hello folks,I just picked up a 4100a spinet and model 420 leslie/spectratone tone cab,paid $100 for the pair without even trying the stuff out which I normally never do but I've been wanting another spectratone cab so I took the plunge,the 420 looks to be in lovely condition but the organ sadly is in bad shape,the woodwork is shot,busted off leg/dents/cracks all over,a lot of keys don't work which is probably bad 12fq8 osc tubes but I'm just guessing,bass pedals are crudy inside and out and barely work at all,this is going to be reborn as an all purpose amplifier wood and all,I'm not one to tear up good organs but this is just not worth spending money on,if anyone needs parts for one of these let me know(pm me).I think using the amp and magnavox speakers in conjunction with the 420 will be a nice little setup,I need to know if it's okay to run the organ without all the 12fq8 tubes in there,I want to pull all those and also the 12ax7 along the top thats for the switch rail and sustain,does the main amp rely on any of this stuff for voltage/load purposes?,I'm reluctant to run it without until I know as I don't want to damage anything,help much appreciated as always!!!
Interesting! Be careful as these old tube Wurlitzers have a very high voltage. I have my second 4100A, and regretted I got rid of the first one. They are beautiful organs to look at if not ruined. They are what they are tone wise which I find not anything extra. I prefer some of the earlier Wurlitzer organs, and their first transistor models that came on the market.
Peanut:
My experience says to look at a thorough cleanup of all key switch, pedal switch and tab switch contacts. Those old 12FQ8 generators were pretty reliable, so wouldn't worry about them first. If you need one, I have a 4100-series service manual for sale from my collection. PM me or email at jan@theorgangrinder.net if interested. Pulling those tubes is not going to hurt anything, but I would encourage you to do a restoration of the organ instead of just using the amp.
. . . Jan
it would be nice to have it brought back up to playing condition but to be honest I don't really hear anything special with the tone/sound of this organ,I had another 60's wurlitzer spinet that I can't recall the model number of but it was one right after they went all transistor in the mid to late 60's and it was a horrible sounding organ,my first organ was a model 4037r and it was a beautiful sounding machine,it puts this 4100a to shame tonewise,of all the tube tone generator organs I've owned I must say that my lowrey heritage dso was by far the best sounding of them all and the best playing
You might have had the 4140 which was the lower version of the 4300 Wurlitzer that I thought was the very best of the transistor models along with ther 4500 console transistor Wurlitzer organs.
Oh yes, all of those Lowrey organs from the Holiday models on up were always great sounding organs be they tube or tansistor.
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