[sdiy] 1965 Wurlitzer organ any sdiy value?

[Suit & Tie Guy]

On May 17, 2006, at 8:20 PM, Travis Shire wrote:
> Wurlitzer theater organs apparently have collector value. I'd 
> investigate
> before robbing it for parts.

wurlitzer theater organs of the pipe (acoustic, you know ... ginormous) 
variety have collector value. sort of. "value" meaning there are people 
who will give their blood, sweat, and tears to make sure that it is not 
destroyed and is playable for the next generation. just like any other 
pipe organ. it's hard to really sell them for alot. most old pipe 
organs (unless refurbished by a company like Bedient or something. they 
will charge you some serious coin for an antique instrument which has 
been made just as kick-ass as a new one and will take care of the 
installation and tuning for you) are not "worth" that much cash and 
trade for a fraction of their transportation and storage costs or are 
traded from one party to another trustworthy party.

for example: right here in Chillicothe i could have bought a 1920s 
Hinners organ (made across the river in Pekin) with electropneumatic 
action with something like 12 or more ranks (including a stopped 16' 
bourdon rank) for fifty dollars. i had to pass because the storage 
costs would have been tremendous, and i don't own a large acoustic 
space to install it nor do i have the skills to make it work like it 
ought to. and the last time i played the organ it did _not_ work like 
it ought to.

oh yeah .. home organ values.

it's a very very very safe bet that any home organ made in 1965 which 
is not a Hammond is pretty much a paperweight waiting to be a parts 
donor and firewood.

NEVER EVER THROW AWAY A HOME ORGAN ... until you strip it completely. 
and if it's an Hammond think twice before stripping it. some are (like 
lowreys, wurlitzers, gulbransens, etc) parts and firewood, and some are 
musical instruments which should be taken care of. but still might not 
be worth anything.

and make sure when you strip it you really _strip_ it. alot of those 
organs have custom inductors in them which are very unusual values, 
transformers which could be useful in other applications, mercury fluid 
links, and crappy bumblebee caps you can sell to deranged guitar 
collectors for unnecessary amounts of money. if you're hard-up for 
hookup wire there's often tons of it in an organ. organ tubes are also 
very low-wear, so that's always something to look for. amp chassis are 
always of interest to tube diy guys. drum machine units which can be 
hacked-to-shit most likely (never seen a home organ drum hack but it 
would be tight.)


okay yeah i just realised i am replying to a week-old post. i try not 
to make a habit of that.
---
Suit & Tie Guy
www.suitandtieguy.com