My comment may be a bit late, but for any other latecomers who are messing around with these: These chord organs are often out of tune due to dust/lint/dirt build-up on the reeds, which alters their pitch. Cleaning the reeds often brings them back in tune with itself, or close to it, if the cleaning is done carefully. The reeds can be cleaned with a soft toothbrush or painters brush and a solution of warm water and dishsoap. Gently brush the reeds only one way, toward the end of the tongue, so as not to catch the reed tip on the brush. Bending the reed too much could cause the reed to go silent or break it. Then rinse with clean water and brush and dry with a fan. Further tuning can be done, but it can ruin the reeds if not done correctly and can permanently alter the reeds (e.g. not reversible if done incorrectly).
I grew up with these things. Magnus introduced their basic 2-octave chord organ around 1965. I was given one for Christmas. By this time, it had been around long enough that there were many books of music (The Magnus Organ Library) for it, including a Beatles tune book. You could buy them in any store that sold sheet music. These little organs were so cheap ($15 for the entry level model) that a lot of people got them for their kids. But you couldn't play real music on them, they sounded awful. So they developed the special books, one finger right hand melodies and chord buttons for harmony. People also played guitar music on them because the written music was similar, yet called for chords in the harmony that Magnus didn't have (like Gm7 - the little Magnus only had a Gm)! They also made a 3+ key octave version (with 12 chord buttons instead of 6) that was a stand alone model -- it had screw on legs and a knee operated "volume control" (basically a valve to limit the air to the reeds). Sounded exactly the same as the little one. There were also MANY imitators (including Emenee - which tried to look a little like a church organ.) At the time, the sound was considered a joke, and they were considered to be toys. You may notice that the size of the keys is smaller than on a piano or organ, so it wasn't even good for practice. It was also made entirely of plastic and dense foam, including the reeds. SEARS introduced a competitive model that used steel reeds. It sounded better and spoke more quickly, but it too was considered a toy. These instruments lasted for decades in the market and sold well into the 1980's in some places. Then CASIO and YAMAHA introduced electronic keyboards which had full sized keys, several tone banks, and sounded amazing for the time.
So I just picked this up at my local thrift store (in canada too) and immediately went to TH-cam to see if anyone else had made a video on one. This vid couldnt have been better for what I was looking for and I was shocked to realize how tiny of a channel this is, you have an amazing personality and I hope your student loans have been paid off 😎
My mom had one of these back in the seventies. I'm not sure if the brand was Magnus but it sure did look a lot like the one you have. We had a book of very simple songs we could play and she tried to teach me the basics. I'm about as musical as a phone book (which is another thing old people used to have). Anyway thanks for showing this off. You have brought back a whole boatload of fun old memories.
These are not meant to be tuned, but if you're ambitious: Adding weight to the end of the reeds with beeswax or hot glue will lower the pitch. TINY amounts! Removing weight from the end of the reeds with a file will raise it. I don't really recommend it, but it's possible. (I pitch-shift in my DAW instead because it's easier.)
Beeswax definitely seems to be the go-to tuning tweak for many instruments! I was thinking about that but as you said, not really worth it. A bit annoying though cause plugins like melodyne that tune notes in a chord are speedy
I have a few Chord organs from different makes, some are in tune others not. It was nice to see inside one without having to do it myself! Thanks for the video.
Hi Than. Thank you for the lovely video about this unique instrument. I came across this video during my research for Air Reed Organs/Harmoniums. Could you please do a tear down video of this instrument. It would be really intresting to have a look 'under the hood' so to say. I am really curious to know how the air is pumped into the reeds and how are the chord sounds made. If anyone has any repair manuals of these this or any pictures of them, kindly share the info. I thank you in advance for your help and time.
Hey there! I don’t have the instrument anymore since I moved so I’m afraid I can’t show any more detail. There’s a vacuum of some kind that runs the instrument, so when a key is pressed air is allowed to pass through a reed to make the note. Much like an accordion or melodica but with a vacuum instead. Chords work by multiple reeds being activated by a single button. The chord buttons have their own reeds; it doesn’t connect to the keyboard. I’m afraid I don’t have any specifics on the mechanism, but I’ll try and post them if I stumble across it!
Good job! I bought a 391 last year which still has the legs. Mine is also out of tune but fortunately with itself. When I use it to record I just have to change the pitch -33(ish) in post. I get the impression it’s maybe like the melodica where you can scrap and file the tines carefully to slowly bring them back into tune but because mine is in tune with itself I’ve opted to leave it. Maybe it’s worth a try if it’s randomly out of tune.
Cool that it’s got the legs! I was hoping the same about the tuning but the tines aren’t built well and it’d be easier to cause more harm than good. Still, it makes a fun jam instrument and adds a nice vintage flare to a room, don’t it?
I have my childhood one, it has legs and I still have the sheet music tab books and the removable rear prop that is just a flat piece of plastic so the lightbulb shines on the music sheets. I have opened it to check it's internal condition just yesterday which was surprisingly underwhelming I was expecting something a little more challenging than a plastic box with flapper valves. It was like expecting some elaborate rube goldberg machine and when you get close enough to see what's going on it's a quarter rolling on edge into a oversized funnel. I restore vintage sewing machines also so before the organ won't work from lack of preventive maintenance I should have a look at what could and should be done. Other than there's enough old debris collected over the time dinosaur fossils might be scattered about inside. Which brings me to the internet to see if it has some type of hidden depth beyond deciding if using water or air to blow it out, the wooden base needs replaced already and it won't be plugged in...hmmmm decisions decisions... lollol
Hey there, I have had several Indian harmoniums which are pretty similar from the side of the reeds. You can tune these easily: if the tone is too high, you have to file down on the lower end of the metal reed and if its too low on the other end. I'm not totally sure if it's this way round or the other. Just try it on one reed and than you are ready to tune 🤗
I actually grew up with a chord organ at a very young age and have been hunting for the version I grew up with. I remember the stamp being made in Canada - odd right?. It was the Magnus "apartment sized" one, but had the I believe Magnus 980 chord pad... No foot pedal, but levar under for controlling air flow and came on a sleek stand. Wood finish. None the less - loved your video! Hoping to find my unicorn Chord organ p.s hello from British Columbia, Canada 👋🍁😊🌻💜
Oh, very cool! I hadn't really heard of these things before picking this one up but looking them up i've really been struck by how many different ones there are out there! Hope you find yours and find it in tune lol. Cheers from the northern tip of New York State!
Existential dread and childhood... and maybe some sea shanties thrown in for good measure if you are good enough to pick up the pace past a funeral March speed...
@@rottnlove I have no idea why sea shanties are so popular now but I am definitely not complaining! Yeah the creaky accordion kind of sound would definitely be cool with those tunes
I like your video, I have one for 40 years now, my father gave it to me, but it doesn't sound anymore I opened it and kind of fix the fan but still no sound😔 I must take it to a proffesional, but that will have to wait
I have a very similar model, but mine is a Magnus 468 (the one that looks like this but has a see-through 70s brown cover lid that doubles as a music stand). I made at least 17 videos of me playing covers with it. You should check it out when you get the chance :-)
No sé hablar inglés pero llegué aquí porque tengo uno más antiguo y nose cómo usarlo nunca en mi vida e tocado ni un tipo de teclado. Pensé que este era uno pero párese que este es otro instrumento distinto
My comment may be a bit late, but for any other latecomers who are messing around with these: These chord organs are often out of tune due to dust/lint/dirt build-up on the reeds, which alters their pitch. Cleaning the reeds often brings them back in tune with itself, or close to it, if the cleaning is done carefully.
The reeds can be cleaned with a soft toothbrush or painters brush and a solution of warm water and dishsoap. Gently brush the reeds only one way, toward the end of the tongue, so as not to catch the reed tip on the brush. Bending the reed too much could cause the reed to go silent or break it. Then rinse with clean water and brush and dry with a fan.
Further tuning can be done, but it can ruin the reeds if not done correctly and can permanently alter the reeds (e.g. not reversible if done incorrectly).
:0 That's a great tip, thanks so much!!!
Great vid! I wish somebody made an in-depth video like this for every instrument I considered buying on Craigslist haha
That would be superb lmao. I was kinda flying blind when I bought this thing myself
I love that your cat helps you
it has such a melancholy sound. I love the deep chorusing effect produced by EVERYTHING IS SO OUT OF TUNE!
i love this, your voice and way of speech and outfits are all so cute and it's really cool seeing you tear it apart and just have fun with it :)
I grew up with these things.
Magnus introduced their basic 2-octave chord organ around 1965. I was given one for Christmas. By this time, it had been around long enough that there were many books of music (The Magnus Organ Library) for it, including a Beatles tune book. You could buy them in any store that sold sheet music.
These little organs were so cheap ($15 for the entry level model) that a lot of people got them for their kids. But you couldn't play real music on them, they sounded awful. So they developed the special books, one finger right hand melodies and chord buttons for harmony. People also played guitar music on them because the written music was similar, yet called for chords in the harmony that Magnus didn't have (like Gm7 - the little Magnus only had a Gm)!
They also made a 3+ key octave version (with 12 chord buttons instead of 6) that was a stand alone model -- it had screw on legs and a knee operated "volume control" (basically a valve to limit the air to the reeds). Sounded exactly the same as the little one.
There were also MANY imitators (including Emenee - which tried to look a little like a church organ.) At the time, the sound was considered a joke, and they were considered to be toys.
You may notice that the size of the keys is smaller than on a piano or organ, so it wasn't even good for practice. It was also made entirely of plastic and dense foam, including the reeds.
SEARS introduced a competitive model that used steel reeds. It sounded better and spoke more quickly, but it too was considered a toy.
These instruments lasted for decades in the market and sold well into the 1980's in some places.
Then CASIO and YAMAHA introduced electronic keyboards which had full sized keys, several tone banks, and sounded amazing for the time.
Lol I bought one for $5 today and it’s surprisingly in tune with itself, but not anything else!
congratulations XD
And hey, if its in tune with itself you can always tune a guitar or synth or whatever to match in a pinch!
I just bought one for $10. Clearly the market for these is really going wild.
yeah i bought one too, tho mine is a different colour, but i do know its called the type 411
My mom had one of these. She would play it for hours. R.I.P. mom
So I just picked this up at my local thrift store (in canada too) and immediately went to TH-cam to see if anyone else had made a video on one. This vid couldnt have been better for what I was looking for and I was shocked to realize how tiny of a channel this is, you have an amazing personality and I hope your student loans have been paid off 😎
My mom had one of these back in the seventies. I'm not sure if the brand was Magnus but it sure did look a lot like the one you have. We had a book of very simple songs we could play and she tried to teach me the basics. I'm about as musical as a phone book (which is another thing old people used to have).
Anyway thanks for showing this off. You have brought back a whole boatload of fun old memories.
This is the best damn video I’ve ever fucking seen. We love you, man.
Aw thanks! 😊
Daniel Johnston played this!
I liked this video. I hope you're well
Chord organ blues and Casper the friendly ghost !
These are not meant to be tuned, but if you're ambitious:
Adding weight to the end of the reeds with beeswax or hot glue will lower the pitch. TINY amounts!
Removing weight from the end of the reeds with a file will raise it.
I don't really recommend it, but it's possible.
(I pitch-shift in my DAW instead because it's easier.)
Beeswax definitely seems to be the go-to tuning tweak for many instruments! I was thinking about that but as you said, not really worth it. A bit annoying though cause plugins like melodyne that tune notes in a chord are speedy
your channel is amazing
I have a few Chord organs from different makes, some are in tune others not. It was nice to see inside one without having to do it myself! Thanks for the video.
Just found one for 50cents at a garage sale. So excited
This is a great video and channel. Thank you!
Nathaniel Brown It's basically a Fan Operated Accordion.
Hi Than. Thank you for the lovely video about this unique instrument. I came across this video during my research for Air Reed Organs/Harmoniums. Could you please do a tear down video of this instrument. It would be really intresting to have a look 'under the hood' so to say. I am really curious to know how the air is pumped into the reeds and how are the chord sounds made. If anyone has any repair manuals of these this or any pictures of them, kindly share the info.
I thank you in advance for your help and time.
Hey there! I don’t have the instrument anymore since I moved so I’m afraid I can’t show any more detail.
There’s a vacuum of some kind that runs the instrument, so when a key is pressed air is allowed to pass through a reed to make the note. Much like an accordion or melodica but with a vacuum instead.
Chords work by multiple reeds being activated by a single button. The chord buttons have their own reeds; it doesn’t connect to the keyboard.
I’m afraid I don’t have any specifics on the mechanism, but I’ll try and post them if I stumble across it!
Thank you for the reply Than. Your video pointed me towards a new range of instruments and for that, I thank you that and for your time as well
.
One of these came up on market place and aftwr my very short research journey it ends here haha
Good job! I bought a 391 last year which still has the legs. Mine is also out of tune but fortunately with itself. When I use it to record I just have to change the pitch -33(ish) in post. I get the impression it’s maybe like the melodica where you can scrap and file the tines carefully to slowly bring them back into tune but because mine is in tune with itself I’ve opted to leave it. Maybe it’s worth a try if it’s randomly out of tune.
Cool that it’s got the legs! I was hoping the same about the tuning but the tines aren’t built well and it’d be easier to cause more harm than good. Still, it makes a fun jam instrument and adds a nice vintage flare to a room, don’t it?
I have my childhood one, it has legs and I still have the sheet music tab books and the removable rear prop that is just a flat piece of plastic so the lightbulb shines on the music sheets. I have opened it to check it's internal condition just yesterday which was surprisingly underwhelming I was expecting something a little more challenging than a plastic box with flapper valves. It was like expecting some elaborate rube goldberg machine and when you get close enough to see what's going on it's a quarter rolling on edge into a oversized funnel.
I restore vintage sewing machines also so before the organ won't work from lack of preventive maintenance I should have a look at what could and should be done. Other than there's enough old debris collected over the time dinosaur fossils might be scattered about inside. Which brings me to the internet to see if it has some type of hidden depth beyond deciding if using water or air to blow it out, the wooden base needs replaced already and it won't be plugged in...hmmmm decisions decisions... lollol
Hey there, I have had several Indian harmoniums which are pretty similar from the side of the reeds. You can tune these easily: if the tone is too high, you have to file down on the lower end of the metal reed and if its too low on the other end. I'm not totally sure if it's this way round or the other. Just try it on one reed and than you are ready to tune 🤗
I remember playing around with one of these when I was a little kid. The one we had was a slightly different model, though.
The blower intake is on the bottom. Works better if it’s not directly on a table. This may solve your tuning issues perhaps? (I had one growing up.)
Mine was on legs with a stool
fantastic!
Cool organ!
I actually grew up with a chord organ at a very young age and have been hunting for the version I grew up with. I remember the stamp being made in Canada - odd right?. It was the Magnus "apartment sized" one, but had the I believe Magnus 980 chord pad... No foot pedal, but levar under for controlling air flow and came on a sleek stand. Wood finish. None the less - loved your video! Hoping to find my unicorn Chord organ p.s hello from British Columbia, Canada 👋🍁😊🌻💜
Oh, very cool! I hadn't really heard of these things before picking this one up but looking them up i've really been struck by how many different ones there are out there! Hope you find yours and find it in tune lol. Cheers from the northern tip of New York State!
That’s neat that yours had a dynamic control. Mine did not. I remember that from anywhere between 1975 and 78 or 79. What a trip.
I want to have a dance club with circus alien space music! It slaps!
Wow! This thing legit sounds like existential dread
And how!
@@thanpersand it sounds beautiful, yet so haunting, kinda like Boards of Canada
Existential dread and childhood... and maybe some sea shanties thrown in for good measure if you are good enough to pick up the pace past a funeral March speed...
@@rottnlove I have no idea why sea shanties are so popular now but I am definitely not complaining! Yeah the creaky accordion kind of sound would definitely be cool with those tunes
Total thumbs up bro!
THanks dude!
There is one in a second hand store here
wondering if i should by it 🤔
Buy it!
Nice desk and same monitors as me, cool
Ey nice
what was this melody in the beginning?
Some melody I came up with if memory serves
@@thanpersand nice!!
I bought one for $10, but when I turn it on it stays ringing without touching the keys.
Sounds like the keys don’t fit tightly on the inside! It should make a seal so that it only plays when the key moves
@@thanpersand They are the "D" and "A" buttons It is the "D" and "A" minor buttons on the left side the keys on the right side work well.
@@thanpersand Sorry for the pronunciation errors, I'm using translator.
@@eduardoav1760 No problem with the language! You probably could fix it but it might be cheaper to just find another chord organ
I like your video, I have one for 40 years now, my father gave it to me, but it doesn't sound anymore I opened it and kind of fix the fan but still no sound😔 I must take it to a proffesional, but that will have to wait
Thanks! And if by the fan is running, have you checked to make sure it’s airtight?
Nice!
The tune is kinda Dan Deacon-ish
"Oh, that was a really, really bad idea. Oh, that was nasty! That is not a harmonica!". 😂 Thanks for the music.
Glad my mistakes could entertain haha
At 2:20 it was a bad idea.....,that dust could be tasting like grandma
I have a very similar model, but mine is a Magnus 468 (the one that looks like this but has a see-through 70s brown cover lid that doubles as a music stand). I made at least 17 videos of me playing covers with it. You should check it out when you get the chance :-)
Sounds cool, I’ll have to take a looksie
I'd write some "medieval" ditty called "Bilbo and the Mead". Pair the Magnus organ with a Hurdy Gurdy. :)
Ooh that’d be a fun combo
Bought one for 2 dollars at a yard sale yesterday
Hell yeah
TOTALLY RAD!!
I have that
No sé hablar inglés pero llegué aquí porque tengo uno más antiguo y nose cómo usarlo nunca en mi vida e tocado ni un tipo de teclado. Pensé que este era uno pero párese que este es otro instrumento distinto
That instrumental
had potential though.
🤔
I still got mine. be carefull. the plastic is getting brittle.
Its good at making pirate sea chanties. Trust me.
Hell ye
Im just here cause Daedalus
I cringed when you blew the dust all over your monitors and desk haha
me 2
Are you a professional dancer
Yes
@@thanpersand obv 🕺
It's all plastic, right?
Aside from a couple metal structural parts, and like the motor, it’s plastic through and through!
@@thanpersand thanks! Saw one on my local sales.
Lol