How to Reduce Maximum Volume on Organ Audio Speakers
Some electronic organs can overpower their speakers. Or you may need to limit how loud your organ can play to keep your neighbors happy. Some organs have a hidden volume control on the output amplifier. If yours does not, volume control can be installed on each speaker. If you're handy with a soldering iron and you have access to place where the speakers are wired up, relief is on the way.
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Things You'll Need
- A 100-Watt L-pad for every speaker
- Cutting pliers
- Speaker wire
- Wire strippers
- Soldering Iron
- Liquid solder flux
- Solder
- Roll of black electrician's tape
- Electric drill with Phillips screwdriver bit
Instructions
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1
Unplug the organ and pull the grille cover off the back of the organ. Search for an amplifier trim potentiometer, which is the organ's volume control. If the organ has one, turn it down and experiment with the settings.
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2
Find and count all speakers in the organ, if your unit does not have volume controls, and purchase an L-pad with a minimum power rating of 100 watts for each speaker and mounting brackets for all pads. Buy a mono L-pad if you only have one speaker; get a stereo L-pad if you have two speakers because it simplifies operation and saves money.
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3
Mount the L-pad bracket(s) in a suitable place.
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4
Cut twice the length of speaker wire needed -- plus some slack -- between each speaker and L-pad. Split apart the silver and the copper leads in the speaker wire and strip three-quarters of an inch of insulation off each end.
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5
Wire a silver speaker lead wire between terminal 1 on each L-pad and its speaker's negative lead. Use liquid solder flux on both the wire and the metal terminals, then solder in place.
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6
Detach the positive speaker wire from the speaker terminal for each speaker and re-route it to terminal 3 of its L-pad. Extend it with speaker wire if you need to, by stripping wire ends, twisting them together and soldering them. Insulate each joint with black electrician's tape. Run a copper speaker wire lead from terminal 2 on the L-pad back to the speaker's positive terminal and solder both connections.
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7
Push the L-pad shafts through the bracket holes and secure them with the shaft nuts supplied with the L-pads. Turn the knurled shaft all the way counterclockwise and slide on the knob with the indicator, or knob point lined up with the "Min" point, on the level indicator.
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8
Plug in and turn on the organ. Experiment with L-pad settings for your preferred maximum volume. Replace the speaker grille.
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Tips & Warnings
Soldering speaker connections is more secure than using push-on terminals because of an organ's speaker vibration and the chance of contact corrosion.
References
- Photo Credit orgue electronique image by choucashoot from Fotolia.com
