Except for the case itself it seems haha, but yeah i totally agree. There's so much focus now on making things as un-serviceable as possible to you either have to buy a new product or send it to the shop for about the same price :I
I know I am somewhat late to the party but, given the age of this unit and the two minute delay before the reverb kicks in. I suspect that the reverb driver is at fault. I would imagine the driver will be a B class amp of about two watts and will have germanium output transistors. Germanium transistors being very leaky when warm, it is quite possible that the biasing has drifted with age and now the transistors only come on when they have warmed enough for them to become leaky enough to overcome the bias.
I bought the full transistor vsn from an auction house for £36 believing it may be the valve vsn, got home and realised it didn't work and all yt videos i checked at the time they sounded harsh so i sold it on ebay for a non reserved £1. The buyer restores these items and later on found me a full valve vsn with spring and amp all serviced up for £200. I'm well happy with the result but now realise with your video example the transistor models do sound very good. Thier were several models all valve, hybrid and full transistors. Thx
Hi Markus, the spring reverb was invented by Laurens Hammond for his so called tone cabinets. The first ones were huge and had more than 2 springs. Later on he minimized them for mounting them into his organs. Those were very similar to the one in the Philicorda.
Did that really read 202C? Holy moly. I sure wish I had seen this video when you first made it...Been looking for one of these in good shape! Love your videos Markus!
I had a "Philicorda" GM760 when I was a kid. Didn't play much on it, but I "hotwired" the amplifier to my 486 (at the time) and used the 12" speaker as a subwoofer. I also had lots of fun with the spring reverb, connecting it to the PC and plucking the springs at diffrent places with a screwdriver to make cool sounds and recording them. Now the GM760 is the valve based one
Yep, for some time even us dutch made interesting instruments. Eminent 310 (of J.M. Jarre fame), Solina strings, Synton vocoders and synths. Those where the days. I personally own a Riha Orchestra 3-manual organ with integrated strings and solo synth. Mine has even been upgraded with a Wersimatic section. Organaut would probbaly love it!
Hello. I had a similar Philicorda with the reverb not working at all. It was a faulty transistor which drives the in or output of the reverb and it is located in the middle right of the horizontal board where the potentiometers are also located. Can't remember the type of it anymore but I've got a similar spec replacement for it on ebay for like 5 euros. After swapping it the reverb worked flawlessly ever since. I sold my Philicorda few weeks ago.
@@repasiv I just did upload a short video of my 751 organ: czcams.com/video/zuKxF-5YXrk/video.html Are you (hopefully) able to point out at 0:36 of this video which (row) of transistor it should/could be?... It has 12 rows... Thanks (again) in advance.
@@Multiwizard Those similar looking circuits are all the voices It was I think somewhere in the middle of the front PCB. Mine was a bit later version and did not have vacuum tubes. The reverb is like an amplifier-transducer-spring-microphone-amplifier combination and one amplifier did not work. I'd make a test to switch on the reverb, turn up the volume and hit the spring. If it makes a noise over the speaker than it is in the first part of the circuit. Could be one of the vacuum tubes or a dry capacitor.
After watching your videos endlessly, I finally did resurrect all the functionality of my Yamaha Electone C-55. Thanks for that. Now on to repairing my much more precious Philicorda. By the way, there is a separate input amplifier for the reverb I am told. It is supposed to be on a separate board. You might find it. Did your Philicorda also have the separate 'service' plug for the main lead inside, so it can be powered up while worked on?
This was the third version of this model. It's from the late sixties. The first one was valve with a separate valve amplifier under the keyboard section and was from mid sixties. For some strange reason only the technology inside and the cabinet were changed. The three stops and five tone filter switches and the overall sound were mostly unchanged.
+Steffi Ri I also have a Philicorda with valves and glow lamps. Its an GM751/22 (without T). I also have an GM751/22T and there are only transistors in it. If the T really stands for transistor, maybe the wooden case has been exchanged. They are old instruments and none of my three Philicorda organs had only originial parts in it when I bought them. Nevertheless, there are much more versions of the GM751/22(T)-Models. Some of them use transistors but there are still valves used for the vibrato-section and the amplifiers. Also, there are different key versions. While the Philicorda in the video has the old keyboard, my GM751/22T has a newer keyboard where the keys are just hold by springs. There was also a mono and a stereo-version of the Philicorda. I guess when they changed something during production, they still used the old parts they had available, so there are much more versions then model names of the Philicorda.
I have one one of these exactly the same model as the one you have been fixing and they sound even better when you put them through a Lexicon mpx550 and then through a 1970 small stone phaser.
Thank you very much for the informative video! I just got one of these today, and it works perfectly, except from some very scratchy knobs. This gives me the confidence needed to go in there and clean the contacts. :)
I own the orginal GM750 (the full tube version. It has no built-in amplifier and spring reverb. Those are a separate unit from the organ itself. The amplifier functions a stand for the organ.
I have just remembered, included with the early ones was a 7" vinyl EP of various drum sounds. A record deck could be plugged into that socket underneath to play through the organ with the reverb if selected.
I played this Philips Philicordia for 9 years. My only problem was that most piano music needs at least 5 octaves. My first song learned on this thing was Mozart KV 331 Rondo Alla Turca
Hi Neil, I have too many items around the house and as its already working at the moment I may just sell it off. It sounds great but I just do not have enough room to keep everything.
Fun video, nice to see the inside of one of these things. I had two thoughts about the delayed reverb. 1) Maybe a bad electrolytic capacitor taking too long to charge up? or 2) that resistor with the spring on it, maybe it is supposed to heat up and open the circuit, thus freeing the reverb to work? Anyway, thanks for the video!
Hi Clydesight. I never got around to sorting that problem out. someone came along with a reasonable offer and I sold it with that problem and that accepted it as it was. but yes I agree you are likely correct about the Cap problem. many thanks
I'd bet that the intermittent reverb was caused by a problem in the power supply. He should have measured voltages out of the power supply when it first came on and after it started working. Then it would have been easier to repair what was missing. BTW, those speakers look mid 70s but they might be replacements.
The red switch is how you switch the build in speakers on/off, in case you want to send ether a pre or post amp signal to something else eg. mixing desk via DIbox, tape recorder machine, external amp (pre amp in that case), external speaker, etc...and don't want the built in speakers on.
Really useful stuff!! Would love to see a more detailed tour round the circuitry - my Philicorda (a 751, similar model to that one) does not respond to either reverb or vibrato knobs being turned clockwise and only appears to have one speaker working (balance anti clockwise just acts as a volume -> off control). Despite these handicaps, it sounds great - but I'd love to restore it to it's former glory, and this is a very helpful start..! FWIW the red switch on the underside toggles the speakers on/off..
Hi David, Im not absolutely sure but I think the balance was not for left right but for internal speakers mono counterclockwise and external connections clockwise. both my speakers work but with the balance to the left. as the speakers are connected together internally (on mine anyway). I had a few problems with some of the controls and just blasted them with switch cleaner to get everything working. maybe you could try cleaning them up. best wishes from markus.
The function of the balance pot depends on the switches manual (vox-chord) and kombination (input selector) if the input selector is set to 1, balance sets the ratio between bass and descant keys (vox-chord = 2) or the ratio between chords and melody (vox-chord=3) if the input selector is set to 2, balance sets the ratio of the organ and connected record player
pretty good instrument by all standards ... that 'analog' reverb sounds just great, especially compared to digital ones that sound worth than death! someone can somehow add a lever of sorts to hit that reverb mechanism at will and make really nice sound effects in real time! ;-) 1st time i saw one of these or another Philicorda model very close, probably a 2-tiers one, was in the late 1960s at a friend's house ... i was only 10 or 11 years young, crazy about keyboards (pianos, organs, ... but had none, not even a plain Melodica) and his father had bought one from England if i'm not mistaken ... (lived in Iran at the time ...) it was magical and i yearned to have one until my sister got me an organ (a Yamaha B2) a few years later ... i didn't quite like it though as i was more grown up and wanted something much more sophisticated than that ... but well ... i really have to own something like this right now!
+Michael Bauers It was a nice vintage sounding instrument. sadly I had to sell it on. I wish I had the space to keep all the wonderful instruments I have had over the years but sometimes things must go so I can buy other things. But its an interesting life for me as i'm so inquisitive and theres always something new to see and learn every day.
Why didn't those oldcdevices leak or needed tuning? I literally torned mine while playing and all keys never gave up even while playing with banging it. Used it 7 years.
Hi Markus I have a Philicorda and I was wondering if you would be able to look at it for me? I have no idea what’s wrong with it (previous owner said it could be a rectifier?) but it would help me a lot of you could get it working. Please let me know :)
I don´t get it. Clearly you do not know what you are doing, suddenly the reverb works but not cause you repaired it and yet people comment that you are a wizard and want to hire you for their repair. The switch is for switching between headphones or internal amplifier, yet you do not know. I am puzzled...
Hi, i've got the same, and this green resistor seems to have burnt... So the reverb doesn't work. I can't find the same resistor, do you know which one i can find to replace it? Thanks for the vidéo !
thanks Markus - really enjoyable and helpful. Your car boots are something else! I got a nice brown lamp shade at mine here in Sheffield. I'm just looking for a Philicorda - just heard it on Cerys Matthews R6Music show - Big Boss Man. I want to play.
Hi Phil. theres many weeks where i cannot find anything at all. but its just being there at the right time for the real bargains. my brother lives in Sheffield :-)
@@markusfuller Hi Markus - when are you next visiting your brother?! My 1969 Phillicorda GM754 needs some TLC. Or where are you? I could do with a road trip. Phil
Hello Phil. sorry but I ended my repair business in march and sold off all the test gear, thats why there has been no youtube videos since march. I just spend my days playing keyboards now. my apologies.
I have a similar organ. As from the second F (beginning from the leftside), I can hardly hear the notes anymore. What could be the problem? Is it fixable ? Tx for your advice. Els (Belgium)
Very nice video! Thanks. I have the portable blue version on this one. By the way... the key G is not working on my Philicorda (all over the keyboard). Is this maybe an easy fix that I can manage myself, or do I need to leave it to a specialist for service? What can be the problem?
Heij You may be the guy to go to. I have a Radford SPA which don´t want to come out to play anymore. I have the schematics but no one i asked wanted or couldn´t help me. I would really like to use it again. Please contact me.
Hi Markus ! Do you know if there is a way i can insert an external instrument to the build in amplifier of the Philicorda? Such as a guitar or a second organ i have...?
Didi you check out the output section of it? I have a issue with output. I made a DIN to mono jack cable and connect it to organ output and to DI and there is a sound but there is a lot of ground hum. any ideas thanx.
Hi Dejan. I do not own this instrument now so I really cannot go and check mine to see what the problem is. I never used the outputs on mine just the built in speakers. sorry about that.
Hey! I have a few problems with my philicorda GM751/19T and i wonder if you have any ”quick” fixes for them: 1. The philicorda doesnt start up at all unless i press down a key at the same time as I press the on/off switch. Any thought about that? 2. The Eb key at all octaves doesnt work. What can this be? All other keys work properly when the philicorda starts up. (I write to you because it seems to be hard to find people who knows about these machines) Best regards, Sam
Hello Sam. question 1 , to be honest I have no idea why the phillicorder needs a key to be pressed before it starts, thats completely new to me. Question 2 on the main board you will see that the components are arranged in similarity as though there are 12 sets of everything from left to right. these are the 12 notes on a scale. some phillicorders have the note number printed on the circuit board at the start of each of these rows, I would find the Eb line of components with a multimeter one by one against the similar components on the next note to the right or left knowing that the other notes work ok you should find a difference in one of the components along the Eb line against the other lines of components. Im guessing that will be the problem part that will need changing. sadly I no longer have my phillicorder so I cannot go and see which line of components is the Eb line. but at least you have the other notes working so can compare Eb components against other notes. also if theres is nothing at all from any Eb then I would check the wiring from the keyboard. there should be 12 wires for the notes and maybe 5 or 6 other wires for the octave signal in etc. but the problem may be just one of those 12 (note) wires going to the keyboard or main circuit board. hopefully its just one of those. Good luck and sorry I cannot help with the first question but maybe the 1st problem will be resolved when you fix the second. best wishes from Markus.
Hi, We have this organ with my band and we'd like to tune it. Is it possible and wether yes where can I do that in the organ? We also have a Farfisa compact and it can be tuned with a screwdriver. But here, no idea :/ Thanks for your video and maybe your advice.
timoté Iglesias Hello Timote. there are several versions of the philips phillicorder, the older ones can be tuned but you have to open the unit up and you will find 12 adjustable points along the circuit board. I believe one version had a cutout (vent) along the back thay you could reach the tuning points with a long screwdriver. these tuning points are for each note ie All the Cs or All the Fs etc but will effect that same note within every octave as the phillicorder uses dividing circuitry for every octave. I am not sure about the very last phillicorder model that was made as i have never been inside the last model, I know that circuitry was quite different though they all looked very similar on the outside.
Thanks a lot we're going to check it out. Our Farfisa organ has also this octave tuning mode, we're pretty accustomed to that. I'm just hoping ours is old enough to get tuned. Greetings from France.
Hi Markus! I found a GM752 that is working just fine, except for some surfaces that need cleaning, and the reverb is completely dead. I wanna open it up and take a look at it, but I can't seem to remove the legs so I can place it like yours and lift the chassi. Did you remove them yourself, or do you know how to? Thanks for great content!
Stvafel Hello Stvafel mine never had any legs on it when i bought it. there should be some way to remove them but I do not know how as i never had them on mine. sorry i do not know how to advise.
@@markusfuller I found that they seem to be screwed into the inside of the chassi by some metal plates, and I'm not sure if it's possible to remove them without actually removing all of the electronics first. I'll look into it more. Thank you for your reply!
@@markusfuller So! Turns out it wasn't hard at all to remove the legs - you just pull them straight out, haha! I have removed the chassi as well. Now, for the reverb, here's what I've learned: when the reverb switch is active and the reverb knob is turned up and I tap the reverb tank, I get a signal through the speakers just like you do. I can control the degree of it with the reverb knob, and if I switch off reverb, it stops. So those parts seem to work fine. However, when I strike a key, no reverb is added. I'm guessing this has to do with the signal from the keyboard not actually reaching the reverb tank, or the magnet part of it that you're talking about is somehow busted, not generating any vibration through the springs. Any ideas on this?
Stvafel Hi Stvafel on the reverb tank there should be an rca connector on the input and the output side of the spring (or maybe its hard soldered ?) if you unplug or disconnect the input side you may be able to connect a siganl to it ie a small mp3 player or something and with the unit turned on it should come out of the speakers with reverb added. or check the cable going into the spring reverb and see if there is signal present on it when you play a key. do you have an oscilloscope? if so it should be easy to check for a signal present. though it sounds to me that if you are getting the sound of the spring when you touch it that the output is working fine so theres a problem on the input, check the pot that adjusts / sends signal to the reverb input. I can honestly say that i have never seen one of these spring reverbs where the magnetic coil is damaged. you can also check with an ohm meter across the coil input to see if there is a resistance that way the coil is intact. if you do this make sure the unit is off and disconnect the cable to the spring.
@@markusfuller Thank you for your thorough answer! I measured it using a multimeter and it appears that both the input and the output end of the reverb tank is giving off a signal from every component (both the soldered wires and the coils). So I guess the problem is somewhere around the place where the signal from the keys get mixed with the reverb, and that is a whole other level of troubleshooting that I unfortunately do not have the competence for. I'll have to live without the reverb or see if I can find someone who can take a look at it. Thank you though for all of your input, I'll make sure to recommend your channel!
Hi There, I have a divider or oscillator gone on mine , well so I think it could be?? all the F's dont work all of a sudden. Is this repairable or do you need original sound parts? cheers
Hi Andy. those boards on the top are 12 sets of identical circuits. 4 per board. at the end by the keys you will see the note numbers printed. look for the F and then test the components with the one next it F#. when you find a difference replace that component and that may just sort the problem out for you. Good Luck.
Hi Andy. apart from the tuning coils at the back end of the circuit board (can't remember what they are actually called). almost all the components used on the board are replaceable. standard PNP NPN transistors and capacitors. all can be replaced and there will be equivalents to all the transistors still available from RS components - element14 - CPC - many companies will carry this stock. Just search google and you will find someone selling them. Good Luck.
markusfuller Also if you know, as these units have an input and output, would it be possible to use the organ spring to send external audio signals through? It would save me having to buy a separate spring unit! plus not heard one as nice as these ones
+DAVID GREGORY KERR Hello David, Sorry but I passed it along to another musician so I cannot check the year of manufacture. but Yes I think it would be around that era.
Hi Markus, "Is it worth to repair?" maybe it's worth to look at the schematics first and grab a scope! It should not be that long to troubleshoot. My guess would be a decoupling cap that gone wild, preventing proper biasing of a transistor (reverb amplifier)... If you really want to restore it, think about replacing the smoothing caps on the power section, if from the 60's, they'll most likely leak or explode soon ;-).
Hi Marcus ! i recently bought a philicorda gm752 and it has a problem. One key has no sound in all the octaves. i cant find the problem, it looks like good inside. Any suggestion? thanks a lot
Hi Ruben, if it is similar to this phillicorda then you will see there are 12 identical layouts of components. these are for the 12 notes in an octave I guess you will have one component dead in one of the note sections, you could do a comparison with the same components in the next note circuit and maybe find the problem there. Good luck
+markusfuller Dear Marcus, I am struggling with exactly the same problem as Ruben was. I'm not sure how to measure the components (I don't have access to an oscilloscope), could you be a bit more specific? Thanks in advance.
Hello Purpertje on the top panel there will be 12 sets of exactly the same components in a row they are the 12 notes. if you look on the circuit board it may be printed c c# d etc. check the components of a working key against the components of a faulty key. ie if c works but d does not then you can find the values of the working components in the set for the C note and compare each one in the D note set. if something reads very different with a multimeter then it could be that component that is faulty.
Hello. you can bypass the power button and just turn it on or off at the mains. or choose a different power switch that will fit into the square hole on the front. I had an old Korg years ago and could not find the correct switch for it so just jumped the brown to brown on the power switch so it was always on, then i just turned it off at the plug.
Hello I have never had the stand so I could not say really. as for the red switch Im not absolutely sure but I think someone told me it was to turn off the built in speakers.
Why you did not go deeper into its circuit? Measuring around would have been nice, you would see that it probably got a top octave design. As it has 12 coils representing the master osc. followed by a row of a 5 times transistor based divider section. I think they are rectangular osc. as these are easy to divide by two and it sounds like ;) The spring reverb "delay" is may be to a bad solder joint or a crackled trace at the power supply PCB. The phillips organs where build for home use, and bought mainly by home musicians. Therefore most of these organs are in good shape, as they did not see (m)any stages. They rest most of their time covered in an edge of the livingroom. But, when you see inside the mechanical build quality is beond home use. I like this, but i do not like the "cheesy" 70th "top-octave" sound. That´s why i do not like the VOX organs as well, as any other rect.osc. based organ. But the keyboard itself is excellent. If you plan to do a DIY synth someday keep just the keyboard. As it got all you need and you can directly solder the R2R-ladder to it and have the gate output with no extra circuitry needed :) You can even have velocity and midi if you use a MicroController. Furthermore this sort of keyboards never worns out, as its contacts are last virtually for ever, while the "modern" rubber based keyboards may turning into unplayable junk over the years, due to dissolving rubber... Anyway thanx for sharing!
Hi TubiCal, I did not have much time to get the quick video finished, I wanted to show more about how the reverb works but we had to go out to do a small gig so I kinda called it a day and left it as is. I may still get the oscilloscope out yet and do some video on how the waveform is created. but thanks for your information you have written above. best wishes from markus
I love the way they used to make things. Meant to be opened, worked on, and fixed.
Except for the case itself it seems haha, but yeah i totally agree. There's so much focus now on making things as un-serviceable as possible to you either have to buy a new product or send it to the shop for about the same price :I
I unfortunately opened it as an 11 year old kid and destroyed the reverb electrical wire.
@@GaryKildall what did you do the rest of it: "destroyed" that too? ;-)
@@dadautube eventually I repaired it, and learned to play it
I know I am somewhat late to the party but, given the age of this unit and the two minute delay before the reverb kicks in. I suspect that the reverb driver is at fault. I would imagine the driver will be a B class amp of about two watts and will have germanium output transistors. Germanium transistors being very leaky when warm, it is quite possible that the biasing has drifted with age and now the transistors only come on when they have warmed enough for them to become leaky enough to overcome the bias.
1:36 : that switch allows you to turn off the built-in speakers - for example when headphones are plugged in
I bought the full transistor vsn from an auction house for £36 believing it may be the valve vsn, got home and realised it didn't work and all yt videos i checked at the time they sounded harsh so i sold it on ebay for a non reserved £1. The buyer restores these items and later on found me a full valve vsn with spring and amp all serviced up for £200. I'm well happy with the result but now realise with your video example the transistor models do sound very good. Thier were several models all valve, hybrid and full transistors. Thx
Hi Markus, the spring reverb was invented by Laurens Hammond for his so called tone cabinets. The first ones were huge and had more than 2 springs. Later on he minimized them for mounting them into his organs. Those were very similar to the one in the Philicorda.
love the look of this instrument.
Did that really read 202C? Holy moly. I sure wish I had seen this video when you first made it...Been looking for one of these in good shape! Love your videos Markus!
To hear the Philicorda on a classic oldie, listen to "Let's Dance" by Chris Montez, from 1962.
I had a "Philicorda" GM760 when I was a kid. Didn't play much on it, but I "hotwired" the amplifier to my 486 (at the time) and used the 12" speaker as a subwoofer. I also had lots of fun with the spring reverb, connecting it to the PC and plucking the springs at diffrent places with a screwdriver to make cool sounds and recording them. Now the GM760 is the valve based one
Yep, for some time even us dutch made interesting instruments. Eminent 310 (of J.M. Jarre fame), Solina strings, Synton vocoders and synths. Those where the days. I personally own a Riha Orchestra 3-manual organ with integrated strings and solo synth. Mine has even been upgraded with a Wersimatic section. Organaut would probbaly love it!
Now play "96 Tears!"
I like watching the evolution of Markus' shop compared to the later videos.
Thanks Paul. yes theres certainly been a lot of changes over the years. I need a bigger room now.
Hello. I had a similar Philicorda with the reverb not working at all. It was a faulty transistor which drives the in or output of the reverb and it is located in the middle right of the horizontal board where the potentiometers are also located. Can't remember the type of it anymore but I've got a similar spec replacement for it on ebay for like 5 euros. After swapping it the reverb worked flawlessly ever since. I sold my Philicorda few weeks ago.
Are you able to point out which transistor at which row & it is?...
I have the same problem... 😞
Thanks in advance.
@@Multiwizard It was like 12 years ago. It was kind in the middle in the front PCB as far as I remember. It was surely a germanium transistor.
@@repasiv I just did upload a short video of my 751 organ:
czcams.com/video/zuKxF-5YXrk/video.html
Are you (hopefully) able to point out at 0:36 of this video which (row) of transistor it should/could be?...
It has 12 rows...
Thanks (again) in advance.
@@Multiwizard Those similar looking circuits are all the voices It was I think somewhere in the middle of the front PCB. Mine was a bit later version and did not have vacuum tubes. The reverb is like an amplifier-transducer-spring-microphone-amplifier combination and one amplifier did not work. I'd make a test to switch on the reverb, turn up the volume and hit the spring. If it makes a noise over the speaker than it is in the first part of the circuit. Could be one of the vacuum tubes or a dry capacitor.
@@repasiv ok thanks anyway... 🙂
After watching your videos endlessly, I finally did resurrect all the functionality of my Yamaha Electone C-55. Thanks for that. Now on to repairing my much more precious Philicorda. By the way, there is a separate input amplifier for the reverb I am told. It is supposed to be on a separate board. You might find it. Did your Philicorda also have the separate 'service' plug for the main lead inside, so it can be powered up while worked on?
This was the third version of this model. It's from the late sixties. The first one was valve with a separate valve amplifier under the keyboard section and was from mid sixties. For some strange reason only the technology inside and the cabinet were changed. The three stops and five tone filter switches and the overall sound were mostly unchanged.
+Steffi Ri I also have a Philicorda with valves and glow lamps. Its an GM751/22 (without T). I also have an GM751/22T and there are only transistors in it.
If the T really stands for transistor, maybe the wooden case has been exchanged. They are old instruments and none of my three Philicorda organs had only originial parts in it when I bought them.
Nevertheless, there are much more versions of the GM751/22(T)-Models. Some of them use transistors but there are still valves used for the vibrato-section and the amplifiers. Also, there are different key versions. While the Philicorda in the video has the old keyboard, my GM751/22T has a newer keyboard where the keys are just hold by springs. There was also a mono and a stereo-version of the Philicorda.
I guess when they changed something during production, they still used the old parts they had available, so there are much more versions then model names of the Philicorda.
This is a model 752, 1968 to early 70's. I have one with 1973 speakers.
I have one one of these exactly the same model as the one you have been fixing and they sound even better when you put them through a Lexicon mpx550 and then through a 1970 small stone phaser.
Thank you very much for the informative video! I just got one of these today, and it works perfectly, except from some very scratchy knobs. This gives me the confidence needed to go in there and clean the contacts. :)
I own the orginal GM750 (the full tube version. It has no built-in amplifier and spring reverb. Those are a separate unit from the organ itself. The amplifier functions a stand for the organ.
I have just remembered, included with the early ones was a 7" vinyl EP of various drum sounds. A record deck could be plugged into that socket underneath to play through the organ with the reverb if selected.
I played this Philips Philicordia for 9 years. My only problem was that most piano music needs at least 5 octaves. My first song learned on this thing was Mozart KV 331 Rondo Alla Turca
You need to get into 60s garage.
Never seen one of those before, sounds pretty awesome.
I guess if you were keeping it a recap of the power supply might be in order.
Hi Neil, I have too many items around the house and as its already working at the moment I may just sell it off. It sounds great but I just do not have enough room to keep everything.
I liked the tubed oscillator version, with neon lamp dividers, nice lots of high voltage.
Fun video, nice to see the inside of one of these things. I had two thoughts about the delayed reverb. 1) Maybe a bad electrolytic capacitor taking too long to charge up? or 2) that resistor with the spring on it, maybe it is supposed to heat up and open the circuit, thus freeing the reverb to work? Anyway, thanks for the video!
Hi Clydesight. I never got around to sorting that problem out. someone came along with a reasonable offer and I sold it with that problem and that accepted it as it was. but yes I agree you are likely correct about the Cap problem. many thanks
In the avenues and alleyways!
You can see on the type label if it is transistor version. 22GM751/00T . The T stands for transistor version.
I'd bet that the intermittent reverb was caused by a problem in the power supply. He should have measured voltages out of the power supply when it first came on and after it started working. Then it would have been easier to repair what was missing. BTW, those speakers look mid 70s but they might be replacements.
The red switch is how you switch the build in speakers on/off, in case you want to send ether a pre or post amp signal to something else eg. mixing desk via DIbox, tape recorder machine, external amp (pre amp in that case), external speaker, etc...and don't want the built in speakers on.
On the powersupply board there are 2 5,5W resistors 47 Ohms and 100 Ohms. They have a bad solder joint.
Really useful stuff!! Would love to see a more detailed tour round the circuitry - my Philicorda (a 751, similar model to that one) does not respond to either reverb or vibrato knobs being turned clockwise and only appears to have one speaker working (balance anti clockwise just acts as a volume -> off control). Despite these handicaps, it sounds great - but I'd love to restore it to it's former glory, and this is a very helpful start..!
FWIW the red switch on the underside toggles the speakers on/off..
Hi David, Im not absolutely sure but I think the balance was not for left right but for internal speakers mono counterclockwise and external connections clockwise. both my speakers work but with the balance to the left. as the speakers are connected together internally (on mine anyway). I had a few problems with some of the controls and just blasted them with switch cleaner to get everything working. maybe you could try cleaning them up. best wishes from markus.
The function of the balance pot depends on the switches manual (vox-chord) and kombination (input selector)
if the input selector is set to 1, balance sets the ratio between bass and descant keys (vox-chord = 2) or the ratio between chords and melody (vox-chord=3)
if the input selector is set to 2, balance sets the ratio of the organ and connected record player
The volume control used an light sensitive depending resistor inside the pedal a small light bulb shine light on it.
pretty good instrument by all standards ... that 'analog' reverb sounds just great, especially compared to digital ones that sound worth than death! someone can somehow add a lever of sorts to hit that reverb mechanism at will and make really nice sound effects in real time! ;-)
1st time i saw one of these or another Philicorda model very close, probably a 2-tiers one, was in the late 1960s at a friend's house ... i was only 10 or 11 years young, crazy about keyboards (pianos, organs, ... but had none, not even a plain Melodica) and his father had bought one from England if i'm not mistaken ... (lived in Iran at the time ...) it was magical and i yearned to have one until my sister got me an organ (a Yamaha B2) a few years later ... i didn't quite like it though as i was more grown up and wanted something much more sophisticated than that ... but well ... i really have to own something like this right now!
I used to play a Farfisa Compact; the spring reverb was suspended underneath, and you could drum your fingers on it for "thunder" sound effects
Seems like a nice combo organ.
+Michael Bauers It was a nice vintage sounding instrument. sadly I had to sell it on. I wish I had the space to keep all the wonderful instruments I have had over the years but sometimes things must go so I can buy other things. But its an interesting life for me as i'm so inquisitive and theres always something new to see and learn every day.
Love the CRT gag!
Why didn't those oldcdevices leak or needed tuning? I literally torned mine while playing and all keys never gave up even while playing with banging it. Used it 7 years.
the burning resistor in the power supply could be due to a higher mains. It used to be 220V but nowadays it's about 240V
Hi Markus
I have a Philicorda and I was wondering if you would be able to look at it for me? I have no idea what’s wrong with it (previous owner said it could be a rectifier?) but it would help me a lot of you could get it working. Please let me know :)
maybe the transistors running the reverb preamp are knackered..or the bias that runs them is a bit off
Were any of those connections an input to the reverb?
I don´t get it. Clearly you do not know what you are doing, suddenly the reverb works but not cause you repaired it and yet people comment that you are a wizard and want to hire you for their repair. The switch is for switching between headphones or internal amplifier, yet you do not know. I am puzzled...
I'm sure this is a GM752. GM751 was the valved version.
I played on it in the Philips-showroom in Brussels in 1964
Hi, i've got the same, and this green resistor seems to have burnt... So the reverb doesn't work. I can't find the same resistor, do you know which one i can find to replace it? Thanks for the vidéo !
thanks Markus - really enjoyable and helpful. Your car boots are something else! I got a nice brown lamp shade at mine here in Sheffield. I'm just looking for a Philicorda - just heard it on Cerys Matthews R6Music show - Big Boss Man. I want to play.
Hi Phil. theres many weeks where i cannot find anything at all. but its just being there at the right time for the real bargains. my brother lives in Sheffield :-)
@@markusfuller Hi Markus - when are you next visiting your brother?! My 1969 Phillicorda GM754 needs some TLC. Or where are you? I could do with a road trip. Phil
Hello Phil. sorry but I ended my repair business in march and sold off all the test gear, thats why there has been no youtube videos since march. I just spend my days playing keyboards now. my apologies.
Fabulous sound
Love your videos. Keep up your good work!
I have a similar organ. As from the second F (beginning from the leftside), I can hardly hear the notes anymore. What could be the problem? Is it fixable ? Tx for your advice. Els (Belgium)
is this Colin furze's twin brother ?
funnily enough i commented the same on another one of this chaps videos
Very nice video! Thanks. I have the portable blue version on this one. By the way... the key G is not working on my Philicorda (all over the keyboard). Is this maybe an easy fix that I can manage myself, or do I need to leave it to a specialist for service? What can be the problem?
Heij
You may be the guy to go to. I have a Radford SPA which don´t want to come out to play anymore. I have the schematics but no one i asked wanted or couldn´t help me. I would really like to use it again. Please contact me.
i've got one of these that doesn't work at all, are there schematics for them?
fixed now. had several bad transistors
5:20 I crt what you did there.....
hello,, am interested. In a small organ {.left Over, ?
}
Haha, that valve joke, very funny :)
Hi Markus ! Do you know if there is a way i can insert an external instrument to the build in amplifier of the Philicorda? Such as a guitar or a second organ i have...?
yes , jack input
Guess replacing capacitorrs would help
Oh, i know the problems! But i love my Philicorda
Nice Video!
Very unique sounds. I sadly sold mine but kinda miss it in a way.
Didi you check out the output section of it? I have a issue with output. I made a DIN to mono jack cable and connect it to organ output and to DI and there is a sound but there is a lot of ground hum. any ideas thanx.
Hi Dejan. I do not own this instrument now so I really cannot go and check mine to see what the problem is. I never used the outputs on mine just the built in speakers. sorry about that.
No problem...I solved the problem..Greets Dejan
@@dejanslak8972 hey i have the same problem, but i see you fixed it, how did you fix it?
if reverb needs to warm up for 2 mins and since it has no tubes inside it IS a malfunction you should have fixed
Hey! I have a few problems with my philicorda GM751/19T and i wonder if you have any ”quick” fixes for them:
1. The philicorda doesnt start up at all unless i press down a key at the same time as I press the on/off switch. Any thought about that?
2. The Eb key at all octaves doesnt work. What can this be? All other keys work properly when the philicorda starts up.
(I write to you because it seems to be hard to find people who knows about these machines)
Best regards,
Sam
Hello Sam. question 1 , to be honest I have no idea why the phillicorder needs a key to be pressed before it starts, thats completely new to me. Question 2 on the main board you will see that the components are arranged in similarity as though there are 12 sets of everything from left to right. these are the 12 notes on a scale. some phillicorders have the note number printed on the circuit board at the start of each of these rows, I would find the Eb line of components with a multimeter one by one against the similar components on the next note to the right or left knowing that the other notes work ok you should find a difference in one of the components along the Eb line against the other lines of components. Im guessing that will be the problem part that will need changing. sadly I no longer have my phillicorder so I cannot go and see which line of components is the Eb line. but at least you have the other notes working so can compare Eb components against other notes. also if theres is nothing at all from any Eb then I would check the wiring from the keyboard. there should be 12 wires for the notes and maybe 5 or 6 other wires for the octave signal in etc. but the problem may be just one of those 12 (note) wires going to the keyboard or main circuit board. hopefully its just one of those. Good luck and sorry I cannot help with the first question but maybe the 1st problem will be resolved when you fix the second. best wishes from Markus.
Thank you so much for the reply! I will try to figure this out!
Yeah!! A Dutch beauty! :D
Hi, We have this organ with my band and we'd like to tune it. Is it possible and wether yes where can I do that in the organ? We also have a Farfisa compact and it can be tuned with a screwdriver. But here, no idea :/ Thanks for your video and maybe your advice.
timoté Iglesias Hello Timote. there are several versions of the philips phillicorder, the older ones can be tuned but you have to open the unit up and you will find 12 adjustable points along the circuit board. I believe one version had a cutout (vent) along the back thay you could reach the tuning points with a long screwdriver. these tuning points are for each note ie All the Cs or All the Fs etc but will effect that same note within every octave as the phillicorder uses dividing circuitry for every octave. I am not sure about the very last phillicorder model that was made as i have never been inside the last model, I know that circuitry was quite different though they all looked very similar on the outside.
Thanks a lot we're going to check it out. Our Farfisa organ has also this octave tuning mode, we're pretty accustomed to that. I'm just hoping ours is old enough to get tuned. Greetings from France.
Hi Markus! I found a GM752 that is working just fine, except for some surfaces that need cleaning, and the reverb is completely dead. I wanna open it up and take a look at it, but I can't seem to remove the legs so I can place it like yours and lift the chassi. Did you remove them yourself, or do you know how to? Thanks for great content!
Stvafel Hello Stvafel mine never had any legs on it when i bought it. there should be some way to remove them but I do not know how as i never had them on mine. sorry i do not know how to advise.
@@markusfuller I found that they seem to be screwed into the inside of the chassi by some metal plates, and I'm not sure if it's possible to remove them without actually removing all of the electronics first. I'll look into it more. Thank you for your reply!
@@markusfuller So! Turns out it wasn't hard at all to remove the legs - you just pull them straight out, haha! I have removed the chassi as well. Now, for the reverb, here's what I've learned: when the reverb switch is active and the reverb knob is turned up and I tap the reverb tank, I get a signal through the speakers just like you do. I can control the degree of it with the reverb knob, and if I switch off reverb, it stops. So those parts seem to work fine. However, when I strike a key, no reverb is added. I'm guessing this has to do with the signal from the keyboard not actually reaching the reverb tank, or the magnet part of it that you're talking about is somehow busted, not generating any vibration through the springs. Any ideas on this?
Stvafel Hi Stvafel on the reverb tank there should be an rca connector on the input and the output side of the spring (or maybe its hard soldered ?) if you unplug or disconnect the input side you may be able to connect a siganl to it ie a small mp3 player or something and with the unit turned on it should come out of the speakers with reverb added. or check the cable going into the spring reverb and see if there is signal present on it when you play a key. do you have an oscilloscope? if so it should be easy to check for a signal present. though it sounds to me that if you are getting the sound of the spring when you touch it that the output is working fine so theres a problem on the input, check the pot that adjusts / sends signal to the reverb input. I can honestly say that i have never seen one of these spring reverbs where the magnetic coil is damaged. you can also check with an ohm meter across the coil input to see if there is a resistance that way the coil is intact. if you do this make sure the unit is off and disconnect the cable to the spring.
@@markusfuller Thank you for your thorough answer! I measured it using a multimeter and it appears that both the input and the output end of the reverb tank is giving off a signal from every component (both the soldered wires and the coils). So I guess the problem is somewhere around the place where the signal from the keys get mixed with the reverb, and that is a whole other level of troubleshooting that I unfortunately do not have the competence for. I'll have to live without the reverb or see if I can find someone who can take a look at it. Thank you though for all of your input, I'll make sure to recommend your channel!
Hi There, I have a divider or oscillator gone on mine , well so I think it could be?? all the F's dont work all of a sudden. Is this repairable or do you need original sound parts?
cheers
Hi Andy. those boards on the top are 12 sets of identical circuits. 4 per board. at the end by the keys you will see the note numbers printed. look for the F and then test the components with the one next it F#. when you find a difference replace that component and that may just sort the problem out for you. Good Luck.
markusfuller Hi Mark, thanks for your reply, I will do that for sure! are the parts on the board replaceable i.e easy to get hold of?
Hi Andy. apart from the tuning coils at the back end of the circuit board (can't remember what they are actually called). almost all the components used on the board are replaceable. standard PNP NPN transistors and capacitors. all can be replaced and there will be equivalents to all the transistors still available from RS components - element14 - CPC - many companies will carry this stock. Just search google and you will find someone selling them. Good Luck.
markusfuller Thanks so much for your help much appreciated!
markusfuller Also if you know, as these units have an input and output, would it be possible to use the organ spring to send external audio signals through? It would save me having to buy a separate spring unit! plus not heard one as nice as these ones
Could it be a 1965 modal just wondering.
+DAVID GREGORY KERR Hello David, Sorry but I passed it along to another musician so I cannot check the year of manufacture. but Yes I think it would be around that era.
Alan hawkshaw used one
5:00 lol^^
excelent video
Hi Markus,
"Is it worth to repair?"
maybe it's worth to look at the schematics first and grab a scope! It should not be that long to troubleshoot. My guess would be a decoupling cap that gone wild, preventing proper biasing of a transistor (reverb amplifier)...
If you really want to restore it, think about replacing the smoothing caps on the power section, if from the 60's, they'll most likely leak or explode soon ;-).
Hi Marcus ! i recently bought a philicorda gm752 and it has a problem. One key has no sound in all the octaves. i cant find the problem, it looks like good inside. Any suggestion? thanks a lot
Hi Ruben, if it is similar to this phillicorda then you will see there are 12 identical layouts of components. these are for the 12 notes in an octave I guess you will have one component dead in one of the note sections, you could do a comparison with the same components in the next note circuit and maybe find the problem there. Good luck
Thanks a lot Markus. I'll check the components as soon as posible.
+markusfuller Dear Marcus, I am struggling with exactly the same problem as Ruben was. I'm not sure how to measure the components (I don't have access to an oscilloscope), could you be a bit more specific? Thanks in advance.
Hello Purpertje on the top panel there will be 12 sets of exactly the same components in a row they are the 12 notes. if you look on the circuit board it may be printed c c# d etc. check the components of a working key against the components of a faulty key. ie if c works but d does not then you can find the values of the working components in the set for the C note and compare each one in the D note set. if something reads very different with a multimeter then it could be that component that is faulty.
+purpertje You won't need an oscilloscope for that. Just a small multimeter will do for checking the resistors and diodes etc
Those 5-pin connections on the bottom look like midi!
Hi Robert, yes they are similar sockets but they were audio outputs for plugging into old style casette recorders etc.
MIDI didn't exist by then I believe (came in the eighties). Philips stuck to DIN quite long., anyway.'
would you be able to fix mine? the power button doesn't work :/
Hello. you can bypass the power button and just turn it on or off at the mains. or choose a different power switch that will fit into the square hole on the front. I had an old Korg years ago and could not find the correct switch for it so just jumped the brown to brown on the power switch so it was always on, then i just turned it off at the plug.
markusfuller thank you!
couple more questions. How do you take it off the stand and what does the red switch on the bottom do?
Hello I have never had the stand so I could not say really. as for the red switch Im not absolutely sure but I think someone told me it was to turn off the built in speakers.
markusfuller Thank you :D
5:05, u're a genius ahahahah...
alan Hawkshaw played this
Why you did not go deeper into its circuit? Measuring around would have been nice, you would see that it probably got a top octave design. As it has 12 coils representing the master osc. followed by a row of a 5 times transistor based divider section. I think they are rectangular osc. as these are easy to divide by two and it sounds like ;)
The spring reverb "delay" is may be to a bad solder joint or a crackled trace at the power supply PCB.
The phillips organs where build for home use, and bought mainly by home musicians. Therefore most of these organs are in good shape, as they did not see (m)any stages. They rest most of their time covered in an edge of the livingroom.
But, when you see inside the mechanical build quality is beond home use. I like this, but i do not like the "cheesy" 70th "top-octave" sound. That´s why i do not like the VOX organs as well, as any other rect.osc. based organ.
But the keyboard itself is excellent. If you plan to do a DIY synth someday keep just the keyboard. As it got all you need and you can directly solder the R2R-ladder to it and have the gate output with no extra circuitry needed :) You can even have velocity and midi if you use a MicroController. Furthermore this sort of keyboards never worns out, as its contacts are last virtually for ever, while the "modern" rubber based keyboards may turning into unplayable junk over the years, due to dissolving rubber...
Anyway thanx for sharing!
Hi TubiCal, I did not have much time to get the quick video finished, I wanted to show more about how the reverb works but we had to go out to do a small gig so I kinda called it a day and left it as is. I may still get the oscilloscope out yet and do some video on how the waveform is created. but thanks for your information you have written above. best wishes from markus
Alan Hawkshaw would know m8
WTF! @ 5:03 haha
2 minutes or 20 minutes?
Love your videos. Keep up your good work!