The Organ Forum

Hello there, new to the forums and to organ playing in general, so forgive me for being a little green.

Recently, I became the proud owner of a Lowery Virtuoso Organ, which based on my research is of late '60's vintage. wonderful sounding organ, has a leslie built in, but a few of the reed switches are broken. Not a big deal, but I was looking to find out more about my organ, namely if I can hook a Leslie 147 up to it. I opened up the back and found the Organ's amp, and found two pin connectors. Now, I am aware that with a Hammond at least you need these connectors to hook the Leslie into it, but which one do I use?

I have read that "you can hook any Organ up with any Leslie." Is this true? Any Insight into this or the history of the Lowery Virtuoso would be greatly appreciated!

Also, Goldy McJohn is awesome. Thank You.

In the beginning (of electric organs) there was Hammond. And Don Leslie said, it was good. However, it could be better! He designed the famous Leslie speaker to enhance the sound of the Hammond organ. In fact, not to give it a rock & roll sound or a Gospel sound, but rather to make it sound more like a pipe organ!

The first Hammond organs were single channel organs so the Leslies were single channel. So is the 147. Many home organs like the Lowrey are built with two channels. One channel of flutes, and the other with everything else. (Reeds, strings, diapasons, drums etc.) Since the Leslie effect only seems to really enhance the Flute tones, the home organs would place the internal Leslie on the flute channel, while the "main" channel would go through stationary speakers.

So, to connect a single channel Leslie to a two channel organ, you would normally connect it only to the Flute channel. Leslie also made multichannel models so all organ channels could be used through the external cabinet. Typically,  4 channels is the max.

As for Goldy, McJohn, you will never get his sound out of a Lowrey sad to say. It will certainly make it better than it is, but not a Hammond.

BTW. when they went into the studio to record "Born to be Wild", the upper driver in the studio Leslie was out! So, they unplugged to woofer from the crossover and plugged it directly into the Leslie Amp. (Same plug size) Now, the whole signal range was going into the woofer. This is why the organ sounds like it does on BTBW and why the spin up and spin down speed changes are so long.

George

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Organs

Hammond B-3/145
Hammond Super B (MIDI Controller)
Yamaha FX-1 - TM-1 x 2

Synths

Korg Triton Pro
Yamaha P-80
Native Instruments Soft Synths;
Akoustik Piano, Electrik Piano, B4II,
FM-8, Pro-53, Massive, Absynth,
OPXpro, Mtron

I'm not exactly sure what model you have there. According to the Blue Book, and my own knowledge, there is no such model as a Lowrey Virtuoso. There was a TLOK-V "Holiday with Virtuoso", the virtuoso bit being a small keyboard above the upper manual that plays arpeggios based on the chords played on the lower.

Post a pic for us and we'll know what you have.

All smaller spinet Lowreys from the 60's were single channel, the Holiday being one. Some of the larger spinets and all consoles were two channels or more.

You will have to buy or make a connector kit to hook up a 147. It's very easy to do and the wiring diagrams can be found on Captain Foldback's leslie pages if you want to do it yourself.

If yours is a single channel organ then you'll take the signal at a point pretty soon after the main amp, before it goes to the leslie switch and crossover between bass and treble speakers. Or you could just take it from just before the crossover. If it's a two channel organ, you'll take the signal from the wires that go off to the OEM internal leslie.

We can give you some more details once we know what model you actually have.

Andy

 

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It's not what you play, it's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.

G'day,

The Lowrey TLOKV Holiday released in 1972 was the only model where the virtuoso keyboard was installed as standard, however it was an option on several other models, and for a time was known as the "symplifier".

Assuming the Lowrey you have is a single channel spinet from around that era, the Leslie 147 connection is an easy matter using Leslie connector kit #594-461473 which can be obtained from any Hammond Suzuki/Leslie dealer.

Cheers,

Ian

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"If music be the food of love, play on!" - William Shakespeare.

I'll try to get some pictures up later this week.

I read on Goldy's website that he used a Lowery Home organ- I've never seen a model just called a Home Organ, and I had read about the top rotor. I'd like to make a similar modification; I love that slow rise time and thick sound.

Thanks much!

There is no actual model called a Lowrey Home Organ! It's a type of instrument that's being referred to. Lowrey's were all home organs, even though they were sometimes used by pros and gigged around.

Does this Lowrey not have it's own built-in single rotor leslie unit? If it does, it will get quite near to that sound that you're after all on its own.

Andy

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It's not what you play, it's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.

andyg:

 Lowrey's were all home organs

May I humbly beg to differ, Andy G.

I seem to remember reading some posts on this very forum, including one or two from your good self, that tried to ascertain whether Lowrey made a church organ, whether it was model C32 or CH32, and whether Lowrey actually manufactured none, one or both of them and it was eventually agreed that Lowrey did in fact manufacture a church organ, and it was model CH32.

About the only thing the posters could not determine was whether the sound of model CH32 was more suited to the traditional sombre tones of the Catholic Mass or the maniacal hysteria of a Pentecostal revival meeting.

I would also like to draw your attention to another lesser known member of the Lowrey family, a lovely little organ that found its place in the sun with the the Middle East Bedouin, the Australian Aborigines and the Bushmen of the Kalahari, all of whom are nomadic people. The Lowrey model L2 "Wandering Genie" after much frustration certainly found its niche with these folk. Being constantly on the move and even given its very nomenclature this little gem could hardly be considered a home organ, could it?

SP

 

 

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"Live every day as though it was your last.
One day, you'll be right".

I will share a bit of info here.  Lowrey Church organs were made by Rodgers, and just had the Lowrey logo on them.  They didn't make them for very many years.  It is a good question if these are more like the realistic church organs most  denominations were interested in having for true worship, or did they give that Hammond like sound found among those "maniacal hysteria of a Pentecostal revival meeting" such as the mess I was dragged to  each week and more while growing up.

 

James

I stand corrected, SP! I really shouldn't answer posts while eating breakfast and preparing today's lessons for my first day of term at the schools! (Just got home, and survived, despite three changes of timetable within the first hour! )

There was, as we discovered, a Lowrey CH32 church model, which was a 32 note pedal of the CH, then the rebadged 'Rodgers' C32.

My half-asleep brain was thinking more along the lines that they didn't make cheesy Farfisa/Vox-like portables, or have organs that were often 'gigged' like the B3/C3 etc. most stayed put in the lounge with Auntie Ethel as resident organist. As for the 'Wonder-Why Genie', that was still classed as a home organ over here. Mind you, we don't have the wide open spaces like you lot.

Andy

 

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It's not what you play, it's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.

It does have a built in Leslie. However, it only has the one speed, no chorale setting. Also, I can't overdrive it at all. That is the purpose of adding the 147- it's easily overdriven and has that "swirling" sound. I will try to get pictures up as soon as I can figure out my camera.

andyg:

 I really shouldn't answer posts while eating breakfast

There was, as we discovered, a Lowrey CH32 church model, which was a 32 note pedal of the CH, then the rebadged 'Rodgers' C32.

G'day guys,

I don't want to get Sarah's knickers in a knot or have Andy choke on his Kelloggs Bran Flakes, but I have just discovered that there were infact 5 Lowrey church organs.

Firstly model C32, b.1966, the rebadged Rodgers. What remains are all Lowrey Lowreys

Model CH, b.1959, church version of FL Festival.

Model CHO, b.1963,  as model CH, but adds AOC for one fingered lady organists.

Model CH32, b.1968, all trannie AGO version of CHO

Model CH32-1, b.1968, as model CH32, but adds multi channel chorus, therefore it must be stereo!  My pic of CH32 shows the very nice touch of making the Leslie side speaker vent simulate a stained glass window.

Now James, to allay your fears about Lowrey sound, let me assure you that the addition of Multi Channel Chorus was not designed for pentecostal meetings (and I am not one to swoon over the rantings of self styled preachers), but so the Lowrey could be heard over the voices of George "Bev" Shea & the 200 voice chorus heard at Billy Graham Crusades when leading the singing of "The Old Rugged Cross", certainly not a pentecostal number.

Shalom,

Ian

 

 

 

 

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"If music be the food of love, play on!" - William Shakespeare.

From their rarity, you might almost think that, yes, they made 5 church organs - TOTAL!

Ok, here's a good photo of the TLOK-V, showing the Virtuoso unit.

 

A couple of thoughts. By the time of the Holiday TLO-K and the TLOK-V, wasn't the internal leslie 2 speed? There was no slow/fast tab, but I recall a tab for chorus - I think it's the black one at the front, lower right cheeck block. When that tab was on without the tremolo tab on, I think it gave slow leslie.

All those as old as me, think back to that group of rockers. Am I right?

Secondly, weren't some of the last TLOK's wired for a 147, like the GAK series? I know the TLOK-S was, but I'm sure I once played a Holiday and 145 without any switchgear.

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It's not what you play, it's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.

andyg:

 

A couple of thoughts. By the time of the Holiday TLO-K and the TLOK-V, wasn't the internal leslie 2 speed?

Secondly, weren't some of the last TLOK's wired for a 147, like the GAK series? I know the TLOK-S was,

G'day Andy,

Spot on,  2 speed Leslies 1st appeared on TLO-1 and continued thru TLOKS, then unfortunately disappeared again with TGO/TGS.

I don't remember a Leslie int/ext tab on the TLOK instruments, but it certainly appeared on TLOKS, along with 2 tone cab sockets. Even little brother LC98KSG Venus was so equipped - sold my share of 125's with that little mother,

Kam-pai,

Ian

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"If music be the food of love, play on!" - William Shakespeare.