The Optigan Chop Part 1

This post is about a charming (to some) lo – fi chord organ / primitive sample player; the Optigan. There’s TONS of Optigan related info on the net, especially Pea Hix’s wonderful www.optigan.com. I figured rather than just re-hashing everyone else’s info, I would chronicle my attempt at chopping (making a more portable) optigan. Not that I’m crazy enough to take it to gigs (although it may be called for on occasion). It’s mainly just a space issue. No more room to build out so I have to build up!

I must admit I also got this idea from Pea’s site. The model of Optigan I came across (the 35011) happens to be the best candidate for this out of all the other case styles. This is still a work in progress, but I’ll be sure to post the finished unit.

I have a Hammond B2 that would also make a good chop candidate, but I don’t know if I’m ready to take that leap just yet. Now that combo organs are commanding top prices, chopping a Farfisa or Yamaha home organ seems like an appealing option. Plus they’re usually cheap enough that if you mangle them in the process, it’s not the end of the world.

Check out the organ forum photo gallery for various DIY chop jobs of many different types of organs.

The unit in original thrift-store condition

The back view - not a lot to it.

Cantos’ wonderfully kitsch 35012 “Mediterranean” model