Introduction... 1 Non-Speaking Stops...6
The Timbre Controls
Th. Boloncer Conhols
General Informetion... 2
Elcctricol
Doto
Kcyboords
ond Control3 Percuision ond Rcverberotion
Chimes ond the
Chimcs Pre-Set Piston
Stop Tablets. . .4
Generol Intormotion
Using thc Sp€oking Stop!
The Care of Your
Non-Speaking Stops... 5Gulbransen Organ...10
Gontents
Genlrol Informotion
Th. Trcholo
Pedol Sustoin
Omaga...7
Registration. . . 8
Accegsories. . . 11
Introduction
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In 1957 Gulbrans€n Company introduced the world's
first transisto. organ. This instnment included per-
cussion, reverberation, and an adaptation of th€ I€s
lie Tremolo System- Thes€ features were all s€lf-@n-
tained in the organ onsole and were standard equip
ment-a new oncept in electrcnic orga design
which was to rcvolutionize the entire electronic orsan
Your new Model E Gulbransen Or8an has ben
manufactured followins the same basic concepts that
are a product ol the Culbrds€n Rese€rch l,aborator-
i€s. Only the finest marerials are used in kepins with
th€ Gulbransen tradition of bringing you quality key-
board instruments.
The purpose of this manual is to acquaint you with
ihis new orsan, to pmvide the basic inlormation you
wilt need in th€ op€mtion of its contrcls, and to sup-
ply instructioN p€rtinent to the small amount of spe-
cial care it will r€quire.
We sincerely urse that you read the nanual all th€
way through before starting l,o play. You will want
to read variou8 sections asain as your playinS pro-
ficiency increases. The tim€ you spend readins a.d
re-readins it will be richly .ewarded in added pleas-
ure and enjoynent of the new Model E GulbEns€n
Transistor Organ.
A smple resistration she€t is included in ne md-
ual. This contains suSg€Led slop settings for various
types of mu8ic. Instruclion books and materials ar€
also supplied in the O"ners Nit which you received
with the o.san. We sussest that you read the gene.al
information €ontained which will further explaiD the
operation of the orgm.
General fnformation
Electrical Data
The orsan op€rates on A.C. (aliematins erlar/
only. Never plug the organ into a D.C. (&rect anr-
rent) outlet. The standard home power supply of 60
cycle 117 voltr is the co.rect power suppty. The rran-
6iator ione g€nerating syltem h very elficlent and
rcqui.es very little power. Any ordinary hom€ power
outlet is qu;l€ suffic;enr
ard no sp€cial
wirins ig
requi.ed Eince
a uorimam of only 0 watts ot power
The OFF/ON switch is tocat€d to the risht of the
lower k€yboard and ha! a pilot lighr indicating wh€n
the Bwitch is "on',. The orgen is reedy to play in
about ten !€conds after the swihh is tumed ..on".
Keyboards and Controls
SWELI.
MANUAT
This is also known
as the upp€r
keyboard
or ..Soto,,
manual.
cenerally it is played with the ght hand,
but many times it is played with both hands or ju€t
the left hand alone.
GREAT
}iIANUAI.
This is also known as th€ lower keyboard or ,.Accom-
paniment" manual- Althoush the lefr hed is senerally
used on thb manual, thelo a!6 hary occ!8ions whet
both hands are used or just the risht hand alone.
PEDAT
KEYBOARD
Th€ pedal keyboad, or pedal clavier, is usuatty ptay-
ed with the left foot when playing poputar music. Fo.
classical and chu.ch work it is necessary to use borh
f€et.
EXPRESSION
CONTROT
This control is operated with the risht foot and e-
able3 th€ organist io inst€ntly adju€t the volume or
loudne€€
oI the orsan to any desired lev€t. A rather
continual or frequent chang€ in volum€ is the pracric€
ot most players
io shade" or "color" the musjc ac-
cording to the requirements of the s€lection beins
played.
Pedal
Stops
a nd
Swell Sto
ps
Stop Tablets
General lnformation
Orisinally, the word "!top" in pip€ orsan lanslage
rel€rl€d to the control which "stopp€d" the wind to a
specific group or Iank of pipe€. The stop rrttrked 1a
q,ould contrcl a mn! of pipes th€ laig€€t of which
would b€ 16 in lensth The 8' stop r€fetrled to a ranlr
in which the lsrg€st pip€ would b€ 8' in tenstlt.
B€cau!€ these footage rna*in8B have been the orgsn-
ists unit of pipe measure throushout the yea.s,
Gulbraru€n has rnaintain€d the s]€t€m.
A color code is Eaintained on the stop ttblets {or
both the SweU Manurl and the Gr€at Manual: sr€€n
engravins for individual speking voic$, black en-
graving Ior cohbination tablets. For example, the
Diapason ld on the Swell Manual i! a conbination
of the Bourdon 16', fibia g and Tibia 4'.
lte black tebleb Eudr e! lYemolq Ttnbre, and Eo
torth, are call€d 'tlon-3peaking" Etop8 whid by theh-
selv€6 create no tone but affect the sperking stoF.
Thele are exprained in detail in the section mverinS
non.8pe3kins Etops.
Using the Speaking Stops
There ale no set rul€€ regarding the .eSistration of
the or8an. This is a matt€r of taste and dep€nds
upon
the o.ganist and the s€l€ction beins plaved. The
sinSle exc€ption to this is that you should nev€r us€
the f.actional atDps, 13/6', 22ht, 5y3', by thems€lve!.
They ehould be us€d in coniunction with the even
foot€d 6tops to change the tone color or to add "spice"
to the r€sistration being u!€d.
Usually, the melody is played on the Swell Manual
and a complim€nting accompaniment is played or
the Grert Manual. The p€dal ltops should be sel€ct€d
so ss to blerd with Orc rnanud resistlation to add
rhythd or a "beat." At leslt one sp€aking stop must
be "on' for ead of the manuals to create a tone.
We urse you to exp€riment with th€ stop tablets
to tsmiliarire youEelf with your new Gulbranm
Orsen and to find rcgilkation€ that are pl€aaing to
your ear. We have includ€d a few sample rcgistrations
in this manual to assist you in addition to the music
book! includ€d i! the Owner8 Kit.
Tremolo
&
Timbre
Stops
and
Great
Sto
ps
Non-Speaking Stops
General Information
The blqck tablets on your Model E cutbrans€n
Orsan arc referred to 6s non-epolirg ts ets whiclr
by thernselve€
create no tone. The!€ tabletg affect the
spe,sLhs voices ol the orsan by adding brilliance,
tr€rDolo,
volume, snd !o fortll
Pedal Sustain
T\e Pedal Sustain is pmvided lor the purpo€€ of
prolonsins the tiEre a p€dal note sound! att€r the
pedal k€y is rclea!€d. When &le p"dd, Susrarn
ia ..on"
tle effect of tle pluck€d srlinged bass is achieved.
The sustain€d bass is fr€quently delirable fo. slower
type€ of rdusic because
it maintains continuity whil€
tie foot i6 lboved ftom olre pedrl key to anotner.
When the Pedal Surrdrn is ',off" the effect i! sihilar
to the bass horn or tuba. This s€tting is well luit€d
Ior laster b?es of music or {,hen a .,bert" is desir€d.
The Tremolo
'nre Trenola is the "wavering" effect qihich is fr+.
quently heard in the violin and other stringed instru-
ment!. In the Gutbmnaen o.gan ir is the result of
the "acoustical heatment,' appljed by th€ builtin
tun speed lasliz Trenolo Systcn actins in mnjunc-
tion with a top 8€de audio amplifier, a high quality
loudsp€aker
and a scientifically dedsned loudsp€aker
mclosure,
The Trenolo iart s€ttins is senemtly u!€d when
playins popular music an4 at time€, for censrn
hymns and classical work!.
T'he Trcnola Srou s€ttins ia most useful wh€n pt6y-
ing litugical nuhbers. C€rtain perculsion effects ar€
enhanc€d
by using this settins and we urge that you
exp€riment with the Tremolo. Its u!€ is directed onlv
by your pellonal taste.
Most orgarl! achieve rremolo end vibrato effects by
rapid distortion of pitch; that is by varying the pit h
slishtly sharp 6nd llat to g€t a $averins sound. The
Gulbransen organ tu uique in that jt rnaintains true
pitch at all times.
Non-Speaking Stops
The Timbre Controls
Two tablets, deiisnated asTinbrc Mellou andTinbre
B.,?ilt, contrcl the voice of the organ and ils distinc-
tive character of tone. With only tI& Tinbre Mellou
being us€d with the reSist.ation, the los,€r tones of
the orsan are hishlisht€d. UsinS only the ti,n&re
.B.ignt will accentuaie th€ hishe. tone! of the orsan.
Obviously, by usins both of theae
tablets at lne same
time you nill incre3r€ tlle totrl volume of t}le o!8an.
There are no s€t rules r€gardins the us€ of rhe
Timbre Controls;it is a matte. of personal
tas!€, r@m
lcoultics, and the like. Frequently, the percuEsion
€ffects are enhanc€d by lds]di|s
tte Timbre Bright.
h lhe $ction dprlin8 with rpgiltration there are
example! ol how to utilize the Timbre Cont_rol! to
th€ir b€st advantage.
The Balancer Controls
The SweLl fl tsblet located with the Swell Manual
stop€ and the Grcot nf nd Creat ff t^bleta locltxd
with the Gr€at Mmual stop€ sovem the comparativ€
volun€ of the two keyboards. When both ll tablets
a.€ depre€sed the manuals play at full voluDe.
With the aid ol the Bak'Ecer Control tablets it ig
easy to properly balance the volume of one manual
8el€ct€d for the Delody asaiNt the volume of the
manual lelected !o play th6 accompaniment. This
enormously incleras€s the llexibility and versatility of
the orsan in that th€ stops may be select€d on the
basis of their tonal color rathd than on the basis of
Fo. example, should you de€ire only tr{o soft stops
on the Ss/ell Manual for the melody and wish to have
tbr€e or four stops in use for the acc.mpaniment,
melely depr*s the SwelL ll tablet and refrain lrom
u3ins the other Balancer Controls. This armngement
will allow the Swell Manual to dominate.
0megaPistons
Omega
Percussion and Reverberation
Oneea, tIrc lalt letter of the Cr€ek alphabet, is the
name we have applied to the lars€ farnily of reverber-
ation and pe.cussion effects available or the
Gulbrans€n Organ. lbe Omega i! controlled by a
s€ri€s of six pistons lo€ted in th€ cent€r of the orsan
b€tw€€n the nanual k€yboards.
The perqEsion s€ction of a band or orche€ua m,
cludes instruments on f,,hich the tone is creried by
pluckins or strikinr. Many of the voices of th€s€ in-
struments may be Eimulat€d on your culbrans€n
Orgsn including piano, chimee, barp, music box,
marimba, orchelha b€lls, just to name a few.
The Omeda effects apply only to the SweI Manual
keyboad. Fo. prcper r€€ults you should us€ a quick
or staccato touch to obtain the p€rcussion effect!.
Some ol th€€e
effects ar€ delcribed in the music books
you received with your or8an_
The fiBt piston on the lelt hand side de&ribed as
OneEa Oft on the d€cal Eet directly above it ha! the
effect ot cancellins the other piston effects which
misht b€ on.
The second snd third pistons fmm the lelt a-te
neDerberation Shott adnd Reuerberutitn Lone. P'eyeb
bemtion is sn acoulticrl effect which pernits rhe
achievement of cathedml-like tonal quality even m
the limit€d acoustics of the $nalle€t living .oom. It is
invaluable in playing chuch orsan mulic or theatre
orSan music.
The fouth and fifth pistor|! Imh the left, PercB-
sfr4 8lor, and Percussion Lone, govem the tonal
decay charact?ristics. Since the various percussion
instrum€nts llave diff€rent degr€er of decay time, it is
necessary to have thes€ sp€cific *ttinSE lor their
Chimes and the Chimes
Preset Piston
Encompassing the Sq,ell Manual, m€llow electronic
chim€€ are available at instant finger tip control witl
the Chimes Pr6et Pistou. This pilton autonati€ally
canc€b all Swell Manual stops and dunges the
Timbre Control to "brisht". If the Ttemolo i! "on-
fa!t" the piston will set the Tlemolo at the .,on-
To cancel the Ciirnes all that j! nec€lsafy is to de-
pre€s any other piston and the previously ananS€d
Sw€ll Manual stops are once again irun€diately
in effect.
Danped Chimes (Chimes with short alecsy/ 'g E
obtained simply by depr€sing the Chime€ Piston
and any otbe! piaton except Percu€sion Irng. Ih€
r$ultins decay characteriltics will be determin€d by
the eitra piston depre$ed.
Registration
Organ registration is merely the selection ol various
voices oi an organ to produce a desired efect or
sound. Resjstration js equally as imporranl as now
well you play; careful
selection
of stop ilblefs
will
add a professional "touch" even while you arc rearn-
ing to play.
Therc are no set rules resarding registratjon; it is a
metter of peEonal tasi,e. We urge that you experjment
ltith the sfop iablets to find combinations which are
pleasing to you. To assist you, lve have inctuded A
few 6uggested rcgigtrationE
in thi6 rection and call to
your attention
thc music books
you rccc ivcd with
your
orsan. These
are jusi a icw combinations
we susgest
while you are geidns
acquainted with your Model Ii
Gulbransen
Tmnsistor Organ.
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IDesired Effect Swell Monuol Great
Monuol Pedol Omego
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7 t
!1..\T
R1: t)Rt)A^! Diopasan 16' F'l.ute 8, Nor%l ReuerbetationLone
Maior Bass 16
CIIURCII ORGAN Diapasan
16, t t"t"l'
Fit'e 1'
sbeu
ll
Flute 4'
Reuerberution LonC
Sunjn
ll Flute 4'
Trenolo Stou Great
ff
CHURCII ORGAN Diapason
16, ftuk I' Bowdon 16' MeIIow ReuerberutionLong
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POPLJI./IR
I Li)ely) Bour.Lon
18'
'I ibn 4'
Tierce 1-3
/
5l
Flute 8l
F lute 4' Bourdon
16' Bright
PoP{II,AR T ibia 8' Flute 8l
dr
FF,
Sb
R€
E :J:
POP(]LAR Tibia 8'
Piccolo 2'
Flute
8'
Gredt ml
POPULAR Flute I
Ndzatd 2-2 / 3'
POPULAR F
lure 8l
NOV
]i I.TY Quint 5 1/3'
Fifc 1'
sueu
lt'
French Ltorn 8' Maior Bass 16'
'tlot b.tsl .lfect. plat a nnlle note m.lody on SoLo Manual )
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The Care of Your Gulbransen Organ
FINISH
OF
THE
CONSOI.E AND BENCH
The finest woods availabl€, both soli& and veneerc,
are used in th€ orsan comole and bench. They, there-
fore, require the same type of treatment and care
siven any hish quality fumitu.e. The linish is hand
rubbed. For dusting we sugsest a cl€an Boft cloth. To
remove finserprints or film, the clotb should be slisht-
ly dampened with waier to which a littl€ very mild
soap has been added.
KEYS AND STOP
TAEIETS
These are nade of durable plastic which should not
discolor. When necessary they shoutd be cleaned
with a slishtly dampen€d cloth. Do not us€ oils,
cleaning fluids, or chemicals oI any kind.
PI,ACEMENT
OF THE
ORGAN
The orgsn has a finish€d back and rnay b€ placed
in any room position
desired. Care
should
be taken,
however, to avoid di.ect sunlisht or close
proximity
to heat outlets since they csn damase th€ fintuh just
as in the case of fine fumiture. In movins the oryu
about, please not€ there are convenient hand slot€
provided in the back.
TUNING THE ORGAN
The Gulbransen Transistor O.san Model E is an all
electronic organ employinS
a TraNistor Oscjllaror
tone senerating
system- The tone senerator
employs
84 transistors, on€ for each of the 84 available pitches.
The Transistor Oscillai,or
circuit is a very stable one
and your orsan should not .equire hmins.
AMPIIFIER
AND SPEAKER
SYSTEM
The tones generat€d
by the tone generator
arc ampli-
fied by a hish power amplifi€.. This arnplifier is
mo'rnt€d on the k€ybed behind the playing keys
The output fron the amplifier is converted inlo
sound by a loud speake. contained jn a specially
desiSned loud speaker enclosure at the right end oI
CONIROI.
OF MAXIMU/VI
VOTUME
Wher€ the organ is to be u8ed in a small
room,
it
may be preferable to limit the maximm volume to
a somewhat lower level to utiliz€ the full rdse of the
expression pedal and y€t never make the organ ex-
cessively loud for it€ environment. A Potentiometer
marked "Max Vol" is adjusiable fmm the top of tbe
amplilier chsssis and can bF set lo limit rhc maximum
volMe. This is a very Eimple adjustment and one
{hich your deate. will be stad to make for you.
CAUTION: N€ver tum ihe volume control clockwise
so far as to cause distoriion when playins full cho.ds
with the expression pedal all the way open as con
tinuous operation in an overloaded condition can
cause damas€ to the loud sp€aker.
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
In th€ Cutbransen or8an the tone senerator, the amp-
lifier, and the loud sp€aker system all cooperate io
produce mu3jc of a highly distinctive character. In
order to obtain this specializ€d performance the fre'
quency response and othe. amplilier characteristics
are intentionally different from thos€ of systems in-
tended for playing phonogmph records, tapes, and
similar types of entertainment haterial and for these
reasons the amplifi€r and speaker system of the
organ caimot be used for these purposes.
10
RATTI.ES,
BUZZES,
AND VIBRATIONS
When playing the organ at considerable volume a
great
d€l of a.oustical power is p.oduced, parricular-
ly *hen playing pedal not€s.
Becaus€
of the sustained
nature of orsan tones condiiions may b€ such that
sympatbetic
vibrations are set up.
This can result in rat es or buzzes
which are very
annoyins. Sornetines these raftles are due to a parr
in the organ case
vibrating, but very frequenfly they
are due to somethins
aparr from rhe o.san. Especia y
likely to be "srilty" are doors, windows, venetran
blinds
and Iight tixtures.
As for the orsan itself, ure front panel can some_
tiDes vibraie if it is nor sc.ewed in properly and
iightly. It is very ihportant rhat this front pancr De
tisht since the operatjon of the loud speaker enclGure
demands an almost airtishi condition. Be careful,
too, lo ahays replace any hardware that is loosened.
STANDING
WAVES
Because
of th€ )ons wave
tensth
ot the tow pitch
notes, thes€ tones are reflected from the walls and
ceiling in such a way that certain ,ones lrill be loud
at som€ parts of the room and soft ar others. This is
a natural phenomenon tbat takes ptace regardless of
ho', tones
are produced.
If a siven note .,cancets
out',
at a point where the organists ear happ€ns to be, it
can be very annoying. The only cure is to move tne
organ a few f€et so thai the .,standirg wave', pattern
is altered.
SHOUI.D A KEY FA|I. TO PLAY
If any individual key fails to operate it is probably
b€cause
a piece ofdust or di.t Ms lodged on the bus
bar. This is easily cteared by simply holdins dom
the key in question while operatins the srop tablet
on md off a number of times. This causes
a f.iction
o. rubbins action that will clean rhe contact. In a
new orsan an occasronal
contact may be .,dirty" due
to the deposit on the bus bar of a smal quantiiy of
rcsjn as a rdult of the solderins process used in
assembly. These contacts are easily cleaned as p€.
above and once cleaned will nor give houble.
EXTERNAL
OR ADDITIONAL
SPEAKER
CABINETS
The Model E Gulbransen
Oryan is so desisned
thar
in normal home usase
the volume is srlfficient. When
the organ ie used in a largo room or where g.eaier
power or sreaier tonal dispersion is required, it js so
d$isned that it may be used in conjuncrion wtth one
or mo.e Leslie Speaker
Cabinet!.
Lesiie O.san Speaker Cabiners a.e manufacrure.t
by Elect.o,Music, 313 Sourh Fair Oaks, pas.ldena I,
Caljfonia, and rlay be obtained from your l.)cal
Gulbmnsen orsan dealer.
Iaslie cabinets
have a mor€ elaborate tremolo sys-
tem than that emptoyed jn rhe orsan. T1{o .oarms
homs prcduce an enomousty comptex and satisfying
tone quality that is hishty d€si.able ev€n where hish
power ts required. Also, many interesting effects arc
possible
by usins the Inslie Speaker Cabinet and rhe
built-jn speaker in combinarion. For exampte, they
@n bc used with tremolo on one sp€aker ano nor on
the other, or very quick chanses can be made trom
the "t.emolo on" speaker
ro rhe..tremolo off,,speaker.
Cohplete parts and instructions for connecting the
Irslie Model 145 or 147 Orsan speaker are supptied
with each speaker €binet and rhe insrallation is a
very simple matt€r that can b€ done by your dealer
in just a few minutes. Ask your deater
to dernonstrat€
the Iaslie Speaker used in conjunction wfth the
Gulbransen Transistor Orsan.
Accessories
tl
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
-
6
-
7
-
8
-
9
-
10
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11
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12
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13
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14
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15
