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Assessing a Console for Rebuilding
Determining whether or not it is worthwhile to recycle a console demands some serious thought. The following questions need to be asked:
What is the condition of the cabinetry? Does it only need refinishing or more than that? What will it take to restore it to 'like new' condition?
Is the pedalboard in good condition or do the white keys need recapping together with a new set of sharps?
Is the original quality and style of the console acceptable by today's standards?
What is the condition of the keyboards and stops? Will it need new keyboards and drawstops and/or tabs?
Is the console too large? Many older consoles housed large mechanical combination actions even when the organs had few stops. Older electronic organ consoles were often large because they had to house a lot of old electronics unlike the Phoenix system which is very compact.
Will major alterations be require to make the console a more suitable size?
Console Refinishing
Refinishing a console is hard work. There are a lot of square inches to strip, clean, stain and finish. If you must hire an individual or company to do this work, the cost could be prohibitive. You can expect to pay several thousand dollars for a good professional job and this is normally much more than the cost of finishing a brand new console! If there is any damage to the cabinetry, i.e. chips, gouges, etc., it may be almost impossible to repair properly at a reasonable cost. What makes the extra expense worthwhile is the value of the original materials and workmanship of older consoles. If the style of a console is still considered attractive and it is possible to attain a 'just like new' appearance, then it is probably well worthwhile rebuilding for use as either a pipe or electronic organ.
Pedalboards
A quality pedalboard is a major expense in the construction of any organ. Not only are most of the components made of solid hardwoods, but the structure must be strong enough to maintain tension of the pedal key springs. Felts and leathers may need replacing. Key contact switches must be in good shape and of high quality or else they will need replacing. Most Phoenix organs use chips called Hall Sensors for pedal switching as these have no moving parts and are sealed from air and dirt. A well used organ will show signs of wear on the pedal keys. White keys, particularly in the middle of the pedalboard, will be worn down so that they are no longer level with neighboring keys and flat on the playing surface instead of curved. These can be re-capped with new wood. Black keys are usually made of either plastic or hardwood but either can be quite badly worn down on the playing surface. They can be replaced quite easily, but all of these additional costs must be taken into consideration.
Keyboards
High quality wood-core keyboards are usually used on pipe organ consoles and some older electronic organs. They are often worth keeping especially if they have ivory, bone, or hardwood keytops. Even moulded plastic keytops on wooden keys may be of good durable quality. Check to be sure that the felt key bushings at both the center pin and front rail pin (underneath) are not worn as this will allow too much side-play in each key. The holes at the fulcrum point should also be checked for wear so as to avoid any 'rickety' feeling or rattles in old keyboards. Rebuilding keyboards can be expensive but a good job can make older keyboards feel like new and the original high quality key coverings may be a preferred material that may now be scarce. Ivory, for example, may be the choice of organists but this material is now illegal to import into most countries. Keyboard contacts are very important.Wire contacts, which are most often used in the pipe organ industry, are probably not going to be good enough to use with the new digital system. They are often somewhat burnt or pitted after years of use at higher current demands of the pipe magnets and they will no longer be dependable for the new electronic system. The voltage and current demands on key contacts used with the Phoenix system are minute compared to those of older pipe organs so a more delicate contact is required. We normally use enclosed contacts which are not affected by dirt or air polution. Standard Phoenix keyboards are metal-framed with plastic keytops and bubble contacts which operate trouble-free indefinitely. These keyboards are relatively inexpensive and the great advantage is that they can be hooked up instantly to the Phoenix system. The usual time consuming task of soldering hundreds of wires is eliminated. New wood-core keyboards with more exotic materials on the playing surfaces are available but costs are much higher than our standard ones.
Pistons
By today's standards, most older consoles had small numbers of pistons. Organists now usually expect many more than was once considered sufficient and this means that you will likely need to replace the thumb piston rails and possibly even the woodwork on which the toe pistons are mounted. The Phoenix system is prepared for handling more pistons than most consoles would ever be able to house and there are multiple combination memories. Sixteen is standard but more can be added.
Installing the Phoenix System
The Phoenix system was designed from the ground up for easily retrofitting an existing console. Most connections are made by plugging in ribbon cable connectors but assembling such a complicated set of high-tech components may not be suitable for a non-organbuilder to undertake. By far, the easiest to build is a lighted tab console using the Phoenix lighted tab assemblies. Drawknobs involve hand wiring and this is not a quick and simple job. Moving tabs also involve extra effort. If a used console already has electro-magnetic drawknobs or tabs that are in good shape, then this could save a lot of time and money. Check to make sure that they all operate quietly with the combination action before deciding not to replace them. A separate power supply is needed to operate the solenoids and this should be checked.