see the mechanisms inside the organ just as rewarding as hearing the wonderful music. It was interesting to see the relays, blower and setter boards, which people don’t usually get to see when visiting the museum. It makes me realise just how ingenious people were 90 years ago. I thought Chris’s demonstration of second touch was one of the best I’ve seen, as it really shows how the technique is used. The clarity of the sound and pictures also adds to the overall quality of the presentation.
Thanks for your kind comments Dave, we really appreciate your feedback. There are some really amazing and clever ways in which problems were solved that today would just be a microchip or two; future videos in this series will explore other instruments in the collection that are just as ingenious - and we may even return to The Mighty Wurlitzer to look at other aspects like the mechanical colour changer - so stay tuned!
😊
What a fascinating look behind the scenes. Thanks!
Fantastic! Thank You For this! I am connected to a 1929 Wurlitzer like this one that has been in storage for many years. We are trying to find it a home where it will be reassembled so the wonderful sound can live again! Northern California is a very long way from you however, I learned a few more details by watching this video and now can answer slightly more questions when asked. My mother was the church organist for 50 years. She passed two years ago. She had a very nice organ and a Steinway concert grand in her home until the California fires turned them both to ashes. She lost all desire to play again following that calamity.
So many of these wonderful instruments need to be seen and heard by all!
This ex Regal Wurlitzer has to be one of the most distinctive sounding organs of all? I can remember my father had LPs many years ago of Joseph Seal at the Kingston cinema, its original home, and thankfully, the Kingston sound is still a live at the Musical museum, not always the case when you move an organ to a new home!
I have been to the museum a few years ago and totally recommend it , a wonderful day out ,seeing all the exhibits
However, my favourite item was the mighty Wurlitzer.
Wonderful, clear explanation! And good quality audio that captures the lovely sound from the organ. It's been a very long time since I played this particular Wurlitzer, perhaps when this pandemic is over, or at least well under control, I'll have a chance to re-acquaint myself! :)
This instrument is brilliant with whoever plays it 😉. Keep it up folks nice 1 👍.
Plenty of Wurlitzers of various types were made in North Tonawanda in western NY just a few miles southeast of Niagara Falls. Wurlitzer actually bought the factory of an earlier organ maker in the late 1890's. Eugene DeKleist of North Tonawanda, was an early builder of organs used in Merry-go-rounds for fairgrounds and carnivals. Wurlitzer moved their operations from Ohio to New York around that time and added their Mighty Theater Organ models in 1910.
Very interesting and a very evocative sound. Thank you😊
Bravo Mr. Barber and Musical Museum! This is by far one of the finest presentations explaining not only the Mighty Wurltzer but the inner, mechanical workings of a pipe organ I have ever seen. Absolutely captivating and educational. Thank you! If I am ever in London again I do hope to be able to stop by for a visit. Again, thank you so very much!
Fantastic video, the organ is sounding as goood as ever. Very educational and informative!
I have been in love with the cinema organ since I first played one in 1972. That particular instrument was a 3/15 Wurlitzer still using the original relay system developed by Hope Jones and electro pneumatic action including the stop tab actions. I am a member of a Theatre Organ Club based in Warragul , Victoria.(Australia) Also on the committee as by trade I am an electronics tech and look after the organ's electronic action which is all cmos logic and multiplexed , much more positive with no delay, this allows the pipes to speak fairly promptly allowing of course for the oscillation build-up delay in large flue pipes. It is only a 3/10 and really needs a post horn or some other strident reed rank.
I noticed the pedals are rather worn on the 3/12 you are playing , probably had a lot of use over the many decades.
Our members are mostly elderly and the future for the organ does not look great, I myself am turning 73 this month and I am one of the youngest.
I hope your museum has a greater patronage than we have at the moment. Another problem we have is the console needs to be moved on and off the stage every time we wish to use the instrument. The venue has several users so we have to fit in with them.
Regards Robert
It is cool to have it explained and it is a wonder for eyes and ears the first time you see it and experience it. Not trying to overhype it and ruin it for any of you by building up expectations. Just saying it is super cool in my book and the organists are supertalented.
Great video, you've helped me with my new hauptwerk theatre sample set , thank you
Most enjoyable and informative,organ sounding well and in good tune. Can't wait to visit again when possible. Well worth the travel from the other (Kingston) upon Hull. Looking forward to the demonstration of the other instruments in due course.
Thanks for the like. I think a video of the color changing mechanism would be most fascinating. These really were ingenious mechanisms which as you said would be just a chip or two these days (but what's the fun in that). The inventors were well ahead of their time. Personally I find more of a buzz organ building and problem solving than playing as I am a mediocre player at best, that said I do appreciate anything well played and made be it straight or Cinema organ.
Very nice and informative video. I especially love the housing around this console. The design and light colors are just stunning.
So well presented, educational and not patronising, brilliant !
An excellent presentation.
Thank you.
Fabulous sound. Wonderful instruments redolent of a bygone age, but which are still musically relevant today. Floreant Wurlitzer, Compton, Christie, Conacher, etc, etc.
You did a great job. Very well explained. I enjoyed your presentation. Thanks!
brilliantly explained
I think these "jelly-mold" glass surrounds would have looked wonderful in many American Art Moderne theaters.
LOVELY sound instrument!!
Great, Really Enjoyed that... Good to see you ironed out your Mic problems. I shall look forward to the other museum instruments... particularly any actual restoration work on a particular instrument... that would make wonderful series/mini-series. Wone of my favourite vlogs is 'Sail life' Mads has been restoring his Boat for three years to date... & he has a huge following... Just what you want!
Thanks for your comments, Bob. We still have work to do on our sound, so this will get even better with time and practice! More videos in this series will explore some of the other instruments in the collection, and we will definitely feature some of the restoration work being undertaken by our amazing volunteer conservation team.
Enjoyed the early history of the organ . Collected a few joseph deal records over the years and sounds similar to when in the cinema . Beautiful tone and one of my favourites .
So interesting - thank you!
That was excellent
Thank you for a very informative program. I learnt a lot about the organ differences. More information on the foot pedal operation would have been useful to give an all round knowledge. But thanks again for the program most enjoyable.
Wow! Very good and illustrative film. I was visiting the museum in 2019. Very impressive. I will be back for a concert. I live in Norway, and we do not have organs like this...
Brilliant instrument
Thank very much you Chris for this fantastic informative video. I was going to make a little donation (and going to visit The Musical Museum) but Super Thanks unfortunately does not accept PayPal.
Watching this again... PS I forgot to mention, I hope you like my profile picture... look familiar?? :)
When did the console go white?! Last time I was there, it was gold! Is Richard Cole still involved with the museum? He gave freely of much of his time and knowledge to me when I was first getting into the world of organs.
Does the Wurlitzer use whirling Leslie Speakers to achieve vibrato from the Doppler Effect? Or are Leslie speakers only used in Electric organs? What does cause vibrato with pipes? Have you ever seen a church pipe organ with vibrato effects or is vibrato something found only in Cinema/Theater organs?
All pipes no speakers, the tremolo and to an extent a frequency or phase shift in sound is caused by varying the wind pressure by a 7 Hz rate to a particular rank of pipes. Which rank of pipes is determined by control tabs on the console.
How are Compton Consoles different from Wurlitzer Consoles?
One question, is this a so called multiplex organ, where pipes are in multiple use, so the same pipes will be played from the different manuals and the same pipes, that provide in the lowest octave a 8' provide an octave higher the 16' and so on?
Or is it so mighty, that every key has its independent set of pipes and only when coupling is activated, you can play upper manual registers on the lower manual?
It seems not to be the case, but tried Wurlitzer this for a budget instrument?
Hi - great question. The Musical Museum's Wurlitzer has 12 main ranks (types) of pipes - and these can be played at multiple "footages" and intervals (called "mixtures" or "mutations") from multiple manuals (keyboards) simultaneously, and the different keyboards can be also "coupled" together, sometimes at different octaves too. This is referred to as "unification" or a "unified organ", and is a real advantage in making the organ compact enough to fit into a typical cinema or theatre.
As an example, the Tibia Clausa rank at 8' (standard) pitch has 61 pipes. A traditional organ would require a whole extra 61 pipes for the Tibia 4' (an octave higher), but the unified theatre organ achieves the same effect by playing on the same rank transposed up an octave, requiring only an extra 12 pipes to play the top octave. The 16' is accomplished the same way, adding 12 pipes to the bottom of the Tibia rank. Hence, in our unified Wurlitzer organ, four stops (each a separate stop tab) needs just 97 pipes, whereas in a classically designed organ, 244 pipes would be needed for the same four stops! As you say, this means that multiple keys on the keyboard might call for the same physical pipe to sound, but in reality because of use of different combinations across the different manuals, conflict is either avoided entirely or not really noticeable!
Just Curious: Why has the organ not ben Uniflex'd yet?
Hi - thanks for your question! We're proud of the fact that the whole organ - from the blower to the colour changer for the surround, and the combination action, remain in original working order. As a Museum, wherever we can, we want to preserve the original condition of our exhibits, while following our founding principles of keeping these unique technical marvels working. Uniflex (other systems are available) would certainly be helpful and would also assist in preserving the original pinboard, but we're a small charity with few funds; and a conversion would be well beyond our reach.
Why is it that theater organs tend to have a curved'lip' at the top of each pipe?
Hi Mark, we're not quite sure what you mean? The features at the top of an organ pipe may include a tuning slot, which often has a piece of metal which is then bent/coiled away from the pipe to vary the size of the slot, though this is not unique to theatre organs. Is this what you are referring to?
@@Musical_Museum Yes, and I'm just curious as to what the reasoning behind it is.
24:55 But touch response isn't possible?
Hi - thanks for your question. The organ has something called "second touch" which allows the organist to press harder on the keys to call on an additional set of sounds or instruments; but this is not really "touch sensitivity" though, for example you can use second touch to add another octave to the notes you're playing. The organist can also remotely operate the Piano's expression using one of the shoe pedals which would give a similar effect to "touch response"; however on the Musical Museum Wurlitzer only the piano notes and the sustain pedal is currently connected.