See this drum machine at this museum is not obsolete on the next open day which is March 26th.

@bsadewitz

2 жыл бұрын

The common electromechanical strategies used in this organ and the SxS switch that you have is something that never would have occurred to me. IMHO the zenith of electromechanical technology were the later crossbar switches.

@WaffleStaffel

2 жыл бұрын

Don't know about Wurlitzer, but Hammond used palladium contacts. I had a 1940's M3, and the contacts were all shiny. The motors are synchronous, so no brushes to wear. The only restoration they usually need is new capacitors and a good oiling. You could probably run that machine 24/7 and it would outlive you.

@WaffleStaffel

2 жыл бұрын

Fascinating video, btw. I had no idea. Thanks for sharing.

@zman97211

2 жыл бұрын

Trigger it externally, adjust the wipers to they don't actually touch the slip rings (no wear), add a pickup to send the speed of the machine, and simulate the audio (half-way - the machine makes the time, the external controller signals the notes so the sounds come from the original Wurlitzer) but the physically moving parts aren't really being used (except that continuously variable transmission that's in there).

@zman97211

2 жыл бұрын

You would still be able to see the motion, and it would still be synched with the sound.

I think this is an instrument that is worth preserving as a piece of history: I would say it's worth using on special days or maybe playing with live streams so it can be as preserved as possible while also enjoyed.

@acdclexu6296

2 жыл бұрын

this drum machine is absolute genious

@MultiPetercool

Жыл бұрын

@@acdclexu6296 And Raymond Scott hacked these babies into sequencers. Not just drums but musical notes!

That sounds pretty good for the older tube/valve and EM technology. Perhaps to ration its use in the museum, put a coin mech on it so people have to put £1 in for a few minutes play time. There's probably some modern lubricant that would suit the wiping contact plate perfectly by staying in place while not getting gunky and messing with the wipers.

@highpath4776

2 жыл бұрын

white grease ?

@KuntalGhosh

2 жыл бұрын

This machine is a deoxits dream 🤣

@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER

2 жыл бұрын

Hey up! Haha coin mechanism nice I hadn’t thought of this. The latest plan is a timer relay and a button on the motor. That way valves will be on all day which I’m not too fussed as luckily all still common but yeah ha. That darn disk. The idea of making a replacement while possible man that will be a few days I won’t get back like you mention lube! I am looking for pointers, currently I cleaned it then put some lube that is used on the strowger switches but I think it’s a bit thin. So yeah if anyone has any pointers for the good stuff hit me up :)

@chrisroberts2266

2 жыл бұрын

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER I have one of these in bits that im refurbishing. I need to find replacement HF speaker drivers. My client also wants a balanced line output fitting which is easy enough. should probably look at it again

@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER

2 жыл бұрын

@@chrisroberts2266 does it not have a monitor output? Good luck with it. 👍👍👍👍

This thing needs a see-through case. It is such a marvel to look at it.

@danpatterson8009

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly what I was thinking. Agree that running it all the time invites wear and breaking things you might not be able to replace, so maybe make video loops of it running and have it on static display, firing it up only for special occasions, like Tiger 131 at the Tank Museum.

@danosdotnl

2 жыл бұрын

and some piezo mics haha what a beatssss

@hschieck

2 жыл бұрын

@@danpatterson8009 In addition to having a looped video running to demonstrate the moving parts in action, you might also feature a touchscreen showing the original controls and letting the user operate the on-screen buttons, while playing sampled versions of the sounds and patterns.

@samjones4570

2 жыл бұрын

100%!👍🏻👍🏻

@stheil

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah the beauty of electromechanical devices is that you can actually *see* them working. Would be a shame to hide that!

OMG!!! We had one of these when I was a kid! My father picked it up at a yard sale and kept it in the garage so it wouldn't drive my mom nuts when we used to play with it. Wow, haven't heard those sounds in decades but I still remember them. Thanks for resurrecting some good memories!

@lenaschumann6735

2 жыл бұрын

Amazing, what someone had realy seen this and listen to it. So it is not an unicorn.

The speed selector is combined with the on/off switch so that the rubber drive wheel is always away from the metal wheel when the unit is off. Many reel-to-reel tape recorders used a similar combination of speed and on/off switch. The reason is that the rubber wheel will get deformed if it is left pressed against the metal wheel if it isn't rotating. I also noticed that the multi relay is actually a converted organ air valve - but that makes sense since Wurlitzer was a theatre organ maker for many years.

@rich1668

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing that is really interesting

@danosdotnl

2 жыл бұрын

many belt drive record players actually use belt to drive a rubber wheel as well, for the same reasons (33/45/78 selector, and maybe also pitch in some models)

@jankcitycustoms

2 жыл бұрын

it's also how most wheel drives on snowblowers work. reverse is when you move the rubber wheel past the middle of the big disk.

@turtmastert3545

2 жыл бұрын

@@jankcitycustoms that's exactly what I was thinking too, snowblower drive wheel, as soon as I saw it.

@DaveCornutt

2 жыл бұрын

EM integrating calculators worked that way too. As the parameter being integrated increased, the rubber drive wheel moved towards the inside of the metal wheel.

I would say this sounds better than expected, but I honestly didn't know what to expect out of a 50s tube and capacitor drum machine.

I love these mechanical contraptions. Whoever came up with that must have been genius on the verge of insanity!

@paulyearley1084

2 жыл бұрын

For 1950s engineering, this is WILD

@3DPeter

2 жыл бұрын

@@paulyearley1084 I love this machine because i never ever saw one before and didn't even know that it excisted, but a jukebox from the same era already had way more mechanical parts, so they were way more complicated than this machine, and that's why they so collectable and expensive.

@Craftlngo

Жыл бұрын

the orange Sticker on the inside (at 05:15) is in German and is saying that you only should operate it on a Receptacle with Groundwire and open the Case only when it's properly detached. The manufacturer was Wurlitzer Germany. So I guess it's good old German genius combined with a touch of insanity.

I think the stuff they figured out how to do without computers is way more impressive than computer-controlled instruments.

I'm really impressed by the quality of the sounds coming out of it. I'd love to see the schematic for the valve section.

It's kind of amazing how much this sounds like any other analog drum machine, all the way up through the 90s!

@simonlockett9152

2 жыл бұрын

you need your ears tested bro

@shelbyseelbach9568

2 жыл бұрын

Who would think an analog drum machine would sound like an analog drum machine?

@cpfs936

2 жыл бұрын

It was surprisingly good for it's time. Unfortunately, onboard rhythm sections didn't advance much for decades after.

@beaufighter245

2 жыл бұрын

Are you including the Roland TR range?

@tA_aT287

2 жыл бұрын

Only difference is price range... the first drum machine....$25,000.

The sound of this drummachine reminds of the rythm part of Blondie’s Heart Of Glass. It sounds so similar. The electromechanical design is quite novel. Once seen the mechanisms of a jukebox on Technology Connections. There’s a lot you can do with mechanical solutions that we just wouldn’t think of anymore in the computer age.

@jaggass

2 жыл бұрын

In the 60's/70's drum machines were transistor based and produced similar sounds.

@stinkymart3173

2 жыл бұрын

Roland CR-78, same machine used as the base layer of drums on Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight

@Muzikman127

2 жыл бұрын

Makes me think of the intro to Ann Peebles's "I can't stand the rain"

@brentpalmer9800

2 жыл бұрын

@@stinkymart3173 ...And "Hiroshima Mon Amour" by Ultravox.

Wow, what a wonderful piece of old music tech! How on earth did that survive until now - it's huge!!!

@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER

2 жыл бұрын

yeah! apparently most got chucked out cus of broken belts!

The Sideman is one of the few preset drum machines I've been keeping my eyes open for. That kick is juicy! :)

It must have been mind blowing to see the inventor knocking out breakbeats on that back in the 50s

I have to compliment on making your videos more child friendly. You have s great market for your videos and museums with families and kids. Your personality is also very attractive to the young ones. Wishing you every success. Your channel provides a good service.

I have to say I've never been a fan of the early organ pre set beats. Call me weird but it's like hearing all the worst parts of the swinging 60s. The individual drum tones however are pretty cool. Thank you for taking a few moments to jam out on it!

7:25 this rotating mechanism is a beautiful thing to watch! (When step sequencers were programmed with solder.)

The world needs a 1959 Wurlitzer Sideman sound pack for musicians.

The fact this uses common tubes is great. No rummaging through surplus stores trying to find long obsolete boxes and hoping they still work.

Wow what an incredibly cool old piece of kit you've got there Sam! It's so retro, perfectly suited for the museum. Tubes, electro-mechanical sequencing, built in amp and speakers, and it's by Wurlitzer! And that 24 ganged rotary switch! Too much man. I'm jealous. Have fun!

That drum machine could be used during special events/special days at the Museum where you could say "Hey everyone, at this specific day & at this specific time we will turn on this super old drum machine!". This way you could use it as part of marketing the Museum?

So cool to come to one of your videos from a Hackaday article instead of my usual KZread feed! You're a person of amazing talents and are very deserving of the recognition!

The title on the thumbnail, "It's all weird mechanisms and vacuum tubes," could be an alternate title for this channel

One think I love about these old mechanicals synths is that the mechanical noise is as much a part of the sound of the instrument as the electronically generated tones.

that circuitry is insane. Do you think that style of wiring had a visual impact on scifi? it looks kinda old school space techhy ;D

@convolution223

2 жыл бұрын

I would suspect it was engineered by someone who just started engineering, or was everything back then so primitive?

@GORF_EMPIRE

2 жыл бұрын

@@convolution223 That is called point to point wiring. It was the norm and for some modern tube amps it still is.

@alexmcrobb6616

2 жыл бұрын

@@convolution223 That's just how it was done back then.

@michaelcandido2824

2 жыл бұрын

Reminds me of the early computer machines at Bletchley park

@GORF_EMPIRE

2 жыл бұрын

@@alexmcrobb6616 Yes and there is a certain elegance to it, not to mention its ease of repair.

Thank you for showing this piece of history. It is amazing to see. And Great presentation style by the way, love it.

Absolutely Amazing for it's time! Needs a see-thru case!

Amazing machine! I can't believe it works perfectly after all this time. The sounds are also pretty impressive, considering the age of this unit. It actually sounds very similar to analog drum machines of the 70s!

Ahh that's a feat of engineering to behold! I was curious about that when I saw it in the boot! Hope the synth is coming along nicely if you've had time to check it? 😁

GLORIOUS! Thanks for the brilliant walk-through.

Fantastic! What a wonderful piece of kit

this machine is f*****g amazing dude !!!! never see that before :)

That really brings back memories. We used to sell those in the family music store in the 60's. If I remember correctly, they were quite expensive, about $425.

@beeldbuijs1003

Жыл бұрын

Quite expensive for the sixties, indeed.

What a fantastic device! Thanks for posting this

Love this channel.. always learning something. You're the best

Awesome machine, I always find it impressive how they made this kind of thing before the days of micro controllers. It actually sounds quite similar to the built in drum machines on old electric organs.

That sounds actually good for its time! One idea about tear & wear: This looks like it could be replaced by a custom PCB... so when it's worn out, just get a new one made!

That this so great! I love the way it works and the way it's made... pretty servicable.

Great stuff Sam! Love your work and love your channel! This is such a cool device!

amazing machine, once in the museum you need to put it in a Perspex case. maybe add a timer so it can only be turned on for 5 mins every 15 or something to save the moving parts.

Almost as old as I am (70) and it's still going respectfully strong. Would I run it constantly? I think not. It would be a shame to see this one time state-of-the-art musical instrument succumb to an untimely demise.

Brilliant mate. YT recommended this. Took me 5 minutes to subscribe. Love your enthusiasm and energy. I feel a massive binge watch coming on.

This is one of the most fascinating channels on KZread. Brilliant work, thank you

All that modular kit that you have in your soundlab will eventually open a portal to another universe where metalica will ask you for their Wurlitzer drum machine back.

@5pr1nk57

2 жыл бұрын

😂😂

That’s brilliant. Would be interesting to see those sounds on a ‘scope- I’d love to know what type of circuitry was used to make them.

Ok, the sound was much more interesting than I was expecting. Great explanation as always.

This video is so cool. That speed mechanism is so smart, love it!

Well, i could see Lars being worried about his job, but most other drummers are probably safe...

@annother3350

2 жыл бұрын

Yeh but it wont be long before they're demanding welfare cheques and equal rights

Keep your 808s..this is where its at

@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER

2 жыл бұрын

ha

Beautiful tone, they nailed it on the first one! Worth preserving and playing sparingly.

Congratulations on 500k dude also a sample kit for this would be awesome.

those THT leg solder is so nerve racking yet so æsthetically pleasing! makes me wonder how much EMI this circuitry captured due to the ammount of exposed metal

@westelaudio943

2 жыл бұрын

Obviously not much because you don't hear a lot of hum. Everything is well shielded by the chassis ground plane. Tube amps for guitar and hifi are often still built like this by the way. There are kits from China as well so you can try yourself.

This thing sounds lovely, so much fun!

Just found your channel a minute ago, this is a great piece of hardware. It’s doing the same thing you could pick up from Argos a few years ago. This was so ahead of it’s time.

Once in a great while, KZread suggests a video/channel for me. Today the algorithm worked! This was a real pleasure to watch. Thank you!

I love this guys ideas!!!! Such cool old rescue!

You're quite the powerhouse of enthusiasm. A pleasure to watch.

yes! i've always wanted a good deep dive into these things!

Ah I have always loved this thing. So interesting. Glad you have it to share. Wish I could come to the UK. Someday. Nice work Sam.

What a machine!!! Thanks for the show!

What an absolutely stunning machine. Sad to say I saw (part of) this video via a rip on Facebook, but I recognised you and sped my way over here to say hi and thank you for showing this.

I love the idea of this museum so much! I wish I lived closer so I could come visit!

Awesome demo as always. I had the pleasure of demonstrating and recording one of these myself. The tech at the museum I worked at added a line out to it since the speaker was quite cracked and frappy. It still sounded amazing. The mechanical sequencer was fun to watch but it really sounded cool when you played the sounds manually and exploited the spurious noise of the 70 + year-old switch contacts. I took apart an old Electrohome brand organ in HS that had a minaturized (but still tube) version of this same getup squeezed into the back with the controls mounted by the lower manual. I wish 16 year old me had the wherewithal to save it!

This is so amazing. I love it !! This is a very important piece of history.

That is sooooo cool! I'm gonna have to fly in from America just to check out this museum.

OMG the sound of this is 💯 awesome and the engineering is just WOW. thanks for such an in depth look at this crazy piece of history

that sounds amazing. how you always show us these amazing things. brilliant. I would love to one day take a road trip.

I’ve got into so many dope things because of this channel 😂, soon as I’m lookin for sum exactly what I wanna watch pops up, love the channel

Every time you show something I suddenly need a thing I didn't even know existed

@russellzauner

2 жыл бұрын

also this would be great to model as a plug in

super intersting, amazing what the cooked up with basic ingredients, thanks for showing

Oh man those buttons and pots look sooo sweet

What an absolutely fascinating piece of hardware. I agree with the idea of making a clear case for it.

Wow! This is cool as all hell! And you are making this thing INTERACTIVE?! BAD ASS!

So FUN. I played the 2 manual plus little extra mini manual keys Wurtlizer Organ belonged to my old friend in the olden days, but for rhythm we were using Roland flat bed box with touch start stop metal. Forgot all of the models. Phew! Memories are made of these and so happy if we still can find people keeping those olden days musical technology.

Your channel is so fun to watch!

Dang - this is so cool. The sounds remind me so much of the old Wurlitzer organs with the drums built in. (Of course, by then they had gone full solid state & ICs.) Charming sound!

Inventers/scientists/innovators in the 40s and 50s were a different breed. I love seeing anything from that era on the inside because it's either bizarrely simple or totally mindblowingly complicated like this.

This is one of the coolest pieces of equipment that you have ever featured!

Cool. Thanks for sharing it.

So cool this makes me love my Wurlitzer 200a so much more!

Congratulations for this new item. Intriguing machine.

Crazy that this thing just works so well after all this time. That circuit board is a work of art, and electro-mechanical systems are always a treat. Love the idea of using it remotely. Perhaps you could add a switch for the rotary section to turn it on and off at will. Thanks for sharing!

My father had one of these sitting next to his Wurlitzer spinet organ when I was a kid. It really sounded amazing.

You have earned my sub and made my day merely by showing the world that 24-gang rotary switch. I have twirled a lot of knobs in my five dozen spins around the sun, but I bow in reverence to that mother of all input devices!

What a machine!!! As a drummer, synth lover and fan of anything old and mechanical / electro mechanical, this is the most brilliant machine I've ever seen - I want one!!!!! The sounds are so cool too, totally brilliant video.

Love what your doing!!!

I've been smiling and laughing away all through this video - absolutely brilliant - pure joy.

That machine is absolutely fantastic. A mixture of thermionic valves, discrete components & a spinning device which reminds me of an old uni-selector from Strowger telephone exchanges

WOW!!!! That thing is so cool! And sounds so cool!!!

Amazing Channel, amazing videos!

The speed control is very reminiscent of that found on a snow blower friction wheel and disc. Pretty neat!

Never seen something like this before. thanks for introducing

That was my vision of future high-tech when I was a kid. And I’m still impressed! Thx!

there was one of these at my local guitar center a few months ago. I was playing with it.. pretty cool peace of history!

such a mesmerizing machine.

Congrats on the 1/2 million subs! Been watching for years!

Absolutely amazing!

Insane! Just think of the hours that went into building just one of them. Thanks for the vid!

Absoltely go for a clear case, a beauty like that should not be hidden.