What
is an Optigan, and how does it work?
The
Optigan (OPTIcal orGAN) was a sort of adult toy originally made by Mattel
in the early 70's. Basically it was laid out like most home chord organs
of the time, but its sound producing mechanism was very unique. Instead
of producing electronically simulated organs, drums, etc, it spun clear
LP-sized discs, optically encoded with looped recordings of real instruments
and instrumental accompaniments. A series of chord buttons provides rhythm
tracks and backing bands, while the melody is played with the right hand
on the 37 note keyboard. 
Where
can I buy an Optigan?
First, you should check the Optiswapit
forum located on this website. Failing that, you should regularly do searches
for "optigan" and "optigon" on eBay. Another potential
online source is usenet groups such as rec.music.makers.marketplace. If
all else fails, put an ad in our local classifieds, not under the "Music"
section but under the "Garage sale" or "Wanted" section.
You should also keep an eye out in your local thrift stores, but searching
for one this way requires great patience and persistence. It helps to live
in Southern California, though, because that's where most Optigans ended
up (the original factory was in Compton, CA). The advantage to these last
two search methods is that if you DO find an Optigan this way, you're likely
to pay MUCH less for it than if you found it online.
How
much did Optigans cost new, and how much are they worth now?
There
were several different models of Optigan to choose from, ranging in price
from about $300 to $500. As for how much they're worth now, I suppose their
value is in the eye of the beholder. I've seen functioning Optigans change
hands for as little as $5 to as much as $600. An average price to expect
to pay for one is more like $50 to $150.
Where
can I buy Optigan discs?
First things first- I do not personally have discs for sale unless I specifically
advertise them on Optiswapit or eBay. So first check the Optiswapit board,
and then check on eBay. Be warned, though- I've seen common discs without
picture sleeves change hands for around $20 apiece on eBay. Once in a very
blue moon, Optigan discs will turn up in the record bins at thrift stores.
But once again, hunting for them this way is like looking for a needle in
a hay stack. Usually it's much quicker to hunt for the actual Optigans themselves,
because they almost always come with discs. In other words, individual discs
are easily lost in the shuffle, but a big ugly brown organ is pretty noticeable.
Can
the discs be duplicated?
We've had partial success at duplicating discs- enough so that I'm convinced
that its possible to do successfully if you put in enough effort to figure
out the exact formula. The original Optigan discs were duplicated onto a special
grade of Kodak film made exclusively for the Optigan Corporation, so a perfect
replica would be impossible unless you paid Kodak enough to put it back into
production. Still, you could probably get pretty close. But the amount of
money spent in the effort would probably not be worth it compared to the fun
you would have trying to hunt down the real thing.
Can
new discs be made?
Again,
probably. The most direct method would be to write some custom software to
produce disc images from digital audio files, and then have this image reproduced
on celluloid. Again, though, the process would be time-consuming and costly.
I've had several people volunteer to do some R&D on this in the past,
but with no results so far. If anyone out there wants take a stab at it, by
all means let me know!
Who
made the Optigan?
Mattel designed and originally manufactured the Optigan, but sold the whole
works intact to Miner Industries (another toy company, which also owned Magnus
and Estey organs) in 1973. Miner created a subsidiary company called "Opsonar"
to continue production of the Optigan and Optigan discs. The machine was still
called "Optigan" though, and almost no changes were made to the
design.
When
was the Optigan made?
The first Mattel Optigans rolled off the assembly line in late 1970, and Opsonar
ceased production in the summer of 1976.
How
many Optigans were made?
This is still somewhat of a mystery. There have been figures quoted from 1,000
to 100,000, though the actual number is probably somewhere closer to 10,000.
Where
were Optigans sold?
Mostly through large department stores such as Sears, JC Penney and Montgomery
Wards. In fact, there was even a special version of the Optigan made exclusively
for the Montgomery Wards chain. Optigans could also be bought from music and
organ stores.
Were
any Optigans shipped overseas?
Gus
Wylde, one of the technicians for Optigan, reports that the last 100 Optigans
made by Mattel were shipped to Amsterdam. Frans
van der Bijl, a citizen of Amsterdam, did a bit of research on this and
found it to be essentially the truth. The parts were shipped overseas, where
they were assembled by the individual dealers and sold not very successfully.
Also, I've had enough reports of Optigans turning up in Australia to lead
me to believe that there must have been a shipment sent down there as well.
Other than that, it's unlikely that any Optigans left the country other than
solitary instruments shipped privately.
Is
it true that the Optigan was a commercial failure?
Well,
yes and no. Optigans actually sold quite well and were popular (despite being
very unreliable), but due to some pretty bad mismanagement, Mattel ended up
$13 million in the hole by the time they had sold the Optigan to Miner.
Why
are Optigans so unreliable?
The
design team for the Optigan largely came from a toy manufacturing background,
and consequently most of the engineers thought purely in mechanical terms.
There were many elements of the Optigan's design that could have been much
better handled using electronic parts and transistors (such as the disc drive
system), but even after designing and patenting some technically superior
electronic designs, the engineers nevertheless chose to go with mechanical
means instead. This combined with the fact that the target price had to be
kept reasonable meant that the Optigan suffered from a pretty flimsy design,
by musical instrument standards.
Who
produced the discs?
The
core production team for the Optigan discs was Mike
LeDoux
and Marshall
Pearlman.
Marshall really oversaw the project as a whole, and Mike was largely responisble
for actually creating the discs themselves.
How
were the discs made?
Click
here
to see a photo essay of the disc-making process.
Who
played the instruments encoded on the discs?
Over the years, a wide variety of session musicians played for Optigan. The
earliest sessions were produced in Cologne, Germany, and constitute the bulk
of material that was actually released as discs. The German session musicians
can be heard chatting away auf Deutsch in the background of many of the master
tapes. Back in the USA, musicians included Johnny Largo (who mostly just played
the keyboard scales), ex-members of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra (on all of
the big band discs), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (on "Bluegrass Banjo,"
et al), Frederic Noad (a guitar teacher for Public Television, he recorded
all of the solo acoustic guitar discs), Mike LeDoux (on the "Guitar Boogie"
disc), Chet Ricord (drums), and many other anonymous session guys.
Who
wrote the musical arrangements for the discs?
Most
of the arrangements weren't "written" per se, but were improvised
by the session guys based on certain guidelines laid down by Johnny, Mike
and Marshall. The earliest sessions were very haphazard in this respect, and
contain excessive noodling. Later on, Johnny Largo contracted arrangements
from folks like Art
DePew,
an ex-bandleader for the Lawrence Welk Orchestra.
What
kinds of instruments were used for the keyboard scales?
Mostly Hammond B3s, Vox Continentals, Gibson and Yamaha Organs.
How
many different discs were made?
In total, 42
discs
made it into production, including the two diagnostic test discs, which were
only available to service technicians.
How
many different models are there?
There were six different versions of the Optigan. Essentially they were the
same machine, the cabinet design being the primary variant. For pictures of
the different types, go to this
page-
34001 Early monophonic model, with reverb. Not very many of these were produced
35001 Standard stereophonic model, with reverb.
35002 Standard stereophonic model, without reverb.
35011 Real wood, "Contemporary" model, with reverb.
35012 Ornate "Mediterranean" model, with reverb.
37003 Special Montgomery Wards Edition: real wood, without reverb.
Was
there ever a portable model made?
No,
although it
is possible to convert an standard Optigan into a more "portable"
instrument.
What
are the most rare Optigan discs?
Apart
from the test discs, the discs that were produced under Opsonar are the
hardest to get ahold of. These are:
Guitar Boogie
Champagne Music
Gospel Rock
Swing It!
Vox Humana
Cathedral Organ
Polka!
Mazurka!
Country Sunshine
Down Home
Country Waltz
New Orleans Blues
Was
there ever a "Sitar" disc made?
No.
There were never even any studio recordings of sitar. Apparently the word
"sitar" was put on the cover of the owner's manual because someone
in the office thought it would look good.
Are
there any rare prototype discs available?
Possibly.
Although Mike does not remember ever holding onto any proto discs (and his
entire disc archive was thrown in the trash a few years ago), I've had one
report of a prototype Optigan "Cello" disc. The owner claimed to
have acquired it from the Opsonar R&D department in the mid 70's. It seems
to me that this disc could very well have simply been a proto copy of the
Orchestron Cello disc, but I never received verification of this from the
owner.
Are
there any rare prototype Optigans still out there?
Probably
not. The earliest design concept for the Optigan was a small organ containing
something like an Edison Cylinder. When the keys were pressed, they would
push down needles onto the audio tracks. This proved to be completely unstable,
though, so the focus shifted to optical means. It's doubtful that any of these
prototypes still exist. If they do, they're in the Mattel archives.
As far as prototype production Optigans go, the only thing that's likely to
exist are possibly the four special models built specifically for promotional
purposes. These sounded a bit better and were much tougher that regular Optigans.
Mike's not sure where they ended up, but he has a feeling that one or two
might possibly still exist somewhere. There were also several prototype
cabinet designs produced and exhibited by Opsonar, but as far as we know
these were one-of-a-kind protos and are not likely to still be in existence.
Do
the master tapes for the Optigan discs still exist?
Yes and no. All of the original 8 and 16 track masters are gone, but fortunately
Mike held on to the 1/4" stereo mix-down masters. These are probably
the most useful tapes to have anyway. I am the current legal owner of these
tapes, and have copyrighted the material contained on them. All 40-odd hours
have been backed up onto DAT.
Can
I get copies of the Optigan Master Reels?
While it's possible that I may at some time make excerpts from the reels available
on CD, currently I am refusing all requests to make copies of the tapes. This
is partially due to the sheer amount of work it takes to copy 20 DATs, but
largely due to the fact that I don't want to ruin any possible commercial
ventures I might devise for these tapes!
What's
the best way to record an Optigan?
Generally I've had the most success with simply sticking a mic in front of
the thing. Using the headphone jack is a losing proposition, because you will
inevitably get some kind of nasty buzz. It's possible to wire up low-level
outputs to an Optigan, which produces a much cleaner direct signal, but for
the non-technically minded this may be a bit out of reach.
Are
Optigan samples available on CD-ROM?
YES! Check our Shoptigan
page for updates on the availability of the Official Optigan/Talentmaker/Orchestron
CD-ROM!
Has
the Optigan appeared on any commercially available albums?
Yes. Many. They are listed on the Optigan Discography
page.
How
do you pronounce "Optigan?"
Well, the most common way is "Optigon," hence the frequent misspelling.
But if you want to be a complete purist, you'll pronouce it just the way it's
spelled (ie pronounce "-gan" as in "organ"). The only
people I've met that pronounce it this way consistantly are Gus
Wylde, Mike LeDoux and
Johnny Largo.
What
are some of the more advanced techniques of Optigan playing?
Gimmicky techniques such as upside-down and multiple discs are obvious, and
hence pretty boring. As far as disc manipulation goes, I like to take two
copies of the same disc and tape them together back-to-back so that the beats
line up perfectly. This way you get some cool reverse echo effects on the
drums. As far as actual performance goes, I often combine chord buttons to
get a wider range of harmonic possibilites. Results vary depending on which
disc you're using, but generally you can get major 7th chords by holding Bb
& Gm, F and Dm or C and Am.
Were
there ever any Optigan TV commercials?
Yes- two in fact. The original was produced under Mattel and was hailed as
one of the first TV commercials for a musical instrument. From what I've heard,
this commercial's theme was "Make Your Own Kind Of Music." It featured
a middle-aged guy who was not very successful as the host of a party until
he cranked up the ol' Optigan. The second commercial was produced under Opsonar,
and all I know is that it featured veteran television actor Barry Nelson.
Attempts have been made to track down these commercials, so far without any
success. Mattel is totally uncooperative, and the major film/TV archives do
not have them.
Were
there ever any Optigan Promotional Demo Tapes?
Yes, and you're in luck because all of the known Optigan promotional audio
material is now available on a single CD, available for purchase from this
website!! Just go to the Shoptigan
page for more info!
What
are some other instruments similar to the Optigan?
Information on the Vako Orchestron and Chilton Talentmaker can be found on
this
page.
Will
Orchestron Discs play in an Optigan and vice-versa?
Yes and no. First of all, the Orchestron was not an "organ" and
thus did not have an chord buttons- only a 37 note keyboard. Second, the actual
track layout of the Orchestron discs differs from the that of Optigan discs.
With the Orchestron, Mike devised a track layout which was much more forgiving
of crosstalk problems: he arranged adjacent tracks in harmonic intervals of
4ths and 5ths as opposed to the harsh minor 2nds on the Optigan discs. The
net result is that when you play an Optigan disc in an Orchestron, you get
all of the accompaniment loops scattered about most of the keyboard, with
17 scale notes scattered towards the bottom. Similarly, when you play an Orchestron
disc in an Optigan, you get the scale notes scattered mostly on the chord
buttons, with some of them appearing on the lower part of the keyboard.
Will
Talentmaker Discs play in an Optigan and vice-versa?
Again, yes and no. The center hole diameter is slightly different between
the two types of discs. It's a very small difference, but one that results
in more crosstalk when you try to play a disc on the other machine. Also,
the Talentmaker discs contained a total of 61 rings of soundtrack, versus
the Optigan's 57.
Other
than discs, what kinds of Optigan accessories were there?
There were several different models of benches made to match the different
cabinet designs. If you bought your Optigan at Sears, though, chances are
you received a generic Sears organ bench. These are the most common type of
bench found with Optigans today. Each Optigan also came with a felt cleaning
wand, used to clean the dust off of the light detector. These came in red
and purple and did not work very well. Apart from the owner's manual, there
was a wide variety of songbooks available, which featured arrangements specifically
created for the Optigan. To find out more about accessories, go to this
page.
The
"A Major" and "E Major" buttons on my Optigan sound wrong.
Are they?
Yes and no. From a musical standpoint, they're very very wrong. But nothing
is actually wrong with your Optigan. In order to fit enough stuff onto the
discs, they had to cut corners a bit. There wasn't enough room for A and E
major, so they decided that they would take a C# dim chord (which has a couple
of notes in common with A major) and use that for multiple chord buttons.
Similarly, a G# dim serves as the E major. The best way to bolster the tonal
implications of these chords is to back them up with full-fisted majors on
the keyboard. Even then, you're still only getting dominant 7ths with the
third in the bass!
I'm
the proud owner of an Optigan. How do I announce this fact to the world?
Just
go to the "Optigoners"
page
and fill out our form - you will be added to the list of proud Optigan-owners
immediately!