From Dave Schutt, Jan 1, 1993
Isn't it (n)ice that Allan Ontko has returned to the real world? It
sounds like global warming is going to be very detrimental to this
historic structure.
BTW, I got three samples of the Kimber-Allen magnetic stopkey actions.
They look very sturdy and have a nice feel. I haven't hooked them up
to voltage yet to see how they work when the toggle tension is at
maximum.
-----
From Ben Chi, Jan 4, 1993
We'd be happy to host such a list. Having worked for an obscure organ
builder (Neill & Johnson, Montclair NJ) while in college, I retain an
interest in the topic. We're accessible via both BITNET and the Inter-
net (see sig below).
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Benjamin E. Chi BEC@ALBANY or [log in to unmask]
Director, Computing and Network Services +1(518)442-3700
The University at Albany, Albany NY 12222 USA fax +1(518)442-3697
-----
From Dave Schutt, Jan 4, 1993
> We'd be happy to host such a list. Having worked for an obscure organ
> builder (Neill & Johnson, Montclair NJ) while in college, I retain an
> interest in the topic.
Thanks for your speedy response and offer. I'll get back to you as soon
as I have discussed this with the others on our informal round-robin.
Best regards,
Dave Schutt
-----
From Lee Ridgway, Jan 5, 1993
Now that the Christmas crush of music is over, I'm catching up on
correspondence. Keep me on the mailing list, and I'll try to contribute
now and then.
-----
From Richard Wyble, Jan 5, 1993
> THANKS FOR YOUR HELP AND SUGGESTIONS, RICHARD. Should I go ahead and
> accept their offer, or should I wait for additional offers to come in?
Go for it. LISTSERV is LISTSERV: technically speaking the host is
nearly irrelevant. What *is* important is the attitude of the
management types, and this looks good.
You might also ask them about the best ways to advertise a new list.
Make sure that all present subscribers (myself included!) have full
instructions about how to interact with the thing, or you'll loose
them in the ether. There may be a way for the LISTSERV to be given an
initial subscription list at the onset: don't know, I've never done
this.
---------------
ANOTHER TOPIC
---------------
I have sent you email asking that my address be changed. **PLEASE DO
NOT DO THIS** Leave my address as [log in to unmask] because
we're having rather severe mail problems at that other place just now!
-----
From Larry Chace, Jan 5, 1993
Hi, David. Steve Worona passed on to me your query about a LISTSERV
for (pipe?)organ matters. I'll look into the possibility of Cornell
setting one up (but I cannot promise anything). Just for curiousity,
what is your particular interest? My is in pipe organs, both clasical
and theatre. I have built a midi-to-pipe controller and several
solid-state relay systems (of my own design).
I am employed by Cornell Information Technologies as a network programmer.
-----
From Ed Stauff, Jan 5, 1993
If the server supports digest format, I would prefer to see the mailing list
"digestified". In other words, batch up all the traffic and send it out
at regular intervals. My preference would be to receive it every 2 or 3 days.
-----
From Dave Schutt, Jan 5, 1993
>Steve Worona passed on to me your query about a LISTSERV
> for (pipe?)organ matters.
There are a variety of people on our informal mailing list. If figured
that anything pertaining to organ was fair game. Most of the correspondents
are classically-inclined because I ran a posting in rec.music.classical and
that almost doubled the number of participants. The original group came
from classified ads that I ran in "The Diapason" "The American Organist"
and "Theatre Organ" magazines. "The American Organist" seemed to get the
most response. There are a few people who talk about electronic organs,
Rodgers/Allens in particular.
> I'll look into the possibility of Cornell
> setting one up (but I cannot promise anything).
We have had a response from The University at Albany (SUNY?) who
is willing to sponsor us. Can your listserver provide "digestisized"
mailings that consolidate everything and sent it out once every 2 or 3
days?
> Just for curiousity,
> what is your particular interest? My is in pipe organs, both clasical
> and theatre. I have built a midi-to-pipe controller and several
> solid-state relay systems (of my own design).
My particular interest is theater pipe organs. I have a 3-manual, 10-rank
Robert Morton in my house. I have been working on an arrangement to use
a Macintosh computer to replace the electro-pneumatic relay/switchboard.
It is working about the way I want it to now. Tell me about your midi-to-
pipe controller and your solid-state relay systems.
If you would like to be included in our informal round-robin that has
been in operation since about September, 1992, send me a message to that
effect, and I'll be happy to include you. We need more theater organ
participation.
-----
From Richard Wyble, Jan 5, 1993
> Disadvantages and/or Questions:
> ------------- ------ ---------
> 1. We must learn some new procedures in order to correspond
> via the listserver.
Yes and no. The subscription message is really about it for normal
situations. After that the only change will be the address.
> 3. What provisions can we make to archive our words of wisdom?
Ask the LISTSERV system administrator about this. I think Bitnet
provides some sort of automatic archiving: there are LISTSERV commands
to retreive them, nicht wahr?
-----
From Larry Chace, Jan 6, 1993
Hi, David. According to our listserv guru, we can provide digests; I
do not know what the "digestion period" is, but I could find out. Let
me know if you'd like us to proceed.
I must admit to having seen your ads, and I've always intended to respond
REAL SOON NOW. I'm a member of the OHS and the ATOS. My first home
organ was during the early 60s while I was a high school student. My
second one will, I hope, soon get started. It will be neither classical
nor theatre (mostly due to a sever lack of space in our house), but will
be a 3-manual unit instrument of about 8 ranks.
The MIDI controller system that I designed and that another Cornell
programmer and I built was based upon the Intel 8051 microcontroller.
Each rank got its own processor, which in effect implemented a 16/1
unit organ feeding off the MIDI input data stream. We also prefer Macs,
and so we drove the test instrument from ConcerWare. We demoed the
test (a 3-rank organ) at Cornell a couple of times and now my collegue
is building an instrument in an addition to his house. He had done a
lot of player piano work and is interested in band organs, and so this
fit in quite well to his plans. We also sold 5 smaller systems to a
local music store that was converting old organ consoles into oragn/synth
instruments. They needed a MIDI output device for the organ pedal keyboards
and so I put together an 8051-based system with a set of input shift
registers that did the job.
Obviously, with a set of keyboard-to MIDI scanners and a set of
MIDI-to-magnet drivers, you would have a unit relay. To avoid
possible confusion with pre-recording MIDI data streams, we defined a
"local" system exclusive message that let us define which "stop" were
to be used. I put "stops" in quotes because what we really sent was
a message to "play rank number x with a pitch displacement of y on
channel z". That provided for wierd mutations, although we only used
normal values like -12 (16'), 0 (8'), +12 (4'), and so on. ConcertWare
can generate sysex messages via macros, and so wrote a few like "8' Flute",
"4' Violin", and so on. The invocations of those macros even appear
in the printed score, and so it looks quite natural.
A local organ builder and friend, Cullie Mowers (a past president of the
OHS) has shown great interest in that project and even arranged some
music for us. He also has had my build a 2 solid state relays for
church organs he has rebuilt. As a result, I have "gone into business",
as Etna Instruments. To avoid FCC registration requirements and to
try to build relays that would run a very long time, I have not used
processors in these systems. The first used a lot of 8-bit driver
chips (ones with an output-enable line) to form a set of 61-pole stop
switches. The second uses a multiplexing logic in that the entire
relay first processes all of the C keys at once, then all of the C-sharps,
and so on. The scan rate is about 650 times per second for the entire
keyboard. I'd prefer to use a processor (since I've been a systems
programmer since 1967), but I'm very concerned about longevity.
Anyway, enough blathering for now. Please feel free to contact me
in whatever way is most convenient.
Larry Chace, P.O.Box 270, Etna, New York, 13062
607-255-7516 (Cornell U.) 607-347-6662 (home)
-----
From Dave Schutt, Jan 6, 1993
I wanted you to know that I am getting some messages about establishing
a listserver at the University at Albany. There have been a couple of
questions that I hope you can answer:
1. Can your listserver provide "digests" of the mail that has been
received? I gather that these digests would be sent out every 2 or 3
days and would contain all the mail that has been received in that time.
2. What are the archive capabilities of LISTSERV?
BTW, I lived in Rutherford, NJ, from about 1972-74 when I was working in
New York. One of the things I remember was that a portion of the Waldorf-
Astoria Moller was in a Presbyterian Church in Montclair. Did you ever
see or hear it? I understand that it has been removed and shipped to
California--must have been a big job.
I also knew George Pasquaye who worked for the Peragallo Organ Co. in
Patterson.
Do you want to be added to our present informal round-robin mailing list
about organs?
-----
From Ben Chi, Jan 6, 1993
Re your questions:
1. Digests -- there certainly are many listserv lists that are in di-
gest form, but I don't have any knowledge of how automated they are.
I'll try to find out more about it.
2. Archives -- archiving of all correspondence is pretty much standard.
Moreover, archives are searchable -- for instance the command
SEARCH PLEIN JEU OR VOX HUMANA IN PIPORG-L
will carry out a full-text search for every occurrence of the strings
"plein jeu" or "vox humana". Searches can be further delimited by date,
etc. We usually archive the archives to tape after a couple of years or
so, but that varies list by list. It is also possible to download the
entire archive on a month-by-month basis.
I don't remember the Moller you mention, but I was working for Neill-John-
son in the early '50s and it may not have been there then. N-J had the
maintenance contract (read "tuning") for nearly every organ in the area,
however, and I took my turn laying a bearing. . .
I'd indeed like to be added to your round-robin -- both for myself and
for an uncle, Bill Exner, who is much more actively an organ buff in
Seattle. He and friends have restored several theater organs, as I re-
call. He doesn't have any network access so I'll digestify for him.
-----
From Larry Chace, Jan 6, 1993
Our listserv is a unix-based listserver, not a Bitnet server, if that
makes any difference to you. I understand that we currently can provide
archiving, and at no charge (at least for the present).
I'd be happy to be added to your list and I don't mind if you send
out the (very brief) note about the MIDI stuff. There is a potential
problem with "sales", however, and that is the FCC. To be legal, a
vendor MUST have taken his product through the standard certification
process. If a vendor sells to individuals, then class B regulations
apply, and the testing for that is much more extensive and expensive.
This applies to any device using digital logic and a clock speed greater
than 9 KHz (yes 9,000 Hz). I would guess that ALL current vendors
of processor-based organ systems are ignoring those regulations. Still,
it is possible for people to discuss the subject without the FCC!
(In fact, it is possible that someone on the net has done more investigation
into this subject; I have made only 1 call to the FCC and the agent
there did not think that organ controllers fell into any of the several
exemption categories -- like controllers for steel mills.)
-----
From Ben Chi, Jan 6, 1993
I just received a very timely announcement that the next release of
LISTSERV (now in beta test) will provide for automatic digestification
of list submissions so that a subscriber may at his option, see list
contributions as they are posted OR receive them at a regular frequency
(daily, weekly, or monthly) in digest form. The list owner has to do
nothing. The frequency is not an option specified by the subscriber
but rather by the owner. My guess is that weekly would be most appro-
priate for a list of this kind unless the traffic turns out to be
exceptionally heavy (which I doubt).
-----
From Ben Chi, Jan 6, 1993
Re your questions:
1. Digests -- there certainly are many listserv lists that are in di-
gest form, but I don't have any knowledge of how automated they are.
I'll try to find out more about it.
2. Archives -- archiving of all correspondence is pretty much standard.
Moreover, archives are searchable -- for instance the command
SEARCH PLEIN JEU OR VOX HUMANA IN PIPORG-L
will carry out a full-text search for every occurrence of the strings
"plein jeu" or "vox humana". Searches can be further delimited by date,
etc. We usually archive the archives to tape after a couple of years or
so, but that varies list by list. It is also possible to download the
entire archive on a month-by-month basis.
I don't remember the Moller you mention, but I was working for Neill-John-
son in the early '50s and it may not have been there then. N-J had the
maintenance contract (read "tuning") for nearly every organ Q%M?
=U9QIe
* W??M z the economic 'recovery'. Most of my colleagues to whom I have talked
say
that business is definitely up! We have signed one new contract and have
two more out for signature. Our OrganCADD sales took a sharp upswing
at the end of 1992 as people were calling in saying that they had to make
some expenditures before the end of the year.
So, not all the news is poor.
*********************************************************************
We're still looking for a trained organbuilder to work in our shop.
If you know someone, drop me a message please.
*********************************************************************
For the future, if you can get down to our city:
Dr. William Gudger, of the College of Charleston, is tentatively
scheduled to present a concert on 28 February on our 71 ranker
at First (Scots) Church here in Charleston. The program will be mostly
French, with an emphasis on the romantic. I hope to have the event
recorded and make cassettes available at a modest cost.
David Higgs has been re-engaged for a special concert on the Scots organ
during Spoleto Festival 93 in late May. We are hoping for a capacity
crowd this time.
*********************************************************************
Comment on the latest communication re: use of processors in organ
relays from Larry Chace:
Solid State Logic has been using a Z-80 as the basis of their multiplex
system for almost 10 years. The system uses a craftily versatile system
of hard-wired logic to do just about everything anyone could need. We
have used them, and they just go on without complaint, barring severe
lightning strikes.
I don't think there will be a problem with longevity as long as simple,
highly available "generic" chips are used. At this point, a multiplex
type control system is one of the cheaper of the major components of a
pipe organ; if it lasts 20 years, that's fine. Maybe we will have to
get our customers used to replacing the system chips as a part of the
releathering process (that is, if one uses leather at all...).
And, technology is changing so fast that people have come to expect to
replace some equipment not as a function of its not working any more, but
as a function of getting the latest bells and whistles. And don't think
churches are immune: we just gave out a quote to fit up a 125 yr old
tracker with a MIDI interface!
By the way, power supply stability is a great factor in the reliability
of just about any solid-state organ control system. We have been using
Astron rectifiers for some years, and they are not only affordable but
of excellent quality output. They can be paralleled to provide greater
amperage for large organs, but it needs to be done carefully.
*********************************************************************
The idea of a list server sounds great. It should be no trouble for
talented and active people like ourselves to learn whatever is
necessary to make it work for us.
Enough stuff for the moment - I hope we'll see even more interesting
things on the Net in 93!
-----
From Larry Chace, Jan 8, 1993
Hi, Dave. Do you live in San Jose? I think I saw a reference in
a recent Theatre Organ to a Dave Schutt there. Have you seen the ads
for the auction at Moller? I am trying to decide about going; it's only
about 5 hours from here. It seems incredible that they have only
recently advertised it nationally, but the auction company said that
the creditors were very anxious to settle the whole business. Since
there was no discussion of it on Prodigy or elsewhere in the,??ZY??? !Q5~> my
Esty 2m reed organ.) Larry
-----
From Allan Ontko, Jan 11, 1993
What's this about using the listserver so that we'll get messages
even if you're NOT SOBER!
For gosh sakes. There ain't nobody involved with pipe organs who DRINKS,
is there, bubba? (Where's that scotch...)
We should all raise a mighty toast to you, Dave, for getting this
group started and keeping it going so well! CHEERS!
********************
Response to message from mallard:
Yes, all the Moller archives etc., including the automobile memorabilia,
will be up for sale. I would not be surprised if a representative from the
American Organ Archive at Westminster Choir College is there to get it. I
sure hope so.
I have talked with a number of my colleagues who are going to be at the
Moller auction. I think there might actually be some bargains, as the state
of organbuilding in the Northeast is pretty dismal right now.
********************
My pipemaker suggested that Nelson Barden, who as many of you know does
absolutely !! authentic !! restorations of EM Skinner organs (down to the
point of removing anything put in by anyone else including AEolian-Skinner)
should buy the Moller plant lock, stock, and diapason. The plant could be
kept in pristine condition and the original materials therein be worked
only by original machinery in the original manner and used only for utterly
authentic restorations of untouched, pure Moller organs. Of course, in a
few years the original Moller employees who would be hired for the job
would begin to die off . . . but that's another problem.
Short break while I extricate my tongue from my cheek...
********************
An organist from Toronto called to say he was coming to Charleston next week
to warm up, and could he see some of our organs. I said sure. He hemmed
a bit, and finally asked, "Well, it's a stupid question, but, what KIND of
organs do you build?". I said we build contemporary French-American organs
that you can play anything on. With great relief, he replied, "Oh, GOOD,
I was afraid you were going to say that you built authentic replicas of
Dutch Schnitger organs.". I retorted, "Oh, Lordy, nothing THAT late...".
Laughter.
********************
Tomorrow's Monday for us (we work Tuesday to Saturday), so its off I go.
-----
From Michael Laird, Jan 12, 1993
I think that PIPORG-L would be the best choice of the ones I've seen
suggested so far, even though I think our discussions should include
some electronic instruments like Allens or Rodgers. Those companies
are trying to imitate the real thing, and for those on limited budgets,
(like my church) sometimes an electronic instrument is all that is
affordable. I'd like to be able to keep up with the latest news about
both pipe organs as well as the best electronic organs.
-----
From Glenn Gentry, Jan 12, 1993
There was a Moller automobile, marketed about 1929 (that much was in one
of the previous messages). What is not widely known is the name: Dagmar
(A Danish name). It was advertised in church publications. I remember running
across an ad in the library at Maryville College 'way back in 1951 or 52,
it was in - I think I have the name right - the Christian Century, and was
pitched toward upstanding community and church leaders. I guess they thought
they could market the car to their organ customers!
-----
From Michael Laird, Jan 12, 1993
While visiting my parents in Pennsylvania over the holidays, I took the
opportunity to go into downtown Philadelphia and see how the Wanamaker
Organ is doing, so I thought I'd let the OrganNet know what I found out.
The organ is rather limited right now because it is in the middle of
being completely restored. The only division that was working was the
88-rank String division, and the Echo and Ethereal divisions apparently
need serious work before they will be playable again (due to
significant water damage from some construction mishaps). The
six-manual console only has two manuals and the pedalboard in place,
and there are no expression pedals or stop tablets. The other four
manuals have been refurbished, but the curators can't install them until
some of the stop jambs are finished. So the bad news is that it will
take until this summer (or maybe longer) just to finish restoring the
console, and probably a few more years)xWe generally run this organ through 8 -
16 speaker cabinets that house as
many as 100 individual speakers, thus giving distortion free sound quality.
Also, a very notable point is that the Praeludium III is a 16 channel organ.
Thus, it is much more flexible in terms of tailoring of sound, adjusting
reeds verse flues on each division, etc.
I would be more than happy to arrange for you to have an informal hearing
of each Ahlborn-Galanti instrument available. We generally have representa-
tives that show organs by bringing people to churches and homes to hear how
the organ sounds at location. This helps to keep costs down and gives a
much more accurate reflection of how the organ will sound in your church or
home. I think the major thing to keep in mind when listening to pipeless
instruments is the quality of the sound. Galanti organs have not only ALWAYS
been digital organs, but we have ventured to some of the finest pipe organs
in the world and recorded selected ranks of pipes on location (which is
directly opposite of one of our competitors philosophy who feel that an
anechoic chamber is the place to record a pipe). I would be happy to give
you more details of our Sampled Wave Processing tm - an application of
digital sampling. Finally, let me state that we can not only come up with
a comparable price regarding the one you mentioned, but this price will
include external speakers. I know that you stressed studio organs, but
what good is a three manual with 32' pitches to be heard through inadequate
internal speakers. Again, please understand that I am by no means trying
to say "ours is better." I just want you to understand where we at Galanti
are coming from. Pipe sound quality is our commitment, and if people
listen with an open mind as well as open ears, we have had nothing except
postive comments. Thank you.
Geoffrey Greene,
Organist & Choirmaster - Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration
Ahlborn-Galanti Organs
Nicholson pipe organs
(401) 273-1611
-----
From Larry Chace, Jan 13, 1993
Hi, Dave. From a hotel clerk in Hagerstown (reading from a newspaper,
I think): Paul Stuck of the firm "King of Instruments" (Chicago) has
purchased the name, records, trade secrets, and patents of the M. P. Moller
Company. He plans to begin building and repairing organs in about
2 weeks. He will not use the former Moller factory in Hagerstown.
It is possible that Bill Gray, former Moller vice-president, is also
associated with this firm.
(The above is not a quote but is a summary of the clerk's summary
of the news.) Larry Chace
-----
From George Horwath, Jan 13, 1993
Geoffrey,
I hope that in no way did I give the impression that I was
attempting to "market" that Allen organ with my review. I
want to assure you again that I do not work for Allen or my
local Allen dealer nor am I in the organ selling business.
I hope I made it very clear that my comparison with Galanti
and Rodgers was based on 2-year-old information. Also, I am
not in the market for an instrument.
The following points were my basic reasons for posting the
review:
1. I received an invitation in the mail for the organ preview.
Normally, I never receive anything like that from any dealer -
a dedication recital, perhaps, but not a chance for a
hands-on preview *when I am not in the market*.
2. Knowing that I was not in the market, the dealer was still
willing to talk price. When asked if I could inform other
people about the price, he said yes, as long as I made it
clear that it was for Chicago at that point in time. I felt
this 2id in the 60's. I recently played the
Lowery (yes they are back in business) MX-II. Lowery, apparently was
bankrupt but Kawai pumped in some bucks to get them out of the red. They
have a real nice line of organs with the MX-II being the top of the line.
The MX-II at least has some tabs on it which is better than the tiny
button design that Yamaha has. This is a step in the right direction!
The Lowery dealer said Kawai has Lowery as an investment and the organs
are engineered, built and shipped out of LaGrange Park here in Illinois.
-----
From Robert Woodworth, Jan 13, 1993
You know me.
Mom & Dad bought the Bortles organ!
-texx
-----
From Dave Schutt, Jan 13, 1993
Let's go ahead and get our listserver happening. Here are the
email addresses for the current organ mailing list. People seem to
prefer PIPORG-L for its name. I really appreciate your support for
this project. It will certainly provide many improvements over our
present way of doing business. I think the ease of adding, chang-
ing and deleting from the mailing list will be appreciated by all.
I've composed a sentence to describe us; it's at least as inter-
esting as BEEs :-)
"PIPORG-L is a mailing list devoted to the musical/tech-
nical/historical aspects of organs: pipe, electronic, reed,
tracker, electro-pneumatic, classical, theatrical, etc."
(Unfortunately I've lost the description of BEE-L
so I'm kind of doing this by ear. Feel free to
improve it as necessary.)
-----
From Robert Woodworth, Jan 13, 1993
I use the name "Robert" very seldom.
To everyone including the phone co I am texx with 2 x's
As for the news group, would you like me to add it for you?
(Thats the stuff I get paid for doing as a living!)
My entry:
Robert "Texx" Woodworth
Born 1957, Berkeley CA
%Canyon Crest
600 Coventry Rd
Kensington, CA 94707
Occupation: UNIX System Administrator / Network Engineer, Contractor
Computers: I have MAC, PC, several UNIX boxes.
Talents: Im more of an organ tech as my playing ability is in woodwoinds
and
percussion.
Current projects:
Installing Wurlitzer opus#1024 (Los Angeles Wabash) at same address
Rebuilding my caliope (Unknown history of instrument)
Restoring and building new case for my "Cornish" reed pump organ circa 1890's
-----
From Laura Silva, Jan 13, 1993
Thanks for your efforts to get this OrganNet going!
And thanks for the subscriber list. It's interesting that
there aren't many women on the list. I wonder why.
My husband and I just returned from vacationing on Maui and
Molokai. It was nice, but I missed organ-playing. Does
anyone out there know of any nice organs in Hawaii?
-----
From Ben Chi, Jan 13, 1993
OK, give me a day or so. In your blurb you might want to say a little
more about the subject matter (aesthetics? practical hints for restor-
ers? etc.) and/or who might be interested in subscribing (organists?
organ builders? fans? etc.). What you have is adequate, but the para-
graph will also be posted to a list "NEW-LIST" which announces the ex-
istence of new discussion lists and, by implication, invites people to
subscribe.
-----
From Richard Wyble, Jan 14, 1993
According to Michael Laird:
>
> some electronic instruments like Allens or Rodgers. Those companies
> are trying to imitate the real thing, and for those on limited budgets,
> (like my church) sometimes an electronic instrument is all that is
> affordable.
Two issues leap from this sentence. First is the matter of imitation,
integrity, and applicability. The architect, Ed Sovik, in his book,
"Architecture for Worship," describes devious ways in which
architectural components must be of absolute integrity. He then
carries the argument convincingly to musical instruments. His bottom
line is that electronic instruments are potentially noble devices,
provided they do *not* attempt to imitate the real thing, saying that
an electronic instrument has a unique sound of its own. He continues
with the startling observation that the better the imitation, the more
reprehensible it becomes.
Second is the matter of "an electronic instrument is all that is
affordable." This has been tossed about for so many years that I am
surprised to see it surface yet again. I can go on for mega-bytes on
the topic and simply don't have time at the moment. Should anyone wish
to continue, I will be happy to do so later (warning: this usually
generates considerable heat from all participants).
-----
From Michael Laird, Jan 14, 1993
> (Richard Wyble writes...)
> an electronic instrument has a unique sound of its own. He continues
> with the startling observation that the better the imitation, the more
> reprehensible it becomes.
I have to disagree here; if you consider an 78rpm record versus an LP
versus a CD, I would say that each is a better imitation of a live
performance than the one that preceded it. Rather than being more
reprehensible, I think each is a great improvement on its predecessor.
> Second is the matter of "an electronic instrument is all that is
> affordable." This has been tossed about for so many years that I am
> surprised to see it surface yet again. I can go on for mega-bytes on
> the topic and simply don't have time at the moment. Should anyone wish
> to continue, I will be happy to do so later (warning: this usually
> generates considerable heat from all participants).
I would certainly like to hear more on this; there are several
representatives of pipe organ manufacturers on the OrganNet, so maybe
they could provide me with some average prices. I'm collecting
information on electronic organ prices, and if my church can actually
afford a pipe organ, I sure would like to know. The last time I heard a
price quoted on pipe organs, I was told that they ran around $5,000 per
rank, just as a ballpark figure. Is that close, or way off?
-- Michael
PS: I don't wish to start any arguments or have anyone "generate
considerable heat" :-) -- I'm just trying to collect the best
information about whatever instruments my church might be able to
afford.
-----
From Dave Schutt, Jan 14, 1993
Michael Laird wrote:
> with the startling observation that the better the imitation, the more
> reprehensible it becomes.
It *is* startling; and directly opposing Hope-Jones idea of the "Unit
Orchestra" and today's synthesizers. While these devices do have a sound
of their own, I believe some of their cX???HX[C> surprised to see it surface yet
again. I can go on for mega-bytes on
> the topic and simply don't have time at the moment. Should anyone wish
> to continue, I will be happy to do so later (warning: this usually
> generates considerable heat from all participants).
Okay, I'll bite. I claim that for the same amount of money, a quality
electronic instrument (Allen, Galanti, Rodgers, etc.) will provide
considerably more tonal resources (that is, more "ranks") than a pipe
organ. The same argument applies for room space. I make no claims about
the relative esthetic merits of either choice.
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