Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ; Looff Carousel; Laffing Sal

[whoisthisguy724]

fourth tune is "Golden Plume March"

[larry7402]

Thanks for the clarification.



[larry7402]

There is a "Laffing Sal" in the Musée Mécanique. I saw it here this July 2011. I saw it after I visited the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and saw theirs. There are more than one of Laffing Sal.

[Keeper1st]

@larry7402 Yes. I didn't mean to imply that the museum no longer had one after selling this one. Playland had two Laffing Sals. This is one of them; the other remains at the museum.

[er10b]

Laffin Sal isn't animatronic - if ya get the chance to take one apart check out the inside.

[whoisthisguy724]

I noticed the logo on this organ doesn't have the distinctive giant T in it

[anglerfly]

I know the name of the song at 0:51

[Keeper1st]

@anglerfly What is it?

[anglerfly]

Is it a kiddie carousel?

[Keeper1st]

No, it's full size.

[anglerfly]

@Keeper1st IS THE LAFFING SAL IN THE CAROUSEL?

[Keeper1st]

@anglerfly No; she's elsewhere on the Boardwalk, at the back side of Neptune's Kingdom.

[anglerfly]

@Keeper1st Whats neptunes kingdom?

[Keeper1st]

@anglerfly It's the arcade / miniature golf course near the end of the Boardwalk. Originally it was an enormous public swimming pool area, but it's always been an arcade and golf course in my lifetime. When it was remodeled again to become "Neptune's Kingdom" in the 1990s (I guess), all remnants of the original bathing area were lost.

[larry7402]

Walk toward the arcade It's at the beachfront entrance.

[guttebo]

ETC...

The Ruth enclosure does not have physical openings to let the sound out, but instead utilizes microphones and two sets of amplified speakers mounted vertically on both sides of the window.

This allows the 'volume' output of the instrument to be controllable.

It seems that there is some concern that ride operators may not be able to make themselves heard over the 'din' of the band organs when there is a need to communicate with individual riders concerning safety related issues.

[guttebo]

Also...

It seems that when the Ruth was converted to play the (then) more available Wurlitzer paper rolls so many years ago about 1/4 of the Ruth's pipes were disabled due to differences in the design of the two instruments.

I'm told that many of the tunes (midi) now support the full range of the Ruth's capabilities, and the instrument now has a much richer sound than before.

[guttebo]

It may help to keep the instrument in tune and reduce maintenance by enclosing it in glass fronted room.

Changing pitch on one may allow both band organs (the Ruth and Wurlitzer) to play simultaneously from time to time, both being midi compatible.

Being enclosed might also help reduce the sheer sound volume produced by the instruments. (The Wurlitzer has shutters that operate more due to the orchestration of music rather than the need to dampen the overall sound output of the instrument.)

[tonysqqkq]

Thank you so much for this video. I grew up riding the "Carousel-by-the-Sea" in Santa Cruz. During my high school years my girlfriend and I would alternate between the carousel and the rollercoaster. Loved that carousel.

A note... a CD of the Ruth und Sohn band organ is available thru the "Santacruzbeachboardwalk" web site.

A note on the enclosure...Protects the instrument from salt spray and vandals. (Sadly, that is an issue)

/thanks

Tony

[woodencoasterfan]

Great video I just recently found that there's a 1909 Mangels-Loof carousel in Auburndale, FL with it's original Wurly 145B organ. Hopefully I'll be able to ride it next time I'm home in Orlando, FL. Apparently nobody has posted a video of it on YouTube yet so I might be the first. I've also seen Kennywood Park's Laffin Sal which is also still using the original soundtrack as well. It is sitting in the train station near Kiddieland. You can see it in one of my Kennywood videos on my YouTube page

[staunchcharacter]

Thank you so much for this wonderful clip - it captures the spirit of the place so well.

[yankeegurl62]

I grew up in RI, where Loof had his shop where he created his amazing horses and magical creatures. When I was a kid, I used to go to the park, and enjoy trying trying to figure out which animal I was going to ride. The horses were amazing, no one was alike, because these were actually his "showcase" horses, and they would be shown to clients, who would pick the style and size of horse that his craftsman would create. It was wonderful!!

[ragsoldiron]

WHY did the park put this organ into a glass box? It is like a tomb! Glen Echo or Sea Breeze Park did not do this with their 165 Wurlitzers. The organs sounded magnificent in there large carousel buildings with sides open allowing the great organ music go flow over the adjoining area. This organ sounds like it is playing on a higher pitch! Did they do something to the pipework? Park people sometimes do the wrong things!

[mrrochesterny]

Yes, you are very observant. For some unfathomable reason they had the pipes altered to raise the pitch to standard A440. I guess Donaven Staab or whoever at the park made that decision (and the other bad decision about the glass) knew more than Wurlitzer did. But when you pay a quarter or half million dollars for an organ, you are entitled to do what you want with it.

[pm0501]

The organ is probably in the glass box to protect it against low lifes that would spit gum at it or other acts of vandalism. Some people are incapable of appreciating devices as these so, they are over protected to keep them preserved. My favorite idiots are people who let their kids pound on the keyboards of pianos on display at Sam's Club.

[KawhackitaRag]

I just visited this organ in person. Though I did not hear it, it is obvious that surrounding the organ window (around the top and on each side) are these metal vents, similar to heating vents, which allow the sound out. They are clearly visible in this video at 2:28, and again at 2:33 (the stacked rectangles above the man's head).

[KawhackitaRag]

I peered through these vents and saw that the organ was visible through a sort of black gauze or mesh. This presumably keeps particles and small objects from getting through the holes in the vents into the organ room, but lets the sound out. Having been there, I can tell you that the carousel building, and indeed, ENTIRE AMUSEMENT PARK is RIGHT on the beach, maybe not more than 100-200 feet from the water! It is not about muffling the sound, they don't want the salt air to mess up the organ!

[Keeper1st]

...and during storms it's a heck of a lot closer to the sea! Back in the early days of the Boardwalk (which opened in 1907), there was even a slide that would send patrons into the ocean. What were you in town for, by the way? Once Linda (she's the girl riding behind me who waves at the camera when I turn it to look behind me) and I get our own place, we'll have to make sure you come visit when you're up this way!

[Doinkblink]

Wasn't the first Laffing Sal and Sam from Euclid Beach Park in Cleveland? I thought that Humphrey used a drunken lady for the original soundtrack. Euclid Beach also had the beautiful Gavioli Band organ, of which there were only two made.

[Keeper1st]

The characters were created by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, but I don't know where the first was installed.

[breeze97760]

Thanks for sharing. I was but a little girl when I rode on this and dreamed of owning my own horse. Today, I am blessed with four! All that dream was started at Playland. Sad no one wanted it. The condos are ugly.

[Keeper1st]

The carousel here was never at Playland; it has been at the Boardwalk since 1911. But yeah, sad to see the seaside amusement parks dying. Next Sunday, Coney Island's Astroland park closes forever.

[chicocabimas]

Our son Chris is an autistic young man (age 11). He visits Santa Cruz and his favorite carousel ever once a year. His personal record is thirty (30) straight rides. Thanks for sharing your video posting of his favorite memory ever.

[KawhackitaRag]

Thanks for taking this video... it is interesting to compare an original Wurlitzer 165 such as this to another organ converted to that scale. Musically, it is obvious which sounds better. By the way, this organ is glassed in, not because they think it is too loud (it is actually just about right), but to protect the instrument from the salt air.

[KawhackitaRag]

The Ruth, being made in 1894, was actually originally a barrel organ. I think was later converted to use folding cardboard book music (the most common European music format), and then to Wurlitzer 165 rolls. It played this format for a long time, and then a MIDI system was added, still using the 165 conversion. I hope with the recent restoration, they take it back to the original (larger) scale.

[HarborGuy]

So glad this was saved unlike most of San Francisco's and other major cities treastres.

[robindeorgelman]

Fantastic!