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Anyone use or have a CDX organ?


Blues Disciple

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Hey fellas,

 

Outside of my archaic Ensoniq Electric Grand I have an old CDX Combo Organ. It is vintage---probably about 30 years old. It's white (kind of futuristic looking for th 70's) and single manual. Has 8 drawbars, two or three percussion settings, three Leslie simulated speeds, a weird pitch bend knob(sounds like a airplane taking off) and four preset keyboard sounds (three really lame piano sounds and kind of wimpy clavinet sound). The organ sounds pretty good though and worked well for classic rock and blues stuff. I played a two manual version once that had this arpeggio/glissando ribbon between the two manuals too. The board also has a Leslie input on the bottom, along with the standard amp inputs. If I remember, the parent company that put this out was the Norton Company, which I believe was also the parent company which put out Moog synths. The thing still works and sounds great! I hope to still use it until I get to purchase a "real" Hammond or a new facsimile (CX-3, etc.)

 

I was just wondering if any of you had or has one of these dinosaurs and what you thought about it. Or if any of you had any other information about it and its demise or later versions.

 

BD

"With the help of God and true friends I've come to realize, I still have two strong legs and even wings to fly" Gregg Allman from "Ain't Wastin Time No More"
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Man!, that thing was cool. It was also heavy and the white fiberglass could be damaged very easily. I had the one with two manuals with a moog sattilite built into the top. You could play organ and monophonic synth solos.(pre-midi!) All in all, a very cool retro piece.
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Originally posted by jdt0763:

Man!, that thing was cool. It was also heavy and the white fiberglass could be damaged very easily. I had the one with two manuals with a moog sattilite built into the top. You could play organ and monophonic synth solos.(pre-midi!) All in all, a very cool retro piece.

 

Yeah, I had the double manual with the Satellite built in, too. Great toy - my favorite feature was this button labelled "coupler" that basically let you play the synth (hi note priority) AND the organ from the top manual - sorta like early MIDI. I used that keyboard for all kinds of Genesis covers...

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

Professional Affiliations: Royer LabsMusic Player Network

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I believe that you are right about the Cordovox thing, but I think that Norlin either acquired them or arranged to distribute them, if memory serves...it's been a while...

 

...either way, there was a Moog synth built into it, and I had never seen anything like it at the time.

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

Professional Affiliations: Royer LabsMusic Player Network

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Isn't the Internet great? I did a search for CDX+organ and found several sites. They were commonly referred to as "the white beast" or "the white elephant". The CDX model with the Moog Satellite in it was designed by the Thomas Organ Company and Cordovox for Moog and is commonly called the Moog CDX. Other information about the whole line of CDX combo organ models at http://rodak99.tripod.com/Cordovox/cordovox.htm. My white beast is a model CDX-0632.

 

I am glad to learn that I am not alone in CDX-land!

 

BD

"With the help of God and true friends I've come to realize, I still have two strong legs and even wings to fly" Gregg Allman from "Ain't Wastin Time No More"
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I tried the link and it won't work as a link. You will have to type it in on your address bar to get to the site. Great information.

 

The site that I found the CDX information is Combo Organ Heaven at:

http://rodack99.tripod.com. A veritable bevy of information about everything combo organ.

 

BD

"With the help of God and true friends I've come to realize, I still have two strong legs and even wings to fly" Gregg Allman from "Ain't Wastin Time No More"
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Originally posted by Dave Bryce:

I used that keyboard for all kinds of Genesis covers...

 

Genesis covers... in the 70's? Hmmm, now you've got me curious. I thought I was the only one foolish enough to play "Watchers" in a club.

 

Bart Garratt

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Originally posted by bg:

Genesis covers... in the 70's? Hmmm, now you've got me curious. I thought I was the only one foolish enough to play "Watchers" in a club.

 

Bart Garratt

 

Our favorite way to end our set was with Side 4 of Seconds Out in its entirety. We did a pretty mean Firth of Fifth, too.

 

Yeah, baby... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

Professional Affiliations: Royer LabsMusic Player Network

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Originally posted by bg:

Genesis covers... in the 70's? Hmmm, now you've got me curious. I thought I was the only one foolish enough to play "Watchers" in a club.

 

Bart Garratt

 

Back in the 70s, I was in a REALLY progressive band. We did 3 sets; A set of Yes, a set of ELP, and a set of Genesis. Not only did we do Watchers, but our Genesis set consisted of 3 songs: We opened with Watchers, then did the entire Supper's Ready, and ended the set with The Musical Box. Sometimes we substituted Attack of the Giant Hogweed for Watchers or Fountain of Salmacis for The Musical Box.

 

Imagine a band where the entire set list was less than 10 titles!

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
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Originally posted by bg:

Hat in hand, I ask, note-for-note on Apocalypse in 9/8?

 

As best as my ear could figure out.

 

BTW: It's actually written in 9/4!

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
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Originally posted by joegerardi:

As best as my ear could figure out.

 

Way to go! I never learned it, but it sounds tough in spots. Plus that weird L- percussion...

 

Regarding Hogweed, I never figured out the ending. Sounds like both manuals of the Mark II. Like to see a transcription.

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Sorry to have diverted this thread, but one more question:

 

Originally posted by Dave Bryce:

We did a pretty mean Firth of Fifth, too.

 

Including intro?

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Originally posted by bg:

Sorry to have diverted this thread, but one more question:

 

Including intro?

 

But of course, my brother ... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

I can still do most of it... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

Professional Affiliations: Royer LabsMusic Player Network

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