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Gulbransen Electronic organ

amont1

New member
i bought a Gulbransen model e in perfect working condition. No stains or cracks, and it sounds great. My main question is, how much is it worth?
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Hi amont1,

Best guess would be a couple hundred dollars ... most of the home organ world has gone digital for tone generation ... the older analog organs (Gulbransen, Lowrey, Conn, etc) aren't as popular anymore. The value to you could be priceless though ... and you've found one that plays and has no case damage ... that's a rare find.

Do you know which model Gulbransen it is? That might help us out some.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Amont1,

Model E - Console organ with 25 note flat pedalboard ... makes for a good practice organ, although a flat pedalboard takes some getting used to, particularly if one has consistently played a 32 note concave one.

Value? I'll still go with $100 - $200 being reasonable on the open market. Some of those older organs were made better in lots of ways.

Next question just for curiosity: Tube type (1958 and earlier) or Transistorized (1959 and later)?

(btw, I changed the thread title - the only "electric" organ was the Hammond as it used rotating tone wheels for tone generation - Gulbransen's, Lowry's, Conn's, Allens, in the old days were all "electronic", as they used oscillators (capacitors & resistors, etc) for tone generation)
 
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amont1

New member
hi krummhorn,

Does the 32 note concave peadalboard feel different. If so, in what ways?

But to answer your question, it is a transistorized organ.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Hi amont,

I started out with the 32 note concave from the very beginning of my organ lessons and subsequent church organist career. I've played flat pedalboards in Austria and Italy and found them awkward in that the outer extremes were quite a stretch. I had to constantly look down at my feet while playing, something that I do not do here at home.

I learned to play the pedalboard without ever looking ... it's totally by 'feel' - and the toes and heels know exactly where to go ... so a pedalboard light is only there for my amuzement and other's amazement - the people in the choir enjoy watching my feet, so I leave it turned on.

With the pedals radiating in a concave manner, the reach for low C is just as easy as the C one or two octaves up. There are some who actually prefer one over the other, but the norm in the US is for the concave type.
 
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