"Another day in Paradise" - on Elgam Grand Gala

Published on Dec 10, 2012 by organfairy

"Elgam Grand Gala is a typical 1970's European home organ in the lower-middle price region. The sound is not perfect but still useable to some extend. One problem with Elgam organs is that their tabs tends to break off. I got this organ for free in 2000 because it was going to be scrapped anyway. Out of the 24 tabs on the instrument only 2 were working properly - which gives a good impression on how terrible they were constructed. I don't know if there is a word called "plastic fatigue" but that pretty much describes the problem: There are two point on the tab that is rocked back and forth every time it is used and after a while little cracks starts forming. Finally the tab breaks and depending on which of the two points that has broken the tab will fall out or refuse to be turned off.

I rebuild the organ from a spinet to a combo and replaced all the original tabs with illuminated push-buttons. I was not able to save the rhythm section of the organ. It had been subjected to water damage - every IC pin had rusted away and the veneer on the cabinet had "bubbled" up.

The music is played on this organ except for the rhythm that comes from the little Elgam Match 7C. It was recorded on my 8 track Fostex tape recorder. So this is more or less how the old Phil Collins classic would have sounded if I played it in the late 1970's - except off course that it wasn't written back then..."