World War II Remembered Part 1 - Wurlitzer 146A Band Organ

[Wurlitzer157]

Will this organ be at any rallies this year?

[wurlitzer153duplex]

@Wurlitzer157 I don't have any information about their rally plans this year. They usually get to most of the rallies in this region.

[anglerfly]

no such thing as vvurlitzer 146 duplex organ

[wurlitzer153duplex]

The duplex roll frame was available at extra cost on all 150 roll playing organs, not just the 153. Although rare, they do exist.

For example, several years ago Bill Black documented the restoration of a 146A for the carousels dot c o m website. Although this organ originally had only one roll frame, it was later replaced by a duplex frame. The articles are still on that site by following the "Wurlitzer 146 Restoration" link on the front page. Part 10 details restoration of the roll frames.

[anglerfly]

I was going to upload it, we just have a problem of an unkown failure

[anglerfly]

I am posting this roll too, my version will be the wurlitzer 125 !

[anglerfly]

Whats a master?

[anglerfly]

How does doug herschberger know the boys will see us thru?

[wurlitzer153duplex]

@anglerfly This roll was punched using the same master rolls that were made by Wurlitzer's arrangers. All Doug needed to do was to put the master for "The Boys Will See Us Thru" into the punch's reader.

[Wurlitzer157]

@anglerfly

Yes there is anglerfly...

[anglerfly]

@Wurlitzer157 no there isnt.. WHERE? 

[anglerfly]

this is a doug herschbereger roll

[anglerfly]

Why did they make that roll? and why did they turn of the horns on the organ?

[anglerfly]

thanks for posting! now I get to ssee the roll I spent a while on watching.

[anglerfly]

Its a roll form the a volenteer in the muesum.

[anglerfly]

Why is a wurlITzer 146 taking 125 rolls?

[wurlitzer153duplex]

It's not. The rolls are 150 scale with 3 bass and 3 trombone. If you're asking about the arrangements, Wurlitzer arranged the 125 and 150 rolls in parallel. The arrangements are often very similar, but they were specifically arranged for their own scale.

[anglerfly]

@wurlitzer153duplex Is the north tonawanda organa 125?

[anglerfly]

Sorry no, I mean the military band organ at north tonawanda. is it a 125? and whats the diffrents beetween a military organ and a regular?

[wurlitzer153duplex]

The organ on the main carousel at the Herschell factory is a Wurlitzer style 125 Military Band Organ. In general, organs with brass trumpets are of the 'military band' type, they were an attempt to simulate a military style concert band. The loud brass trumpets were needed for organs used in skating rinks, as roller skates at the time were quite loud.

When band organs began to be used on carousels, less volume was needed and organs with wood trumpets, like this 146, became common.

[wurlitzer153duplex]

The instrumentation on military band organs was focused on brass trumpets, piccolos, and clarinets & brass trombones on larger models. The small 125 has wood trombones and no clarinets.

Carousel organs focused on a more orchestral instrumentation, violins or a violin/piccolo mixture were the focus. The wood trumpets didn't overwhelm the melody section. A glockenspiel was often added to the melody section for tone color. An automatic register turned it on and off and was controlled by the roll.

[koasterkav]

Thanks for the correction. The organ sounds very good, very close to a Wurlitzer 153. I see only one roll tracker frame. I guess the owner didn't wanted the double roll tracker frames.

[wurlitzer153duplex]

In my opinion, this is one of the best sounding old Wurlitzers on the rally circuit. It's unfortunate my microphone was a bit overwhelmed by the volume. As built, this was essentially the base model, with a single roll frame and no bells. Fortunately, this roll frame is set to rewind quite fast.

The bell bars were made by Mike Kitner not long before he died and installed by Terry Haughawout during the restoration in 2000.

[koasterkav]

OK, I saw the front of the organ on this one. Conklin Shows carnival had this organ I see. Normally the cymbal is in front of the bass drum, not on top of the case.

[wurlitzer153duplex]

The top mounted cymbal is common with the early style 146A front. The paint job was done after the current owner purchased the organ but it looks correct. He has printed up a fairly detailed history of it. It was built in 1917 or '18, shipped in 1920, and was used by J.L. Cronin Shows until 1931.

I was first introduced to it in the 1980s when the previous owner would take it to tractor shows in Ohio. At the time it was in poor playing condition but it has since been professionally restored.

[wurly164]

Very nice