Size Doesn't Always Matter ! ! !

Why does the smallest organ get the biggest laugh ???

(The bad organ jokes are so obvious that I can't help myself!)

I am a frequent and repeat offender on the local St. Louis Estate sale circuit.

While there are always exceptions, most of the decor in my home was purchased from estate / tag sales.  In addition to furniture and other decor, I bought at least 4 of my keyboard instruments at these sales, and on all counts, their purchase price was a tiny fraction of what it would have been had I purchased these instruments in a retail store.

(The "Why does the smallest organ get the biggest laugh ??? " story continues below these examples)

Examples would be:

Farfisa Fast 2 combo organ:  Bought for $25.  An identical keyboard on eBay sold for $493.



Indian Hand-pumped Harmonium:  Bought for $25.  Sold on eBay for $244, but they can easily go over $1,000.



Hammond E-182 w/ Leslie 122RV:  Bought for $350, valued at somewhere around $3,000


So...the story continues:


I went to an estate sale that advertised a Hammond E-100, a spinet player piano, and a 1980's entry-level Kimball 'Entertainer' organ -    and other miscellaneous items.

I went to this sale with the intent to buy sheet music or music books.

When I arrived at the sale, I learned that the man that owned this house also helped build the theatre organ in the lobby of St. Louis' Fox Theatre.  This man must have had all of his music memorized, because there was only a short stack of sheet music available for purchase.  I quickly thumbed through the music, and then I sat down at the organ, and played it for a half an hour. I switched to the piano for another half hour.

I had arrived at the conclusion that there was nothing at this sale that was of interest to me, so I did one double-check of the house to make sure I hadn't overlooked anything that I might want to buy.  About 5 seconds before I walked out the door, I noticed a box with a closed lid. It became obvious to me that this 'box' was an upscale chord organ.

I removed the decorative item that was sitting on the organ (and a fellow shopper thanked me for doing so, because she was relieved that I wasn't interested in that particular piece of decor - but she  was, in fact, interested in purchasing the item).  As it turned out, we were both happy.  I got what I wanted, and she got what she wanted.

I raised the lid of this chord organ, and exclaimed to the people running the sale, "I'll take it!"

This was a busy little Friday estate sale, and the house was packed with shoppers.  Only moments before, I was playing a couple gospel tunes, "I'll Fly Away" and "This Little Light of Mine", and everybody in the house stopped shopping, clapped their hands to the music, and sang the songs that I played.  We had an impromptu sing-along.  By the time I noticed this chord organ, the shoppers knew who I was, and what I was about.

When I noticed that the item that I was interested in was an up-scale chord organ made by the Hohner company, and I said, "I'll take it!", everybody in the house roared with laughter!

In semi-self-defense, I asked of them "What??? This purchase is for sentimental reasons!  I started at the age of 7 playing a chord organ, but the one I had wasn't as nice as this beauty!"

They were laughing because, in their presence, I played a full-size console organ, and an acoustic piano.  They were a bit shocked that I would buy the smallest music maker in the house.

The reality of the situation is that I bought this chord organ - for $25 - for both sentimental reasons, and to practice my music.  It's a 'discipline' thing.

This is no ordinary small child's toy.  Even though I do have another locally St. Louis made chord organ (St. Louis Music's 'Apollo' brand), my latest purchase has 72 chord buttons rather than the Apollo's 18 chord buttons.

For the uninitiated (and the uninitiated probably wouldn't be reading this far! :), more chord buttons = more flexibility and variations, and ultimately, more songs can be played with on the chord organ.

Not only does this chord organ have 5 selectable voices, but it has an expression / volume pedal, and another lever action on the expression pedal that increases or decreases the volume of the chord accompaniment independent of the main organ volume.

Although I do not 'wheel and deal' my instruments, 'll probably keep the Hohner organ and sell the Apollo.  I'm at the point in my home where I am trying to put 10 lbs. of  stuff in a 5 lb. sack!

I guess it's just a personal triumph.

But, hey:
Why does the smallest organ get the biggest laugh ???
and
"Size Doesn't Always Matter ! ! !"


- Michael