page_title: Optigan
section_title: Appearance and construction
hierarchical_section_title: Optigan / Appearance and construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Detail of the chord buttons, power switch, stereo balance control wheel, tempo control wheel and special effects rocker switches of a ca. 1971 Optigan Music Maker optical organ, model 35002. Owned and photographed by user PMDrive1061.
context_page_description: The Optigan is an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound. Later versions were sold under the name Orchestron.
context_section_description: The Optigan looked like a scaled-down version of the electronic organs of the day. The various cabinet designs and their matching benches were simulated wood made out of a molded plastic the manufacturer dubbed "Temperite" and finished with matching speaker grille cloth and occasionally reverb units inside the unit. A mechanical reverb unit and cabinetry with genuine wood veneer were available as extra-cost options; the control for the reverb on units so equipped is located below the power switch.  Non-reverb equipped Optigans feature a metal plate which reads "Stereophonic" in raised relief and which hides the unused opening.  Reverb-equipped units had a slightly different plate which read "REVERB Stereophonic" affixed immediately to the left of the rocker switches and above the power switch.  According to optigan.com, two piano bar prototypes were produced. The Optigan played in stereo through two solid state amplifiers with the right-hand keyboard assigned to the instrument's right channel and the chords and effects assigned to the left.
caption: Detail of the Optigan's chord buttons, special effect rocker switches, power switch, tempo adjustment wheel and stereo balance wheel. The adhesive-backed metal "Stereophonic" trim plate covers the unused reverb control opening on this example
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