New (to us) Organ

[smithge31419]

We've had an Allen MDS-16 as a home practice organ for a couple of years and it has served us well. (https://organforum.com/forums/forum/...nto-your-house) Now that the wife has gotten a church job playing a 3 manual instrument, the itch to replace the 2 manual home organ with a 3 manual began to seriously demand scratching. (New-Organitis is a bad disease) Nothing on *Bay or CL at a reasonable price and driving distance. So, i put feelers out to dealers that were within a range that they could deliver. Bingo! It seems that the instruments you want never make it to the dealer websites... they get grabbed by folks who are waiting in line. We were able to acquire an Allen MDS-51-S, refurbished, delivered (over 300 miles), installed with warranty (including help hanging speakers), and voiced for LESS than what similar instruments were being offered on *Bay. The dealer also took our old organ in trade. Did we pay rock-bottom price? NO! But, we didn't have to fly somewhere, hire a crew, rent a lift/scaffolding, dolly, u-haul, drive for hours, motel etc. only to get an organ that may or may not be fully functional. All we had to do was have a spot ready and waiting for the install. Our "new" organ was a casualty of the "happy-clappy" movement at a medium sized church and was about the largest we could accommodate in our home. (Itch no more). We're really pleased with the sound as the 6 speakers all bounce off the back wall of the music room before you hear them at the console. See photos. Wife is now happily discovering the sounds from an expanded stoplist and intermanual sub and super couplers. (Happy wife!)

[ChristopherDB113]

Congratulations on finding the Allen. Nice install in a beautiful music room. Since my background is in rock n' roll, I personally would have left the speakers exposed.

[Larrytow]

Congratulations on the new ( to you ) organ ! I remember your postings about making that organ alcove with the back side of the organ in another room. I have that idea tucked away in my memory in case that method would be useful sometime. Did you need to modify much to make the new one fit ?

I'll bet it does sound really nice in that room the way you have the speakers up high firing into the top of the room first. The sound is not so in your face that way, and blends some as well. I had a similar setup for my ADC-6000 speakers in my previous home. I liked it a lot - can't do it in my current home though. That is very similar to a church installation with the speakers in a balcony / rear wall arrangement, just on a smaller scale.

The only good thing about the Happy Clappy church music foolishness is that we often can find great deals on used organs. When that silly fad finally burns out, they will all be looking for organs once again. And they Can't Have Mine !

[smithge31419]

Regarding your question about modifying the original installation, I didn't have to do too much. Had to make the back half of the platform 3 inches wider and re-cut the opening in the filler panel to accommodate the larger console. The hole in the wall is unchanged. Also was concerned about the plant shelf holding all those speakers, so I hung the speakers from the wall using french cleats, then built a lightweight facade in front of the shelf to match the room decor. Grill cloth panels finish hiding the mess and are easily removed for maintenance.

[jbird604]

That is a beautiful setup! And a great idea about speaker placement. Wish I had room to do that. The 51-S is an excellent organ with lots of great stops and a considerable voicing flexibility too. I trust that your wife will enjoy it for many years to come.

And yes, the "happy clappy" movement has resulted in a surfeit of nice organs for those of us willing to grab them up. Most of us just don't have places to install or even store the ones we see out there that we'd like to get our hands on!

Glad to hear that you went with a "turn-key" job. That's the way I like to sell organs, but I find far too many purchasers out there are looking for that rock-bottom price and thinking they can do all that moving and setup themselves and save a bunch of money. Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for!