Maida Vale BBC Compton restoration
The History
This Compton Electrone organ was ordered by the BBC from the John Compton Organ Company as a special for use in its Maida Vale studios.
The instrument consists of the Console (with detachable Pedalboard) and two seperate wheeled tone generator cabinets connected to the console by armoured cables which can be disconnected during moving.
The Console was installed on a wheeled platform to facilitate the moving from one studio to another as required.
It was often featured on "Friday Night is Music Night" played by Bill Davies to 'beef up' the orchestra, it was rarely featured as a solo instrument.
The instrument generates its sound by electro-mechanical methods, no oscillatory valve or similair circuits are used. The sound is produced by the rotation of a disk with etched waveforms in close proximity to a stationary plate, the variation of capacitance generates the wave which is fed into a pre-amplifier. There are two sound generator cabinets, one is shown here.
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The original specification is documented.
The organ is equipped with a greater variety of soft effects than is usual to facilitate its use with small orchestral combinations in addition to its possibilities as a solo instrument. It is also designed to reproduce similar tones to another of John Comptons inventions, the Melotone and has a set of stops identical to those in Compton Cinema organs
The two generator cabinets were connected to sound reproducers in each studio which were designed in collabaration with Dr. Alexander of the B.B.C. These amplifiers have not survived although the loudspeakers have.
Even though the three-manual console is mounted on a movable platform and the pedalboard is detachable, the layout of the keyboards, pedalboard and controls are standard in every way. However, unlike a conventional theatre organ the Console draws it's power from the mains via a transformer/rectifier for the action current and double-touch pistons. The pistons are adjustable by a switchboard, and give an appropriate pedal combination, if desired, on second touch.
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