hosscat Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (UPDATE 7/14/16) The snare drum mechanism is back on the organ and playing. It has been on for 2 weeks now but a small issue had the organ not playing for a few days. Now it should be playing continuously again! Here's a video I took showing the snare drum in action: The freshly refurbished snare drum mechanism at Kings Island is playing up a storm! pic.twitter.com/JO22dpunhe — Mechanical Music (@mechanicalmusic) July 1, 2016 (UPDATE 5/13/16) Here is a before and after photo of the newly refurbished snare drum mechanism to be installed soon. Not only will it play - but reiterate like a real snare drum would! (UPDATE 5/11/2016) Went back to the park today to do more work on the organ - and left with it sounding pretty good with just a few minor issues! The tempo is fixed now! In other words - no more funeral marches. If anything, one of the rolls I just put on is running a little too fast! The handle that changes the tempo is still broken, but tempo can still easily be adjusted manually inside the organ. New front snare drum head! (the back head was in good shape) The fixed snare mechanism also arrived today.... After I got back from the park. So the reiterating snare drum will be back soon, but not yet. TUNED! (Not perfect, but it's much better) Me and a few guys from maintenance moved the facade forward and the organ back and I went through and tuned about half of the organ with the time that I had. I did not have time to tune the entire organ though, so some ranks of pipes are not on, simply because it wouldn't sound too good! The extra ranks are controlled by 2 draw stops on the side of the organ, so while there are ranks not playing - this could be reversed with just pushing in a stop. A lot of cleaning was also done to the areas around the drums also. The two rolls now playing are 6612 and 6641. Still much work to be done, but most of this is something to be saved for the wintertime. The 'thing' in the pipe, for the record, is to stop the pipe from playing while being tuned. Several ranks play from one note on the roll, so this allows each individual pipe to be tuned. (Original 4/18) Hello everyone! I was at the park 4/18 (Monday after opening weekend) to do work on the band organ and spent around 5 hours on various things. It was absolutely wonderful working with the skilled, friendly people in the maintenance department who helped me a great deal; you never get a real appreciation of a park until you meet the people behind it! First of all, I changed the rolls, the rolls currently playing now are 6681-6682 and my own arranged roll: 6614. Second, new bass drum heads were put on. The old ones were in pretty poor shape, probably being around 30 or so years old. (They were not the originals)I also have new snare drum heads to be put on, but it wasn't practical to put them on yet as the snare drum is currently not in operation. Speaking of the snare drum, I have sent the mechanism out to a specialist in Pennsylvania for repair. The snare drum mechanism has not reiterated for (what I hear) around 25 or more years but will be back sounding great, along with new snare drum heads in a few weeks. Some problems I should address that I wish to fix soon: 1. Again, the snare drum mechanism is not on the organ right now, it is being fixed and will be back soon. 2. The (low bass) trombone pipes have been malfunctioning which is why they have not been on the past 3 years the organ has played. A draw stop on the side of the organ turns them on/off, but when on, one note consistently plays, this is likely due to some small particles blocking the action from moving, which I would like to fix soon. 3. The organ needs a good tuning, I am aware of this! This was what I was going to do Monday, but I got caught up on other things such as the bass drum heads, which took longer to install than I originally thought! 4. The tempo is quite slow and the tempo control is not connected to the mechanism as of right now. At least it gives a longer amount of time before a song repeats! If anyone goes to Kings Island the next few weeks and hears it - let me know what you think! It's going to be a long haul to get the organ back to what it was, but it's one I'm willing to go through! Mikey Mills www.mechanicalmusic.org 31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Awesome, I was wondering if you were going to be continuing work on the band organ. It has made such a difference, I was hoping you were. I will make a point of riding and listening when I'm there this weekend! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haru-Kun Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Fantastic! I'll be sure to listen this weekend as well. Appreciate what you do. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Thanks for the update and taking the time to help Kings Island preserve this wonderful piece of history! I thoroughly enjoyed riding the carousel multiple times this weekend to hear the band organ playing. It just adds a magical element to the ride that can`t be replicated with piped in music. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Excellent work, Mikey! As it stands now, as a percentage, how close is it to full restoration? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperial79 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Thanks for working on it! It is sounding a lot better then what it did. I hope someone gets some video after you are all done. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosscat Posted April 21, 2016 Author Share Posted April 21, 2016 Excellent work, Mikey! As it stands now, as a percentage, how close is it to full restoration? I can't say that this is exactly a restoration, but I am wanting to get it playing well again. If I had to give you a percentage - maybe 1%. It played pretty nicely in July of last year, but I'm going for the best its been in a LONG time! The staff at KI are also enthusiastic about getting the organ 'up to snuff'. It's simply a matter of effort and time! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Nice to know it's getting updated and fixed. I passed it last Friday, and it was playing, at a slower pace, "My Uncle Sammy's Gals" from roll 6547. Glad to know the rolls are getting changed out each season. Can't wait to visit the park and hear the chiming bells and the snare again. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatbandguy8807 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 I remember freaking out last July when I heard it actually working. It about brought a tear to my Eyes. This excites me and I cannot express how much all of us are thankful for what you are doing. I have a home video from a ki trip back in '92 that my parents made and I watch it sometimes just to hear the organ play. I cannot wait to hear it progress and get better and better throughout the season/seasons to come Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haru-Kun Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 It sounds amazing!! KUDOS. Sent from my Pip-Boy 3000 via Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Sounds very nice. Got to hear "Beer Barrel Polka." First time I've ever heard the organ play something from the Come to the Fair album. Can't wait to hear it when it's completed. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 I loved what I heard of it tonight, if only a few minutes at the end of the day. The song had a bit that was reminiscent of "Man on the Flying Trapeze," but wasn't. I discovered that a band organ being stopped mid-song at the end of the night is one of the saddest sounds. Sort of a groan fading into a sigh. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dare-to-fly Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 I have GOT to ride the carousel so that I can hear it! For some reason this keeps slipping my mind, and that's just unacceptable. Thank you so much for all your work in preserving an important piece of history! As an avid fan of the classics, I definitely have a big appreciation!! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Only 1%..... Wow.... Keep going man appreciate the work! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Only 1%..... Wow.... Keep going man appreciate the work! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Yeah... You may want to pick up the pace too. You're falling behind.Totally kidding. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I was disappointed last night: when I rode the carousel, the organ was off and they were playing the recorded music. I look forward to listening each visit, I'm so happy the park has found you to work on it, hosscat (Mikey). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosscat Posted May 2, 2016 Author Share Posted May 2, 2016 I was disappointed last night: when I rode the carousel, the organ was off and they were playing the recorded music. I look forward to listening each visit, I'm so happy the park has found you to work on it, hosscat (Mikey). Not sure what happened as I haven't been to the park since the 18th of April. I'm returning with the fixed snare drum action the 11th of this month, and am also going to do a long awaited tuning. The maintenance department will likely have it playing next weekend if there's anything wrong with it! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 It was up again yesterday, so I was happy to get to hear it some more. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 I was glad to hear it again yesterday as well. Now I'm hoping they'll clean up the front of it and replace the bulbs on it as well. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosscat Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 5/11/16 -- Just updated this post with today's work 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Thanks for the update! Can't wait to hear it play again during my next visit. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldieButGoodie Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 You just made me the happiest guy around! I can't wait to hear the organ, and to watch and listen to your work. Thanks so much for sharing these photos - no way for any of us to really experience the journey without them, and it's much appreciated! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Are the bells/chimes that play along with the pipes working again? They worked off and on last year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosscat Posted May 12, 2016 Author Share Posted May 12, 2016 Are the bells/chimes that play along with the pipes working again? They worked off and on last year. No, the bells are currently not working I believe due to a broken lock and cancel valve. I'll keep you posted! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Thanks again for all your hard work on this! It's great to see so much progress being made in such a short time. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosscat Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 Thanks again for all your hard work on this! It's great to see so much progress being made in such a short time. It's my pleasure! It's an ongoing process that has been fun, exciting, and a great learning experience. It's also been a rare opportunity to meet some of the people who make the park the wonderful place it is! I am hoping that working with Kings Island can become a springboard to other parks such as Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, and Knott's Berry Farm having their band organs restored. I likely won't be able to do the work myself as I want to devote my time to KI's organ, but I have friends who could do terrific restorations and live close by to these locations. Of all of these though, Kings Island will always be my favorite! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Will there be more work done on the organ next season as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosscat Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Will there be more work done on the organ next season as well? I am looking to have the organ sent to me over the winter to do a significant amount of work on it. What you've heard so far is great, but if this goes through, the organ will sound better than it has in decades! I'm unsure if the organ is playing right now either, one of the gaskets are worn and causes the roll to jam up. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Last time I went by the Carousel at the end of August, it was not playing. Much to my disappointment. There is just something magical about the sound of the organ playing on the ride. Reminds me of riding the ride as a small child. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hosscat Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Last time I went by the Carousel at the end of August, it was not playing. Much to my disappointment. There is just something magical about the sound of the organ playing on the ride. Reminds me of riding the ride as a small child. That's what I was afraid of. It may not play for the rest of the season due to the gaskets. In my eyes though, Mystic Timbers will be a close second to how good this will sound in 2017! I am planning to go through the entire organ as well as do some cosmetic work. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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