The First Ever Drum Machine You Could Buy - 1959 Wurlitzer Sideman
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ย. 2024
- Today we take a look at the Wurlitzer Sideman, the first Commercially Released #Drum Machine.
Download the wav of the samples from this machine and much much more :- / lookmumnocomputer
it also makes @THIS MUSEUM IS (NOT) OBSOLETE get bigger and better.
Shoutout to @thenervoussquirrel for egging me on to get this. blame him!!!
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Some great videos on the wurlitzer sideman here :-
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See this drum machine at this museum is not obsolete on the next open day which is March 26th.
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.
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.
Fascinating video, btw. I had no idea. Thanks for sharing.
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).
You would still be able to see the motion, and it would still be synched with the sound.
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.
white grease ?
This machine is a deoxits dream 🤣
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 :)
@@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
@@chrisroberts2266 does it not have a monitor output? Good luck with it. 👍👍👍👍
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.
this drum machine is absolute genious
@@acdclexu6296 And Raymond Scott hacked these babies into sequencers. Not just drums but musical notes!
This thing needs a see-through case. It is such a marvel to look at it.
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.
and some piezo mics haha what a beatssss
@@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.
100%!👍🏻👍🏻
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!
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.
Thanks for sharing that is really interesting
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)
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.
@@jankcitycustoms that's exactly what I was thinking too, snowblower drive wheel, as soon as I saw it.
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!
For 1950s engineering, this is WILD
@@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.
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.
It's kind of amazing how much this sounds like any other analog drum machine, all the way up through the 90s!
you need your ears tested bro
Who would think an analog drum machine would sound like an analog drum machine?
It was surprisingly good for it's time. Unfortunately, onboard rhythm sections didn't advance much for decades after.
Are you including the Roland TR range?
Only difference is price range... the first drum machine....$25,000.
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'm really impressed by the quality of the sounds coming out of it. I'd love to see the schematic for the valve section.
Wow, what a wonderful piece of old music tech! How on earth did that survive until now - it's huge!!!
yeah! apparently most got chucked out cus of broken belts!
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.
In the 60's/70's drum machines were transistor based and produced similar sounds.
Roland CR-78, same machine used as the base layer of drums on Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight
Makes me think of the intro to Ann Peebles's "I can't stand the rain"
@@stinkymart3173 ...And "Hiroshima Mon Amour" by Ultravox.
What a madly complicated piece of delightful engineering.
I think the stuff they figured out how to do without computers is way more impressive than computer-controlled instruments.
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!
The Sideman is one of the few preset drum machines I've been keeping my eyes open for. That kick is juicy! :)
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 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?
The fact this uses common tubes is great. No rummaging through surplus stores trying to find long obsolete boxes and hoping they still work.
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!
Great machine. Love the tube sounds. It is fully electromechanical and should be run to keep it running. My Hammond B3 organ needs the same, but I have an organ repair shop nearby in case.
7:25 this rotating mechanism is a beautiful thing to watch! (When step sequencers were programmed with solder.)
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!
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? 😁
The title on the thumbnail, "It's all weird mechanisms and vacuum tubes," could be an alternate title for this channel
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 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.
Quite expensive for the sixties, indeed.
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
I would suspect it was engineered by someone who just started engineering, or was everything back then so primitive?
@@convolution223 That is called point to point wiring. It was the norm and for some modern tube amps it still is.
@@convolution223 That's just how it was done back then.
Reminds me of the early computer machines at Bletchley park
@@alexmcrobb6616 Yes and there is a certain elegance to it, not to mention its ease of repair.
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.
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.
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!
this machine is f*****g amazing dude !!!! never see that before :)
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!
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.
It must have been mind blowing to see the inventor knocking out breakbeats on that back in the 50s
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.
😂😂
Thank you! I have only heard of this legendary beast. I feel you would be the best person to source awesome samples from. Physically re-amp your stuff in real time, use a good mic, and just sample directly into a 12-bit platform.
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.
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!
Well, i could see Lars being worried about his job, but most other drummers are probably safe...
Yeh but it wont be long before they're demanding welfare cheques and equal rights
Damn! The things engineers had to go through back in the day. It's amazing to think that all this maze of wires, solder, mechanical switches and big electronic components can fit inside a small integrated circuit on a modern drum machine. And frankly, you don't even need the drum machine. You can simulate everything with VST-like software but of course results may vary.
Keep your 808s..this is where its at
ha
The world needs a 1959 Wurlitzer Sideman sound pack for musicians.
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
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.
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.
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.
Beautiful tone, they nailed it on the first one! Worth preserving and playing sparingly.
Brilliant mate. YT recommended this. Took me 5 minutes to subscribe. Love your enthusiasm and energy. I feel a massive binge watch coming on.
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
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.
Fascinating! Was very surprised at how versatile it is and how good the sounds are - though valve (tube) anything tends to sound good. Must have cost a royal family's ransom back then.
Trigger inputs.
If you use it as a sample generator, you can save wear and tear on this relic's moving parts while still using it as a controllable, adorably retro drum machine. Nice!
Definitely! But then you lose the coolest bit of visual show which is the spinny stuff alas
So cool to come to one of your videos from a Hackaday article instead of my usual TH-cam feed! You're a person of amazing talents and are very deserving of the recognition!
7:04 *You used to call me on my cell phone Late-night when you need my love * 🎶
Did I?
@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER sorry got you mixed up with Drake 😂
The speed control is very reminiscent of that found on a snow blower friction wheel and disc. Pretty neat!
1:48 Appreciating the Kentish Doug DeMuro 🎹 🏎
It's a machine that needs to be seen in action! Have it play at the top of every hour for a minute or 2 demo. You said it's pretty repairable, and even if not, let it go out in a blaze of glory doing what it loves.
Ohh you disregarded the red note at around 6:16. "Beware! This device may only be connected by sockets with protective earth which were installed according to regulations. Before opening the device, pull the mains plug."
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!
Thank you for showing this piece of history. It is amazing to see. And Great presentation style by the way, love it.
Ok, the sound was much more interesting than I was expecting. Great explanation as always.
Seriously Sam, it's probably one on the most mindblowing machine I've seen so far in your videos (my opinion) just because of the engineering creativity of this thing. Even though the synth makers were already quite experienced at the time, what a lot of effort and candor it probably required to make it alive at a "non-internet" age. The circuit scuplture is by itself something... (while being not unusual at the time !)
Once in a great while, TH-cam suggests a video/channel for me. Today the algorithm worked! This was a real pleasure to watch. Thank you!
My father was part of the team that helped develop the Side Man at Wurlitzer in DeKalb, IL.
You're quite the powerhouse of enthusiasm. A pleasure to watch.
My father had one of these sitting next to his Wurlitzer spinet organ when I was a kid. It really sounded amazing.
That this so great! I love the way it works and the way it's made... pretty servicable.
The small wheel driving the big one at varying speeds is a back-to-front version of what was used in an instrument called a differential analyser, a type of early analogue computer. In that the big wheel is driven and the little wheel is the output. Suppose we have a graph representing the speed of an object: if we make the position of the small wheel follow the graph, so that it moves to the outside of the wheel (faster) when the speed is higher and the inside when the speed is slower, then the distance turned by the wheel is proportional to the distance the object travels.
Oh man those buttons and pots look sooo sweet
The timbres and textures the Sideman could muster, however limited, fall into a sonic space all of their own. There’s something innocent and magical about these early instruments and devices. These lovely old beasts are totally free of the cliches and predictability of today’s offerings, which will always struggle somewhat to break away from classic drum machine paradigm we’ve all become accustomed to. Don’t get me wrong, a snappy 808, and even a cheesy Yamaha DD10 still give one pearls, but there’s something unexplainably special about these old sounds.
It’s similar to the sonic differences between something well known and identifiable like the sound of a Moog or a modern supersaw-y pluck, compared to the haunting, otherworldly sound of Friedrich Trautwein’s Trautonium, or the more well known Theramin.
Another brilliant video Sam, thanks for all the efforts you put into these projects
For fun history on the Wurlitzer accessories, look up the Wurlitzers ran by the now defunct pizza place called The Organ Grinder. We had one in Portland Oregon, US. It had an organ with every musical accessory available. It was an amazing experience in person.
Such a beautiful piece of nostalgia! That's actually a well engineered piece of hardware. It sounds very good considering its age. It was well taken care of! It would be good with some ambient Jean Michelle Jarre style music. Those nostalgic sounds can be used today.
This is one of the most fascinating channels on TH-cam. Brilliant work, thank you
This video is so cool. That speed mechanism is so smart, love it!
Few vids on YT have had me gaping in admiration... This thing is utterly genius bonkers - who couldn't love that!
What an absolutely fascinating piece of hardware. I agree with the idea of making a clear case for it.
It's such a beauty. Please leave it as it. Just a clear perspex box to show it but when played for special occasions, do it with its original wooden box which certainly plays a huge role in the sound quality - like a loudspeaker's cabinet.
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
GLORIOUS! Thanks for the brilliant walk-through.
That is sooooo cool! I'm gonna have to fly in from America just to check out this museum.
That was my vision of future high-tech when I was a kid. And I’m still impressed! Thx!
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.
Love what you're doing with this channel. There's not only a huge market but also a massive professional playground for integrating old synth tech with new synth tech. The trick is getting your hands on the old synth tech since so many people are learning what it's capable of these days. However, I'd rather people learn the value of it and drive up the price than let it rot in basements or major label studio closets.
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
Absolutely Amazing for it's time! Needs a see-thru case!
I love the idea of this museum so much! I wish I lived closer so I could come visit!
I think a glass cabinet and an external set of buttons to manually play the drums would be awesome. Valves would be on all the time but you could leave the motor disconnected. Viewers still get to hear how it sounds and interact with it. Win-win!
Then later on you could build a controller to simulate the sequencer wheel, using its outputs to play sounds through the original machine, letting viewers use it in all its glory without putting any wear on the sequence wheel!
Yeah, it was infinitely more interesting to look at without that cabinet blocking the view! - Cool contraption!
Love this channel.. always learning something. You're the best
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!
For what it's worth, your museum is the only thing I know of in England that I want to see.
This is one of the coolest pieces of equipment that you have ever featured!
The speed control driver disc mechanism is the exact same mechanism used to control the speed on my old Snapper lawn mower except for in reverse. Instead of the big flywheel being driven by the Little Wheel the big flywheel Drive The Little Wheel. This is actually a big innovation and allowed for something known as "shift on the go".
Wow, it actually sounds way better than I expected! Love these electromechanical solutions from back then, so much clever engineering.
Was going to say the same. Sounds pretty good.
I've been smiling and laughing away all through this video - absolutely brilliant - pure joy.
I didn't know these existed, I thought drum machines were invented in the nineties. Fantastic piece of history, I love it. If it was mine I would check out capacitors for leakage and replace if necessary, and for resistors that have drifted in value, they are probably carbon composition and things like cathode resistors are critical for correct bias of output valves. Doing this will avoid stressing out the valves leading to failure. These must be rare, I would treasure it.
I like that you cover quirks and features then show us how it handles on the ro...ears.
WOW! That is an amazing piece of tech! I knew Wurlitzer made joke boxes, but this is on another level! What an absolute marvel of engineering!
This thing sounds lovely, so much fun!