its the worlds largest stylophone atm. but next time it'll be a whole lot more tuneful :D, i have a plan which im going to see through. but leave your comment below if you have any ideas or suggestions, so i can stick em on the fridge like ringos song ideas! :D

@KeritechElectronics

17 күн бұрын

The most stylish stylophone! :)

@KeritechElectronics

17 күн бұрын

@@5cyndi Fran-tastic! :)

@soillodge

17 күн бұрын

I noticed the way the frequency would change when you applied more pressure/connectivity to the alligator clips. Have you considered a CV sequencer to operate it? Cheers.

@king_ofgames3650

17 күн бұрын

Why don’t you use the organ PCBS to send 24v into the switch board

@ChrisTackettMusic

16 күн бұрын

Wire it in as a rank with Joan's organ! Use what you already have to be able to play it. You'll probably need to create some other bits to MIDI-fy it, but in the end you'd have what would amount to the first MIDI-ed Compton organ, and from there clever folk with organ sampling technology could sample and preserve these sounds and make them usable today.

That is ridiculous! I love those etched/routed tone discs.

@pattheplanter

17 күн бұрын

I trust your opinion, as you are familiar with the ridiculous.

@PhilR0gers

17 күн бұрын

Ah! Love it when the worlds of my favourite KZread channels collide!

@fburton8

17 күн бұрын

Yes! They're so... explicit!

@richardsavage2

17 күн бұрын

@@PhilR0gersexactly my thought!

@LordDragox412

17 күн бұрын

Some wizard out there is mighty confused why people are calling the magic circles "tone discs".

"What instrument do you play...? "The 18V hammer drill." 😂

@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER

17 күн бұрын

haha. the warmest sounding power tool brand

@martinunetic5567

17 күн бұрын

@Stadsjaap your comment reminded me of Einsturzende Neubauten and playing the angle grinder 😁

@UCCLdIk6R5ECGtaGm7oqO-TQ

17 күн бұрын

Percussion drill.

@TDOBrandano

17 күн бұрын

Well, I have seen someone play an angle grinder for precussions on stage, and naturally there's Einstuerzende Neubauten that regularly play compressor turbines, haemostatic rubber bands, teacups, a shopping cart etc.

@LeonEvans_Guyver1

17 күн бұрын

Mr. Big from 1991 enters the chat...

Looks like something you'd use to break the enigma cipher.

@dickseevens8099

17 күн бұрын

That was my first thought! A Turing number cruncher...

@blancfilms

17 күн бұрын

My first thought too. Looks like that machine that Turing built. Bomba or something I think it was called.

@ScruffyMisguidedAndBlue

16 күн бұрын

Instead they used it to break out the Enigma Variations!

@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug

15 күн бұрын

@@blancfilmsYes! Btw. "Bomba" was the Polish machine that the British machine was developed from called "Bombe"

@NORMIES_GET_OUT

13 күн бұрын

Reporter: "Mr. Turing, now that the war is over, what do you think you will focus your efforts on next?" Alan Turing: "Well, I was thinking about building an instrument..."

"The conclusion on this video isnt great" - Pardon, it is a great video about a great piece of technology. Thanks for bringing it online, Sam.

@stulora3172

17 күн бұрын

absolutely. All of their videos are so damn inspiring!!

@Juttutin

16 күн бұрын

It's like when you set out on the first day of a journey you've been planning for ages, and the sun is shining, the views are beautiful, and by the end of day one, you're well on your way.

I was an electronic organ, digital piano, synth tech for 37 years. When I first got hired, my employer explained all the various tone generation designs the various manufacturers had come up with through the years. They were extremely varied and extremely clever. This is one I have never seen.

The look of delight when successfully playing a tone generator with a drill...

That spinner you've opened took my breath.

Those disks are amazing. Primary tone plus a selection of harmonics all in one. Even changed tones by having irregular shapes. What I find most astonishing is that this was probably all built by very skilled people with excellent hearing who could match the sound with old pipe organs. Oh, and they probably also avoided touching the 500V lines.

@Kalvinjj

7 күн бұрын

I would take a bet at them recording organ samples on vynil, and then observing them through a microscope to match it. Or the more boring way through an oscilloscope. Still takes a lot of knowledge and skill, but the coolest part is how they even came up with that method of generating the tones.

You marvelous nutter. I'm having a VERY rough day with loss and you manage to make me laugh, with your comments and expressions, at a time that it's sorely needed.

@docthorr

17 күн бұрын

Be gentle with yourself, you'll get through 💪😘

@buzzedalldrink9131

14 күн бұрын

@@docthorrwhats a nutter?

I have overhauled one of these Compton electrostatic tone generator organs. It is a delicate business re-coating rotor surfaces and the adjusting the gaps between rotors and stators, then voicing and filtering the outputs. Lots of fun!

@p60091

17 күн бұрын

must have been quite an undertaking

@douro20

17 күн бұрын

Are there any left which have the ultralinear tube amp?

@MostlyPennyCat

15 күн бұрын

What are the rotors coated in? What are the different waveforms in the rotor for? It's filtered? How? I have a million questions.

What an amazing set of ideas went into that! The tone wheels effectively varying the capacitance as they revolve, according to the shape of the pattern! Really analogue! And those 2D relays to link the keys via the selected stops - you can see that the designer was really thinking about traditional wind-boxes in organs with their 2D structure - and at the same time as you say, looking like cross-bar telephone selectors! Absolutely magic - I’m glad it still makes sound and look forward to seeing it Midi-fied!

@markschweter6371

17 күн бұрын

Those test panels REALLY going to save time building an interface... don't need to trace ALL THOSE WIRES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😏😉😎

@OmegaSparky

17 күн бұрын

🤯🤯🤯🤯 Wow. I love the ingenuity. It really is an analog sample playback machine. So many possibilities.

@MostlyPennyCat

15 күн бұрын

​@@OmegaSparky Just need a way to etch some metal. I wonder what the metal is...

@lapub.

9 күн бұрын

@@MostlyPennyCat Usually aluminium.

I really enjoy how close to a computer this stuff is but even so, it's still so beautifully arcane. Those electrostatic spinners and the etching look way too beautiful to function. playing the spare with a drill was literally witchcraft

@GerinoMorn

17 күн бұрын

Oh, you're right! I guess one could play with the waveforms and even essentially get analogue computer out of it, doing some math using wave interference... if only I had infinite time xD

Truly amazing. Imagine slapping the blueprints of this whole thing on the table these days: "Hey guys, i have an idea."

@stitchfinger7678

17 күн бұрын

Yeah, with how complex electromechanic are, its crazy some of the things people were actually willing to engineer, fund, and physically construct.

@tsm688

16 күн бұрын

@@stitchfinger7678 I have to think that, even then, there were better ways to do it. Look how many outputs those tone wheels have. The amount of redundancy seems insane. Was this organ capable of playing every key simultaneously?

@NinoJoel

15 күн бұрын

​@@tsm688I wouldn' call them redundant. More "voices / possibly stacked mean greater depth in sound. There is a reason some crazy people put together the Yamaha Rack monstrosity that held 8 or more Yamaha DX7s to play via midi

@tsm688

15 күн бұрын

@@NinoJoel they did that because they thought it'd be a cool use for 8 yamaha dx7's. You don't actually need to do that to get the effect.

@NinoJoel

15 күн бұрын

@@tsm688 have you ever used one? I don't know how you want to make such sound depth without Manny Manny voices stacked. Sure you could record one and duplicate the recording but that's not very live play friendly now is it

It looks and sounds frigging awesome! Who needs transistors when gears, pulleys and relays will do!

@timballam3675

13 күн бұрын

Not quite in the same league as the Bendix air computer though is it 😀

@QuanrumPresence

12 күн бұрын

I was looking for your comment on this beauty!

Fantastic! I used to know an amazing old engineer who lived in Ramsgate, Brian Carpenter. He rescued several of these Comptons and had them running (also a 3 manual pipe organ he had built himself!) in one of the large Victorian houses on Marlborough Road.

@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER

17 күн бұрын

Wonder what happenned to it all?

@Nukle0n

17 күн бұрын

How many British houses had an organ built in? Did the Council know? 😜

What a wonderful machine. *Please* show the output of one of those wheels on an oscilloscope

Dear God, when you adjust the tension on those wheels, the slowed tones sound so eerie. Like the world is melting

My mentor on the electronic side is an organ repairman. He showed me a much smaller version of the organ sound generator like those. It looked just like a metal brick with axels coming out its sides. My other mentor keeps me on par with acoustic pianos. Just to keep my story strait. My electronics mentor began having issues with walking on a problematic leg. So, getting an episode on organs is a real treat. Much friendly love. Lily

What a totally wacky thingamajiggy! I just love that you call the other one "Joan's Organ", very sweet to remember her.

@patrickbodine1300

17 күн бұрын

Joan's or Jones? Makes a big difference. (Please pardon my ignorance)

@stitchfinger7678

17 күн бұрын

@@patrickbodine1300 "Joan's" as it was owned by a woman named Joan. No worries, he's been doing that project for a while, can't expect everyone to know everything :)

Martin: “It would be so cool to play tight music with that instrument using marbles.”

@envisionelectronics

17 күн бұрын

This is exactly what I thought about when I saw this thing.

@stevebabiak6997

16 күн бұрын

@@envisionelectronics - I am waiting for Martin to add this machine to his marble machine ;) And I admit it would be cool - but that marble machine might never play music if he sets out to add this.

@freeculture

16 күн бұрын

@@stevebabiak6997 considering the time it took to build the 2nd one... he is on the 3rd yet? maybe by the 4th one... If these two guys get together a singularity will occur.

You could etch a tone wheel like one makes an etching or lithograph. Coat the disk with etching “tar” scratch in the waveforms then submerge it in acid. Then wash off the tar, the acid will have etched where the waveforms where scratched in and not where the tar was. There’s more modern was to make etchings with less harmful chemicals etc. I haven’t made an etching since the 90’s. The new techniques are friendlier. Man you could scratch in some wild waveforms. Maybe a wavetable type scenario. This is so cool. Such a perfect example of sound and art. I’m inspired.

@frederickbaugher8361

13 күн бұрын

I would imagine a micro imperfection in the etching process Could render the entire plate defective.

@famousutopias

10 күн бұрын

@frederickbaugher8361 A feature!

Amazing, the first thing I thought was the Hammond tone wheel, but it's different and weird! Whoever came up with the idea was smoking the good stuff!

So cool to see al this lost technology. What a beauty! People become the most resourceful in the light of lacking resources.

Chatty Kraftwerk is back with another beautiful example of audio engineering. The tone generating etched circular waveform assembly is a thing of art.

@olavl8827

17 күн бұрын

Speaking of Kraftwerk, I think Sam would get along with Ralf Hütter if they'd ever meet. Perhaps this needs to be arranged.

That really is an amazing piece of ancient technology. It's stunning the lengths men went to to make noises in churches, I know that's a super over simplified explanation. But, it really is that simple when compared to how complicated and complex these beautiful old machines are. Thanks for sharing such things with us.

An old 3D resin printer can be used to very easily etch a precise and intricate pattern on metal if you wanted to have a go at your own waveforms.. I've made some lovely lithographic plates this way in a few minutes (as opposed to the old ballache way). This thing is amazing.

@pattheplanter

17 күн бұрын

Will that be better resolution than photoresist?

@dmthandmade5674

17 күн бұрын

@@pattheplanter You still use photofilm but you don't have to print a transprency, or cut a stencil or make a screenprint. Resolution depends on the printer but most are going to be 2-4K these days. Lots of hobby modellers have an old Mars lying around.

@TesserId

17 күн бұрын

I would totally do that.

@radarmusen

17 күн бұрын

It could be human choirs not a long sample.

@TesserId

16 күн бұрын

@@radarmusen Choirs, yes. I wonder if the inventors of this thing could imagine some kind of changer, like a record changer, to expand the memory bank capacity.

I just can't get over how beautiful those etched waveform generators are - mind blown... absolutely love what you do Sam.

0:03 that giggle :D

@TesserId

17 күн бұрын

I went back for a listen. That needs to be loaded into a sampling synth.

Just incredible! I’m so glad this is being preserved, and not just chucked out. I had the absolute privilege of rebuilding a Hammond and Leslie once - it blew my mind! But this machine is off the charts! I just love everything about this!

@adammoss5284

14 күн бұрын

The Wurlitzer spectra-tone was similar but spun the speaker 😆

This guy is amazing! While I'm trying to get a record player with a handful of TO-72 transistors working, he's fixing organs with thousands of electrical, mechanical and pneumatic parts. Next project: connecting the Apollo 11 flight computer to work the Star Trek transporter!

@MostlyPennyCat

15 күн бұрын

Have you seen the channel that restored an Apollo AGC and ran the software that flew the spacecraft?

I love old electronics that bridge the gap between mechanical and solid state. Those tone generators are a work of art, the genius who worked out how to make this stuff is incredible.

Always love a good organ transplant

bro is reaching new heights of complexity everyday

Very cool old technology, good on you for saving such a beautiful machine from the scrap heap and making it sing again!

Its amazing what kind of electronic devices you find and show us. Great work!

:D your face when messing about with the drill

I tried to come up with a better comment but I've just circled back around to " this makes my brain happy"

I found the video VERY interesting. I have an old 1960's Vacuum tube, Hammond home organ that still works, though, no one seems to want it. So, I might start to do some experimenting of my own with it, would be interesting to mess around with the tone wheels, and it has a power amp, and 2-3 Pre-amps in it. along with a spring reverb Tank, and tremolo, and other interesting circuits, for my Mad scientist experiments 😀👍

The inside of those tone generators is just beautiful. Whoever invented this was a genius. They didn't have transistors or fancy ICs, they had relays, motors, metal, and Maxwell's laws. And they still made music. Also, manufacturing these could've been a real chore. A modern CNC would make short work of it, but back then this was made by hand, or with a manually controlled mill. The mechanisms they must've came up with to make perfect sine waves (or the other more intricate waveforms) are equally fascinating, I'm sure.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, what a fantastic machine. How did I every live without you? You’re a beautiful machine...

i dont have words to express how cool this is

i dont think people understand how amazing this is, in a day where all of this is ran by software, to be able to do these things with insane analog solutions is just amazing

I'm very impressed by your ability to describe and present this system. My mom restored a Wurlitzer for her home and I learned how it all worked. There are so very few people who make the effort to learn these things and fewer yet who are actually teaching the next generation. Thank You

The insanity level is rising and I like it.

Thanks for all showing and explaining. So cool to see such exotic hardware working in detail.

This might be the coolest electromechanical device I've ever seen!

Excellent Sam. I've always wondered how these tone units worked. You're doing great work not only rescuing equipment but getting them working, often without manuals. Looking forward to the next episode.

When you opened that tone disk it reminded me of Roto pulses we used to work on back in the 70s/80s in a machine shop. They used two rotating graded glass disks to make a stepping motor move a rack and pinion very accurately. I love the technology and ingenuity of these old systems. You are very smart being able to work all this stuff out. I applaud you mate. Well done. Take care and watch those 500V rails - they hurt. Stu

Hey ya moke. Thanks for sharing this. Unreal amount of effort to produce these back in the day.

Wow! Sometimes it's such a surprise to find out stuff like this, it's been there in our midst for ages but hidden away.

What a fantastically complex, yet deceptively simple, bit of kit! Wonderful bit of musical machinery.

Fantastic stuff indeed. This is yet more really incredible gear to get for the museum. The transitional technologies that get forgotten are fascinating. Looking forward visiting again...

What a trip - loved it mate!

Fascinating, the etching in the tone wheels are a thing of beauty and I imaging this would sound fantastic in a large reverberant space. Thanks for sharing.

oh my god those waveform/pickup etchings look so damn cool, like something you'd find in an alien spaceship

I’m so happy you’re doing what you’re doing. All the old amazing machines of the world need a knowledgeable and creative person like you.

Those tone generating discs are so cool. That’s the coolest thing I’ve seen this month.

I am amazed how busy you keep yourself Sam. Love that you just got stuck in 👍

Keep going. Now already for years you are exploring some interesting things!!! And it just gets better honestly!

Love these insights into alternative sound generation. Nice one Sam.

Being an organ guy at heart I'm very glad to see my donations are going to a good cause.

Dman Sam, these kind of videos are really amazing and so fun to watch. Your passion is so infectious!

Amazing! Thank you for sharing Sean

Fantastic!! Thank you so much for letting the rest of us see and hear these crazy contraptions! ❤

I was watching waiting to find out how a pre-transistor electric organ handled routing the signal from the console and thought "surely it wasn't relays, that would be loud and potentially slow", but sure enough, it was relays! Amazing how they implemented those grids of relays!

I’m currently rebuilding a Viscount Grand Opera (1980s Italian electronics!) for our local church where I’m the organist. Love this piece of nostalgia technology, thanks for saving it and showing it - looking forward to hearing it in its fully glory.

Incredible. I can't wait to see what you squeeze out of it!

You're a genuine treasure Sam, thankyou for all the mad awesomeness you share with us.

This is effing fantastic!!!!! LOVE!

Imagine being the original constructor of such a machine and knowing this is cutting edge tech. And for us to see it uncovered, moth balls n’ all, and barely understand what the bloody hell is going on inside. Cheers, mate for blowing my mind.

WHOA!! What an amazing machine!!

brilliantly done as always! thank you! so enlightening.

Sam, your enthusiasm is contagious ❤

@baltofarlander2618

14 күн бұрын

I read "autism" at first, kinda fitting too.

There is something magical in having the guts of this mechano-electronic organ exposed to explore like this! I like the idea of making it MIDI controlled - it could be fun to see if you could use a device to adjust the belt tension to make a controllable pitch bend. Interesting sounds!

Fascinating! And wonderful. Thank you

This is a piece of technology I never knew existed. Absolutely love the invention required to figure something like this out. Spinning discs with etched patterns to generate tones? Crazy... marvelous, but crazy. Love that you are taking care of this and finding this organ a new home.

Thank you so much for sharing this stuff with the world. It's always good to learn something new.

That is fascinating, ridiculous, and the internals are gorgeous. One of the things that strikes me is that probably no one would think to do it like this again, but it would be so much fun if they did.

As is often the case with your videos, I am blown away by learning about something I had no idea that existed. For all I know, there's no other video online showing this vintage tech.

This is incredible. Thanks for showing this amazing tech

I can't wait to see this, me and friend have organized a holiday down to see the museum late august

Curious Marc is probably drooling over those core memory units in the background there.

Amazing. Made my day better. Thank you.

fantastic video and useful info.

Well done for getting this masterpiece alive!

unreal find. The ingenuity built into this chungus of a kit is truly a marvel.

Thank you fot sharing this. Never knew about this machines. Amazing !

Great to see a lad happy in his work. That is right up your alley eh. Can’t wait to hear it chime 🤙

Amazing as always

Thank you for sharing an in-depth amazing piece of technology.

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

I LOVE that thing! Worst comes to worst, you could always rig some switches to that crocodile clip board and run it that way...

What a fascinating bit of kit. I want one too!

You're absolutely amazing, I've followed you for many years, under my other channel The Adventures Of Kaz, and i absolutely love you and your channel 💜💜💜💜💜

Wowwwwww! My wife was trained as a church organist when she was a girl. The congregation had, on the South Side of Chicago, of all things, in a Very Traditional congregation, a Hammond B3 with a Leslie speaker! I first saw it in the Fall of 1971, and man, I was BOGGLED. === But you, young man, keep cranking out the most amazing videos, unearthing electronic musical gear from The Ahistorical Vermiform Appendix of Time! ❤ Thank you! ❤

Sam, you never fail to come across awesome electromechanical things that I did not know existed. I have an old Hammond B1 tonewheel organ that is amazing to stare into, but the organ in your video blows it away!

This is super neat. Thanks for sharing!

This is absolutely fantastic. Thank you very much 👍.

That is so amazing, my mind is blown!!!!!!