Kimball Organs

Kimball Organs

Kimball was started in 1857 in Chicago and initially only made pianos. Eventually, it also entered the venture of making electric organs. For a long time, they were one of the biggest piano and organ companies in the United States.

Kimball sold a lot of electric organs during the post-WWII period. For a long time, they were found in schools and churches across the United States. Played similarly to but not the same as pianos, these were packed with options for rhythm, sustain and other controls. There are many vintage pieces that still survive. The Entertainer series is an example of one of their organ lines.

• The Entertainer M70: This model features two keyboards and a variety of color-coded controls. There are lots of drum patterns from various musical genres programmed into this instrument. Produced during the 1970s and early 80s, it produces a full, rich, vintage sound.
• The Entertainer III: This vintage organ features two keyboards, and a variety of Swinger beat controls. With these keys, you can easily play in a variety of styles, from rock to country and even salsa. There is also an Entertainer function available.
• The L40: This organ has two keyboards and a rhythm option. It also features chord control, so you can press one key but play a full chord. It also comes with a bench that opens, so you can store sheet music inside.

Kimball organs feature vintage technology that was top-of-the-line in its day. These include early computers that controlled the rhythm. Users could also program keys to play an entire chord once they were depressed. Typically, these added features were controlled by color-coded keys, or separate features. Some musicians still opt for the rich bass and other sounds provided by these vintage pieces.

• Beat options: The Kimball made during the 1970s and 1980s provided plenty of options for beats. Users could play on the downbeat. They could choose a rock, jazz, country, or latin music tempo. These options made it possible for players to try a number of music genres.
• Preset keys: Unlike a standard piano, these machines could be programmed. Users were able to program magic memory and magic preset buttons. This made it easy to compose unique songs.
• Instrument keys: Users could accompany themselves with these keys that were programmed to create banjo, oboe, trumpet and other instrument noises.
• Sustain: Players are able to adjust the level of sustain they want with these vintage Kimball pieces.