The Organ Forum

I know of a Conn Rhapsody 628-4 Theatre organ for sale.

The person is asking $700.  I haven't seen it yet.

Is that a fair price?

How old is this organ?  Is it any good?

Can it be made into a MIDI easily and inexpensively?

Tony

Tony Milwaukee:

I know of a Conn Rhapsody 628-4 Theatre organ for sale. The person is asking $700. 

G'day Tony,

The 628 Rhapsody 61/61/25 console dates back to 1968 and marks the changeover from tubes to transistor in that series.  As for the price $700 is way over the top. As a comparison there is currently a 1968 Serenade 632 (big brother to 628) on Ebay OZ with a buy now price of AUD$50 (USD $40),  which pretty much say it all.

As for a midi retrofit, the answer is yes, over here a unit that works would cost AUD$1500 (USD$1200) installed.

Cheers,

Ian

Tony Milwaukee:

The person is asking $700.  I haven't seen it yet.

Is that a fair price?

How old is this organ?  Is it any good?

Can it be made into a MIDI easily and inexpensively?

The Conn Rhapsody is not a theatre organ. It is more of a church organ regarding style and voicing. This model dates back to around 1973; so it has no real commercial value. Certainly $700 is waaay high, even if it's in perfect working order (this week).

Anything can be made into a midi, but this would not be a good candidate. And without a 32 note pedal board, it wouldn't even be a good prospect for a rebuild, such as this one: http://phoenixorgans.com/installation.php?installation=86 

From what you guys have said about the Conn Rhapsody 628-4, the organ that this person is selling must be a different kind of Conn.

They sent me a picture of the organ and it has 3 manuals and a 32 note pedal board.

They also said it was from 1980.

That doesn't sound like what you are saying a Conn Rhapsody looks like.

How much would a Conn with 3 manuals and 32 pedals be worth?

Is $700 too much?

Tony

3 manuals means its either an 830 Classic or one of the 65x theatre series. 1980 would mean a 652.That makes a big difference to the value, so maybe that figure isn't so bad after all, but it depends how well it's working too. Let's see that photo and we'll know for sure - if the photo is actually of the organ that's being sold.

There were two 'flavours' of the Rhapsody, BTW. The straight one that Clarion mentions and the Rhapsody Deluxe, with added 'toys' like Voice Fun Master.

Andy

Here is the organ.  What kind is it? 

How much is it worth?

Tony

That's either a 650 or 651 Theatre. Almost impossible to say from this pic. The 651 has an automatic rhythm unit in the lower left cheek block and the 650 doesn't. There are a few other differences but that's the clincher.

Neither are from 1980. The 650 ran from 1968 to 1973 and the 651 from 1973 to 1978.

Worth $700? In full working order, I'd pay the UK equivalent if I were after a 3-deck console.

Read through some of the Conn threads on this site for details on reliability issues etc. Converting it for MIDI has also been dealt with here and also over on the MidiTzer site at www.virtualorgan.com

Any idea why they called the organ a Rhapsody?

Andy

Looks like a Conn 650/651. Nice organ! Slowdog294 has a bunch of videos played on this organ on Youtube, i.e.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=iNVZrXYb71M

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=IvBEHo9YF_c