MCI Guitorgan B-35 Demo - demonstration of the sounds and applications of a Guitorgan. This is one of the last Guitorgan models, built in the late 70s/early 80s, and works great. Pardon my sloppy playing!
You can hear the guitorgan on Freddie Hart’s country classic “Easy Loving.” It was a huge hit in 1971, on both the country and pop charts. That is one awesome instrument!
As a wall-hanging piece of art - I totally agree, but as a functional instrument, I bet you would change your mind quickly if you ever played either one of these. The Vox is an awesome-looking piece of 60's kitsch, but also an awkward, poorly-engineered contraption. People wouldn't give it the time of day if it wasn't shaped like the iconic Phantom models. The Guitorgan can be a real instrument.. a legitimate, functioning tool!
I played one of these at a teen fair in Houston in the late 60s. Since I played guitar and organ a bit I got a lot out of it and the inventor let me keep going. All the Vox guitars were there too. They had just come out.
I played one of these years ago and the very first thing I played was House of the Rising Sun, naturally .I was happy when you finally got to it. Thanks !
It should be pointed out that Bob Murrell in Waco (MCI) invented this prior to Vox's much more temperamental Guitar Organ, and in fact got a cease & desist against Vox. The beauty of the Guitorgan vs. guitar synths is that it's not pitch-to-voltage; it's touch sensitive. So string touching fret is the same as pressing the key on an organ; in fact, the note will sustain as long as you keep your finger down. And it's not a sample or approximation of an organ sound; it basically IS what it was advertised as, "The organ with the built-on guitar." But, as illustrated, you can switch from guitar to organ or play both at once.
@smgbwks thanks! I don't have any for sale at the moment (I only have this one and one that needs repairs), I have moved since doing this video so I'd need to set it all up again to do another take...maybe one day!
@guitorgan Thanks Roger! Surprisingly, i'm using a small, outdated $90 Canon point-and-shoot camera, not HD..considering that, i'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Sound is okay...at least by YT standards
The nylon fret inserts were the compromise to allow ap player to bend strings. Lasted about one set and were difficult to replace/maintain. Basically still a POS. Love the squealing tho'
That sounds much nicer than the Vox doesn't it? I had to laugh at the size of the pedal though, I was expecting a lit A/B type thing and when you picked it up . . . . LOL I like it but I think I'll hang on till I have made my millions before I start looking for one. Cool vid man, thanks.
I played one of these back in 75 at Carmelo's House of music in Cedar Rapids Iowa when I was 16. My dad and I were invited to come in to try it out as I was taking guitar lessons there. It was quite incredible. It's funny how your memory works. I recently heard a demonstration of a new peddle just released by Strymon called the Cloudburst. Hearing this peddle immediately brought to mind the guitorgan. Strangely, after listening to you play it sounds nothing like I remember it. haha. If you have not seen this peddle, you really need to hear it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RzYeR2xkgyE.html
Video looks great, I've got a Guitorgan too, had it for 23 years, put it through a Fender guitar Lesslie, sounds great. But...the reason I'm contacting you is the quality of RESOLUTION on your video. Is it because you used a HD camera or is there a way to get this resoultion without an HD camera. All my RU-vid videos are on the "Fuzzy" side of resolution. Lemme know if you can Thanks Roger
@alohastewie If I knew enough to do so, I totally would. I want to see these on market. As they are here though. I don't want anything too technical with loads low quality of effects.
I own both, and they’re fun pedals. But it’s not quite the same. The EH pedals are a digital simulation and it shows in the response while playing it, whereas the Guitorgan is an analog instrument. Both are great depending what you’re trying to do, but I would not say that the pedals do the same thing at all.
you should try to get your hands on a Hagström patch 2000 and the roland thingy that came with it , im quite sure that they where even earlier then the Vox.
No. I've got one, and knew Musiconics' head/inventor from Waco, Bob Murrell. For the most part, as long as you're playing, the "white noise" isn't noticeable, but as soon as you stop, the squealing begins. Yes, annoying. The earlier, more basic Guitorgans with no pedal (just plug into wall like a kitchen appliance) do NOT have that problem. But whereas this type can alllllmost sound like a Hammond thru the right amp, especially a Leslie, the earlier Barney Kessel-type body ones sound like a Farfisa - which is also way cool.
On a normal guitar, not at all. Since this is ultimately something a bit different though, that could be arguable I suppose. Either way - a noise gate should fix the issue pretty well.
Hello, I was lucky enough to purchase one of these, but I am unable to get the guitar and the organ to play at the same time. Do you need to hook up to 2 amplifiers or can you use a Y cable on the foot pedal?
Hi Arthur, the pedal should have separate outputs for both guitar and organ. You need to run a cable from each one to a separate amp, or to separate channels of the same amp (if possible).
You can turn it off completely, or use some kind of noise gate (I assume), but there’s a lot of analog electronics going on in this thing. And it’s 40+ years old, so noise is to be expected on some level
60-cycle hum. There are a ton of electronics going on here, and the emit a lot of background noise when it isn’t playing. Just the nature of old analog gear, really. Plugged into a vintage amp as well
@UC2vm59wqKHFcP847j4kYDUg 2:34 Sounds kinda like Wedding bells. This could be useful for Glee Cast covers cause Naya Rivera died recently. Also play the devil went down to Georgia cause Charlie Daniels died.
Its just old and out of spec. Some new components and trimpot adjustments and it'll be back to normal. A lot of old organs have this problem past a certain age.
Question. Is there any way to "synth" the sounds on this and change them to make the organ sound the way you want? Or even run it through a synth processor and basically make the organ be ANY synth sound you want?
@b3organ because it's a 35+ year old analog instrument with miles of wiring and circuit boards stuffed into a guitar. I'm shocked any of these work these days....little leakage, not a big deal imo
By the way: for anyone wanting to hear a GOOD example of how good a guitorgan can sound when played right (not that this guy isn't playing it right!!! LOL), listen to "Yvette in English" by Joni Mitchell. I'm pretty sure the guy used the accordion sound on that song.
i really liked better the vox guitar organ, the looks are way more what someone would expect from a guitar-organ fusion. this is a hollow body altered by the back to future scientist. thou i understand this is nicer to play, and its way better built.
