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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, NOVEMBER, 1U0
Five Years
of Electronics
as applied to organs and pianos
shows steadily increasing possibilities
LECTRONIC organs and pianos have
now been marketed for five years.
On another page of this issue is
told the story of a ten year period -which
has been spent in adapting the electronic
principle to the piano. The first electronic
organs appeared in 1935. It was then
that the Hammond Clock Co., introduced
the Hammond Organ and the Everett
Piano Co., South Haven, Mich, announced
the Orgatron. The introduction of these
two instruments stirred up much discus-
sion especially among the manufacturers
of pipe organs who held a meeting in
New York in August of that year primarily
to discuss the situation -which had arisen
from the introduction of these electronic
instruments and which it was felt would
revolutionize the organ industry to no
small extent. At this meeting recommen-
dations of cooperation with electronic
organ builders were made.
At the convention of the National Asso-
ciation of Music Merchants held in
Chicago at the Hotel Stevens that year
Everett Orgatron was both displayed and
demonstrated. The Gulbransen Co.,
Chicago also displayed an electronic
E
spinet organ. The Hammond Clock Co.,
which is now the Hammond Instrument
Co. also announced the Hammond elec-
tronic organ that year and demonstrated
it in many leading cities in the East it
opened a studio in the RCA Building,
Radio City, New York where the new in-
strument was demonstrated and played
upon by many prominent musicians.
It was not until the next year, 1936,
however, that electronic pianos com-
menced to appear. The first showing of
an instrument of this type -was at the
Chicago convention of the National Asso-
ciation of Music Merchants where Ben-
jamin F. Miessner, pioneer inventor of the
electronic principal, exhibited an elec-
tronic grand piano. After this exhibit
several piano manufacturers took out
licenses under the Miessner patents and
went to work developing electronic in-
struments. One of the first was the
Krakauer Electone -which was produced
by Krakauer Bros., New York. Then in
1938 Hardman-Peck <£ Co., New York an-
nounced the Minipiano Electronic and the
Ansley Radio Corp., New York announced
the Dynatone. In 1939 the Story & Clark
Orgatron Single and Two Manual Types
Tubular and all Electric.
"So far as the ultimate effect is concerned,
HE Orgatron, manufactured by the Everett
T
Piano Company, first entered the market in the Orgatron is in all essentials a pipe organ.
the Fall of 1935. Since its inception it has been It is played as a pipe organ, and through its
sold in all civilized countries.
Several models have been produced, each
embodying major improvements in the mechan-
ical construction. Today the instrument is ob-
tainable in a two-manual and pedal type known
as the 600 Series, and a single-manual, the
Model 5. The 600 Series is made according
to the specifications established by the Ameri-
can Guild of Organists, and therefore is an in-
strument upon which organ music can be played
as written.
Regarding the development of the Orgatron,
George W. Stapely, president of the company
recently stated:
"The Orgatron is built under exclusive patents
controlled by the Everett Piano Co. In principle,
the system of tone-production embodied in
these patents covers the use of wind-driven
vibrators which, being electrically charged, set
up a wave form picked up, in turn, by an ad-
justable tone screw and amplified to a tone
resembling in fidelity that of various pipe organ
stops. The instrument being tuned according
to the tempered scale employed in all musical
instruments is, therefore, most suitable as a
solo instrument, and when played with orches-
tra or choir furnishes a background which in
tone is in unison with other instruments or
the human voice.
ability to sound its various stops singly or in
The late Frederick Albert Hoschke demonstrated
the first orgatron at the Everett factory in 1935
chorus it is possible to produce an ensemble
effect similar to that of the pipe organ.
"The excellence and widespread use of the
Piano Co., Chicago invited over 100 of
their dealers to its plant in Grand Haven,
Mich, where the Storytone and electronic
instrument "Voiced By RCA" was intro-
duced. All of these instruments with the
exception of the Dynatone are furnished
with a bench in which is a radio phono-
graph which operates through the piano.
The Dynatone. however, is differently
constructed in that the radio is installed
on one side of the keyboard and the radio
phonograph on the other.
It was in 1939 also that Gulbransen Co.
announced the Magnatone Organ. While
B. F. Miessner had since 1930 been work-
ing on devices for the reproduction of
music electronically in respect to the
piano, and had taken out patents on many
devices, Laurens Hammond, head of the
Hammond Instrument Co. and the late
Frederick Albert Hoschke who was tech-
nical advisor to the Everett Piano Co. had
been developing electronic organs.
The first Orgatron introduced by the
Everett Piano Co. in 1935 was a single
manual instrument then a two manual
with foot pedals was introduced. Since
then several new models have been de-
veloped. At present the company is pro-
ducing two distinct types of instruments,
one a tubular and the other an all electric.
Orgatron is evidenced by its installation in thou-
sands of churches and' institutions, as well as
homes, where the highest of organ music is de-
sired. The Orgatron was selected for use in
the President's Reception Room of the New York
World's Fair.
"From the date of the inception of the Orga-
tron, we decided to follow as closely as possi-
ble the best in pipe organ technique and
therefore when the Orgatron Division was first
established several of the key men of one of
the larger pipe organ factories were employed
as a nucleus for building the future organiza-
tion. These men now occupy important positions
with the company, and are supervisors for
the large number of employees engaged in
Orgatron production.
"We have established the Orgatron as a per-
manent part of the organization, and are con-
stantly experimenting with new and improved
methods which are being embodied in the in-
strument as time permits. Today Orgatrons are
sold by several hundred representative dealers
in the United States and foreign countries, and
production is carried on both at South Haven,
Mich, and Toronto, Canada, from which a cer-
tain portion of the foreign market is served.
Notwithstanding war conditions, a very substan-
tial amount of export business is being con-
ducted at present."
(Turn to Page 13)