Andy G's Pix

Andy G and Miyako Kato - Japan 1979

andyg — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:22:20 GMT

Andy G and Miyako Kato - Japan 1979

Out for a stroll in the park, can't recall the location, but possibly Matsumoto. I'm looking at something I'd spotted on the pavement, obviously! [:$]

Andy G at the Roland Atelier AT900

andyg — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:52:00 GMT

Andy G at the Roland Atelier AT900

Me at a pre-production model for a review session.

Hector Olivera's party piece

andyg — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:57:55 GMT

Hector Olivera's party piece

We've talked about Hector playing 'Flight of the Bumblebee' on the pedals, so here's a photo of him doing it. This was at a private 'concert' at the 'Organ Loft' week-long organ expo in October 1979, held at the Novotel, Bradford, Yorkshire, UK.

This was about 2am, after a 'heavy' night for most of us. Don't know how he did it. He went on to play the Widor Toccata, and when some drunken fool (not me!) said "OK, Clever clogs, play it in G", he said "OK!" and just did it!

The Kawai C200 classical organ

andyg — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:52:27 GMT

The Kawai C200 classical organ

The only C200 ever built. I don't have a clue what it sounded like, it wasnt' plugged in! This was in the Kawai factory in Saitama, Japan in 1979.

The Kawai T6 theatre organ

andyg — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:46:29 GMT

The Kawai T6 theatre organ

The only T6 ever built. A mix of theatre tabs, drawbars, and synths. I love the VU meter at the right and the clock (!) at the left. This was in the Kawai factory in Saitama, Japan in 1979.

Andy G at the Gulbransen President - aged 14

andyg — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:36:28 GMT

Andy G at the Gulbransen President - aged 14

Me at the President at the Swan Hotel, Worthing, back in 1971, aged 14.

My own pic of the T50 console

andyg — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:50:17 GMT

My own pic of the T50 console

Not too sharp, sorry, but this view shows the sheer size of the beast and more of the speakers. Note two knee levers - one for each knee. Sustain was on the right and I think rhythm start/stop on the left. I remember that it was in the way and I folded it up and never used it!

Me at the T50 - Kawai Factory Concert

andyg — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:42:59 GMT

Me at the T50 - Kawai Factory Concert

This was at the factory, in mid tour with the T30. They 'diverted' me to Saitama, where I played two informal concerts. One on a white E550, which I then signed before the organ was given its gloss polyester coats, and then one on the T50. The big black boxes are some of the 16 speakers connected that day.

T series percussion mod

andyg — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 09:57:39 GMT

T series percussion mod

The mod in place in my T402. The black tape is just there to insulate the back of the board and it's fastened with a sticky pad for easy removal if needed.

Circuit diagram for T series percussion keying mod

andyg — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 09:53:33 GMT

Circuit diagram for T series percussion keying mod

The tiny circuit needed on T series (up to T400/XTP) to produce touch response percussion.

This pic © Carsten Meyer

My cat Rosie in her 'spot'

andyg — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:52:57 GMT

My cat Rosie in her 'spot'

This was on Chorale. No-one told her leslies vibrate on Tremolo. Off like a shot!

Orga-thon

andyg — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:47:21 GMT

Orga-thon

In 1994 I did a sponsored orga-thon for the annual BBC 'Children in Need' appeal. I played non-stop (except for an allowed meal break and a couple of 5-minute 'rest breaks') for over 12 hours. Apart from a couple of requests, I didn't play the same piece twice. Raised several hundred pounds for the appeal.

The Kawai T50 Organ

andyg — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:42:27 GMT

The Kawai T50 Organ

Kawai's T50, built in 1977, for the company's 50th birthday.

There are four standard manuals and an AGO pedalboard, then 4 short manuals at the right (Orchestral Synthesizers), then there is an arpeggiator manual and a glissando manual to the right of the drawbars. Guess that makes it ten manuals! Originally ran through 32 speakers of various sizes (all big) producing around 16,000 watts of oomph.

First organ to feature a true choir sound, and has the most realistic analogue strings ever. Even has a classical pipe organ division.

T402 and Leslie 760 - safely indoors.

andyg — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:45:04 GMT

T402 and Leslie 760 - safely indoors.

My trusty T402 and leslie on the day I brought them home. I'd forgotten how big a leslie looks when it's not on stage!

Kerry in concert

andyg — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:42:33 GMT

Kerry in concert

My daughter Kerry at 16, making her first (and only!) concert appearance with me. She was 'persuaded' to play and did a 15 minute spot from memory in the intermission of one of my Yamaha concerts.

Start young!

andyg — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:39:29 GMT

Start young!

My 4 year old daughter Kerry at the Lowrey Heritage in 1990

At the Kawai T50

andyg — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:36:23 GMT

At the Kawai T50

Private 'in-house' concert at the Kawai factory in 1979. The organ had only 16 of its 32 its speakers connected - so only around 8,000 watts to play with - and was set up in the factory canteen. It was the only place big enough!

Private concert on the Hammond X66

andyg — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 18:23:18 GMT

Private concert on the Hammond X66

This was the X66 I played most often. As well as two Series 12 speakers, it had a big Leslie 910. The owner also had a Concorde with leslies and a Bechstein concert grand.

BBC Radio 2 session

andyg — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 18:20:37 GMT

BBC Radio 2 session

My parents' lounge was regularly turned into a recording studio for the BBC, as I presented a regular organ music programme. This session would have been from 1975/6, judging by the keyboard line-up that's with the Hammond.

t30-soundcity1.jpg

andyg — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 18:17:11 GMT

t30-soundcity1.jpg

Recording an album at Kawai Sound City Studios, Shibuya, Tokyo in September 1979. The organ is the first Kawai T30 and we started the premiere concert tour a day or so later.