On Mon, 6 Jan 1997, D Q Bellamy wrote:
 
> Yes . . . without wishing to seem ungracious or unkind, that console is
> certainly not the most handsome I have ever encountered, and not really
> what one would have expected from such a notable instrument. I have
> often wondered what the Skinner original was like - I assume that it
> was drawstops. If this is so, then why the move to rocking tablets?
 
Yes the original console was typical A-S drawknob 4M with pneumatic
shifters. But there was no practical way to expand the resources of the
console to accommodate the new Bombast^H^H^Hard division (by Casavant,
1972 I think) and Gallery Division (ditto). I believe additional couplers
(over and above what were originally available) were provided on the
rebuilt console, along with the 5th manual. Hence, rocking tabs...
 
> If I remember rightly the console is mobile - I seem to remember being
> at a Christmas Eve (?) New Years Eve recital there in 1989 and being
> able to see what was going on.
 
"Mobile" is not quite the right word: "moveable" might better describe
the situation. It is quite a production! And that thing is *heavy* - it's
chock-a-block full of "solid state relays" and other paraphernalia. Even
so, there are additional relay stacks up in the chambers. And the
umbilical is about 4 inches in diameter...
 
> The organist used pistons situated on the key cheeks a lot
> - I remember wondering what they were for . . .
 
Someone will correct me, but I think most of those are on-offs for
floating divisions to each KB.
 
> It is a grand organ at Grace Cathedral, but Liverpool's mobile five manual
> drawstop console certainly leaves it in the shade from the good looks point
> of view. But then, I suppose, its not the console but the music the organ
> makes that counts . . . .
 
Previous discussion would suggest that console appointments are directly
linked to the *ease* (at least) of producing the music. The <insert
Italian manufacturer's name here> console at GC has been pretty
universally described as a *beast* to play...
 
Jim Tyler <[log in to unmask]>