That's what a Holtkamp console looks like! I'm OK with the looks, but it's probably not my first preference. I guess it would be OK in the right setting. What I do like about this console is the rocker tablets above the keyboards. I think they are very convenient to use in that position, moreso than even stop tablets (my opinion).
In the analog days, Allen made a model called Positiv; 2 ranks (flute & principal) of oscillators, with lots of whind & chiff. It used the same style console but with a speaker cabinet atop the console.
Methinks that Schlicker also made some consoles in this style - even 3-manual ones.
One of these is at Ithaca (NY) College, painted black. A very pale imitation of Holtkamp cabinetry. Certainly one of the ugliest consoles I've ever seen.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" seems to apply here. Back in Allen's analog days, they built this one:
ALLEN Positiv 1963 TI 32 2 with Random Motion Whind (RMW) I seem to recall that one of those went to the chapel at the United Nations. Do any of you recall that?
The Church Center for the United Nations, is not actually in the UN building, but across the street. The Allen was a TC-4, with custom cabinetry, not quite the Holtkamp/Schlicker look, but some similarities to my eyes. You can see it here: http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/htm...hCenterUN.html. Though odd looking on its own, it fits the wood paneled walls in its installation very well.
The Utah State University has a 3-manual Holtkamp organ, with a similarly styled console (though to me the console is ugly!), and unimpressive sound qualities, to my ears. Recently restored for lots of money. It is in Kent Concert Hall, which has all the acoustical charms of a barn.
The Allen Positiv 1963 was just a 2-rank instrument, but very "neo-baroque" in voicing--if a unit organ can be said to be neo-baroque in its sound at all!
The Holtkamp iterations, while not to my taste, I wouldn't describe as ugly. The decent quality of the cabinetry elevates the concept somewhat. The Ithaca College example that I cited, of considerably lower quality of workmanship and painted flat black, can only be described as ugly beyond belief for a major builder.
The Holtkamp iterations, while not to my taste, I wouldn't describe as ugly. The decent quality of the cabinetry elevates the concept somewhat. The Ithaca College example that I cited, of considerably lower quality of workmanship and painted flat black, can only be described as ugly beyond belief for a major builder.
Well the one we have here at USU looks ugly to me. The wooden stopkeys don't help--from a distance they look like old plastic that has turned brown. I've seen other examples that I would not call ugly, just this one.
Yes, "C" off was Allen's term for Chiff Off, for a while.
I rather like the Schlicker versions of that console style better than the ones with tongue style tabs. The Schlicker tabs just seem more elegant. I don't really like that style of console all that much though to begin with. The sides are just really big clutter attractors, and that never makes a console look good.
Here are a couple of photos of one I play occasionally at a church near me. It's a 1986 Schlicker and is in great overall shape. You can see that the regular organist there really likes a cluttered up console. The console is behind the altar, so no one can see it, but still, I think it is a mess. Every time I play there, I have to resist the urge to throw all that into a box and get it off the console !
Attached Files
Regards, Larry
At Home : Yamaha Electones : EX-42 ( X 3 !!! ), E-5AR, FX-1 ( X 2 !! ), US-1, EL-25 ( Chopped ). Allen 601D, ADC 6000D. Lowrey CH32-1. At Churches I play for : Allen Q325 ( with Vista ), Allen L123 ( with Navigator ). Rodgers 755. 1919 Wangerin 2/7 pipe organ.
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