Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
My first instrument was a single manual electrically blown reed organ. Later on I had the Hammond HX100 and Casio keyboard. However, in 2001 the opportunity came to a fulfil a dream in having a Compton organ. However, some history on this fascinating firm first which was British owned throughout it's long life.
The John Compton Organ Company of London traded from the 1900's right up until 1970. They were perhaps more famous for their cinema organs but built many fine church instruments including Downside Abbey in 1931. They were also the first company to pioneer electronic tones as far back as 1929. From this was developed the "melotone" and first used as an attachment on their cinema organs from 1935. By the end of the 1930s his had been developed into a complete electronic instrument with the theatre model called the "theatrone" and the church model the "electrone".
This was not the only device Compton's developed though. They developed the "polyphone bass" whereby it was possible to produce several notes from a single pipe, "acoustic cubes" (which did the same as the latter), double touch cancelling (very useful!) and luminous stop control which is now common in digital electronic instruments. Another patent of Compton was the "solo cello" which was basically an amplified string with mechanical "fingers" operated from the organ keys. The solo cello was used on the cinema organs until it was phased out by the melotone. Today the solo cello is extremely rare with only a few working examples remaining.
After World War 2, Compton's developed their range of electronic instruments from the prestigious 347 model right down to a single manual model. They also built many "custom" instruments of 3 and 4 manuals and even a 5 manual! They also developed a speaker called the "rotofon" which basically made the organ sound more like a pipe organ.
In the electrone's the sounds are produced not from solid state circuitry but by means of 12 rotating discs (1 for each note in the Octave). The pre war melotone's used 2 discs.
The most common electrone to be found is the 357 which is a standard church model developed in 1957 with a newer version brought out in the 1960s. In 2001 I was lucky in being able to purchase a 1960s version for a good price and shortly after I obtained the original version also. Both instruments being kept in the garage! Moving to Worcester in 2003 I sold the 1960s 357 and in 2004 exchanged the original 357 for a Compton 352 model.
The 352 instrument named the "melotone" (confusing?) which was very popular in holiday camps, bars, hotels and clubs. In 2004 I had the opportunity to obtain one of these. The 357 model was the church version of the 352 and a few months after purchasing the 352 I purchased a 357 special (which had couplers and thumb pistons)and using the stops, voicing circuitry etc, I was able to produce a theatre model with couplers and pistons which the 352 lacked. This was further enhanced by the addition of Kimber-Allen toe pistons obtained from Henry Willis organ builders. Some alterations were made to the specification bringing it in line to the average Compton cinema organ.
The specification of my organ reads:
MANUAL II
Contra Oboe
Tibia
Tuba
Tibia
Clarinet
Oboe
Gamba
Hohl Flute
Clarion
Tibia
Nazard
Piccolo
MANUAL I
Bourdon
Tuba
Tibia
Gamba
Hohl Flute
Tibia
Flute
Flautino
Manual II to Manual I
PEDAL
Contra Bourdon
Trombone
Tibia
Bourdon
Tuba
Tibia
Flute
Flute
Manual I to Pedal
Manual II to Pedal
16'
8'
8'
8'
8'
4'
4'
2'
16'
16'
8'
8'
8'
8'
8'
8'
4'
4'
2.2/3'
2'
32'
16'
16'
16'
8'
8'
8'
4'
ACCESSORIES
Tremulant (affecting all divisions)
4 double touch thumb pistons to Manual I and Pedal
4 double touch thumb pistons to Manual II and Pedal
4 toe pistons to Pedal
1 coupler thumb piston duplicated by toe piston - Manual I to Pedal
1 coupler thumb piston - Manual II to Pedal
1 balanced swell expression pedal - Pedal and Manual I
1 balanced swell expression pedal - Pedal and Manual II
Double touch canceller to each division
1 extra amplifer switch
The matching speaker cabinet containing 2 Goodmans speakers - a 12' bass and an 8' treble. Here are 2 of my 8 cats - Jasper on the left and Molly on the right. Sadly, Jasper died on 17th January 2007.
Me Practicing "Summer Holiday".
The console which contains the 12 tone generators, amplifers, power supply and relays, in the famous 352 decor - ebony black and ivory white.
This organ is now over 50 years old, has had a lot of use but still sounding as if it were delivered brand new yesterday! Virtually all the materials and components are original and the organ was not manufactured abroad (as is usually the case today) but hand built at the Compton factory in Acton, London!
It's interesting to compare the Compton against a washing machine we had from new which gave us a mere 5 years of service and a microwave oven which lasted even less - 2 years!
I am confident that this organ will last another 50 years if not more! Now that has to be good value for money!
This organ, along with others of this type, are not only a tribute to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd but to British manufacturing in general - when Great Britain built things to last!
For more information on Compton organs please click
In the next couple of months I will be acquiring a fine 3 manual Viscount digital electronic church organ. A photograph of this along with the specification will be added then.
Occasionally I get asked to play for events such as funerals where there is no organ available. In this situation I am able to use my XY-889 keyboard. Whilst it is a very basic model, it features one of the best pipe organ tones I have ever heard on an electronic keyboard.
