There's nothing wrong with Thomas Organs....in their day they were one of the nicest sounding organs around....don't forget they were built way before computer brains. They certainly had a sweeter sound than Hammond Organs, which had one of the worst sounding bass pedals going..I owned a Trianon and it was an absolute joy to play.......just a sweet lovely sound.
@Audioquest56 By me saying they made over 200 models it was supposed to help you realize that some people might have preferred at least a couple of those models. Heck, I'm one of them. I guess if you are someone who hates the Hammond tone wheel sound the chances are very high that you will hate a couple hundred Hammond models as well. It's a taste thing. Believe me I bet you anything my ear is just as impeccably discerning as yours, I simply have different tastes. Oscilloscopes don't count!
I love my Thomas organ Californian 263. Even though it isn't a great great organ it does have the sound characteristics that please your ear and you really can get good dynamics out of it. Those are two of the most important features an organ can have. Reliability in the oscillator cards came with the 263. I had a Californian 250 that I had to repair a few of the cards, but it was fairly simple. Any old organ that is pre-IC is easy to repair...or should I say easiER. Anyone know the 287? Like?
What's that i hear? Overdubbed organ sounds. Yes, another "lip sync" performance. But Bob Ralston is and excellent organist and pianist. Smooth, Baby...smooth.
And you folks lay off the Thomas organs. None of them sounded that great back then, but we thought they were! lol
Your right pianodon. Since you brought it out, there are more notes than what the video is showing being played. Also about mid way Bob was doing a lot of arm flapping but it didn't appear that he was playing a lot of notes. I have read in other posts that the actual sound track was done on another organ. They claimed it was a Hammond but to me it doesn't sound like a Hammond.
Notice Lawrence introduces it as "his recording arrangement of" the song. He is definately playing along with his multi-tracked record. Bob recorded the organ as an orchestration, which was a good thing. But you would need an extra arm and hand (at least) to reproduce that live. he did the same with his earlier pre-Thomas recordings on the Hammond organ. But they sound good!! He is an excellent musician. I would love to see he and Roger Williams concertize together.
Thomas Organs were built in the San Fernando Valley in California. I had a Palace 903 which was a full 3 manual with a 32 note pedalboard. For analog/divider organs they were no better or worse than Conn, Gulbransen, Baldwin (which Welk also used) Lowrey and Wurlitzer. To get better you had to go to Rodgers or Allen, and then even with those you had to get totally independent oscillators and not divider organs. Early Yamaha was no better. Hammond was reliable, but it was limited.
I still own one of the last manufactured Thomas organ as I love it, the Thomas Eldorado 792, same as the Symphony Royal, but will all of the latest Thomas features that I love! Yes, Thomas had some quality problems, but the features made it fun and I also love the sound of a deluxe organ as my Thomas Eldorado 792 organ!
Just because you played one, doesn't mean it was a good product. I drove a Renault Alliance and it was a crappy car. Thomas had brutal sound synthesis. All the sounds basically sounded the same. They were bargain basement instruments at best.
@Audioquest56 I play a Thomas because I love the sound. So what is your range when it comes to organ tones? Church? Do you have any idea how many organs Thomas made? They made over 200 organ models! The tube organs, the transistor oscillator organs, the IC divider organs- which the Californians were 2 6-pin IC's followed by no less than 16 transistors per note, calling those IC divider is off base.
It's a matter of taste. I can love a Wurlitzer Orgatron and a cheesy Electone in the same day!
@paulj0557 Does it really matter how many organs they made? If they made 200 organs, I'm sure they were probably all bad. I owned a Thomas back in the early 80s and it was a piece of junk. Yamaha's PASS system was light-years ahead of Thomas tone generation of the same era. I prefer the organ sound of a Hammond and the orchestral sounds of Yamaha/Roland.
Here's an example of a very talented organist playing a bad organ. Too bad Welk didn't have Yamaha Electones on his show. Those Thomas organs were brutal.
There's nothing wrong with Thomas Organs....in their day they were one of the nicest sounding organs around....don't forget they were built way before computer brains. They certainly had a sweeter sound than Hammond Organs, which had one of the worst sounding bass pedals going..I owned a Trianon and it was an absolute joy to play.......just a sweet lovely sound.
rdafomh 10 months ago
iLL be the first to dislike this horrible piece o shit
listenthinkspeak 11 months ago
@Audioquest56 By me saying they made over 200 models it was supposed to help you realize that some people might have preferred at least a couple of those models. Heck, I'm one of them. I guess if you are someone who hates the Hammond tone wheel sound the chances are very high that you will hate a couple hundred Hammond models as well. It's a taste thing. Believe me I bet you anything my ear is just as impeccably discerning as yours, I simply have different tastes. Oscilloscopes don't count!
paulj0557 1 year ago
I love my Thomas organ Californian 263. Even though it isn't a great great organ it does have the sound characteristics that please your ear and you really can get good dynamics out of it. Those are two of the most important features an organ can have. Reliability in the oscillator cards came with the 263. I had a Californian 250 that I had to repair a few of the cards, but it was fairly simple. Any old organ that is pre-IC is easy to repair...or should I say easiER. Anyone know the 287? Like?
paulj0557 1 year ago
What's that i hear? Overdubbed organ sounds. Yes, another "lip sync" performance. But Bob Ralston is and excellent organist and pianist. Smooth, Baby...smooth.
And you folks lay off the Thomas organs. None of them sounded that great back then, but we thought they were! lol
pianodon 2 years ago
Your right pianodon. Since you brought it out, there are more notes than what the video is showing being played. Also about mid way Bob was doing a lot of arm flapping but it didn't appear that he was playing a lot of notes. I have read in other posts that the actual sound track was done on another organ. They claimed it was a Hammond but to me it doesn't sound like a Hammond.
southerncrescent1401 2 years ago
Notice Lawrence introduces it as "his recording arrangement of" the song. He is definately playing along with his multi-tracked record. Bob recorded the organ as an orchestration, which was a good thing. But you would need an extra arm and hand (at least) to reproduce that live. he did the same with his earlier pre-Thomas recordings on the Hammond organ. But they sound good!! He is an excellent musician. I would love to see he and Roger Williams concertize together.
pianodon 2 years ago
The original Thomas organs are the best sounding organs, and also had the best features! A Sound For Every One! Thomas Organs!
patsaxon 2 years ago
Thomas Organs were built in the San Fernando Valley in California. I had a Palace 903 which was a full 3 manual with a 32 note pedalboard. For analog/divider organs they were no better or worse than Conn, Gulbransen, Baldwin (which Welk also used) Lowrey and Wurlitzer. To get better you had to go to Rodgers or Allen, and then even with those you had to get totally independent oscillators and not divider organs. Early Yamaha was no better. Hammond was reliable, but it was limited.
pipeorganistken 2 years ago
I still own one of the last manufactured Thomas organ as I love it, the Thomas Eldorado 792, same as the Symphony Royal, but will all of the latest Thomas features that I love! Yes, Thomas had some quality problems, but the features made it fun and I also love the sound of a deluxe organ as my Thomas Eldorado 792 organ!
patsaxon 2 years ago
Thomas Organs went out of business in 1979, but was resurrected in 1997, and guess who is the CEO? Bob Ralston!
Jaybird1103 3 years ago
Hey! There's nothing wrong with a Thomas organ. I played one for years!
zoril 3 years ago
Just because you played one, doesn't mean it was a good product. I drove a Renault Alliance and it was a crappy car. Thomas had brutal sound synthesis. All the sounds basically sounded the same. They were bargain basement instruments at best.
Audioquest56 3 years ago
@Audioquest56 I play a Thomas because I love the sound. So what is your range when it comes to organ tones? Church? Do you have any idea how many organs Thomas made? They made over 200 organ models! The tube organs, the transistor oscillator organs, the IC divider organs- which the Californians were 2 6-pin IC's followed by no less than 16 transistors per note, calling those IC divider is off base.
It's a matter of taste. I can love a Wurlitzer Orgatron and a cheesy Electone in the same day!
paulj0557 1 year ago
@paulj0557 Does it really matter how many organs they made? If they made 200 organs, I'm sure they were probably all bad. I owned a Thomas back in the early 80s and it was a piece of junk. Yamaha's PASS system was light-years ahead of Thomas tone generation of the same era. I prefer the organ sound of a Hammond and the orchestral sounds of Yamaha/Roland.
Audioquest56 1 year ago
Here's an example of a very talented organist playing a bad organ. Too bad Welk didn't have Yamaha Electones on his show. Those Thomas organs were brutal.
electoneman 3 years ago