Recommendation for best home classical organ

[moonagee]

Hello,

Hope this is the proper forum for this...

I'd like some recommendations for best home organ for
classical organ works.

At present I'm aware of three categories, viz

Hammond b3 like, (Pedalboard not AGO on most - Real problem?)
Real Pipe organ in a smaller "practice" format,
Other electric of which I'm ignorant.

What is
your recommendation for a home based instrument
for classical literature?

Thanks and regards,
m

Moved to correct part of the forum where it should get most replies. 'Home Organs' is for entertainment models. Andy-moderator

[jbird604]

My personal opinion is that a decent used Allen or Rodgers church organ is the best home instrument for classical practice if you can find what you want and the price is right. But you probably don't want to buy an enormous old organ with a bunch of speaker cabinets unless you have a big room to dedicate to the organ.

Both Allen and Rodgers sold good self-contained (speakers in the console) models back in the 80's and 90's that are now becoming available for low cost. If you have more money to spend, check out current models from these two companies and also from several other builders that are now making nice organs suitable for the home. Unless you are very much constrained by space, you want to get a standard "AGO" console, which means keyboards with 61 keys and a 32 key pedalboard that meets the AGO spec. There are also some slightly more compact pedalboards that many people do well with, such as the 30-note pedalboard on the Rodgers/Roland C-330, the "princess" pedals of some compact Allen organs, the 32-note parallel pedalboard featured by Allen in their brand new home practice organs. Some folks even manage well using a 25-key pedalboard on a Hammond or other brand organ, though this style pedalboard is probably not the best for playing classical organ pieces.

I hope some other members will chime in with their experiences. I have managed to own several different organs for my home over the years, including large models by Baldwin, Rodgers, Conn, Hammond, and am currently making do with a Yamaha HX-1, which lacks true AGO pedals and a lot of other features I really need for practicing my church music. I hope to do something about that pretty soon!

The good news is that there are a lot of great used organs out there these days.

[toodles]

I would never recommend a Hammond organ for classical organ work--it wasn't designed to sound or play like a classical organ. They are fine for popular music and classical music can be practiced on them, so if you like the Hammond sound, you can certainly get one.

I've owned Rodgers and Allen organs and one Galanti. I can recommend any of those, though I do not know how well Galanti supports the service of their organs at this point.

I recommend used organs, because new organs seem outrageously priced to me. I like Allen organs because they are built like tanks. But find out what is available used in your area, and play them and see what you like. If you purchase at a fairly low cost, then if you are not happy, you can sell it and get something else without a major loss in value.

[circa1949]

the "princess" pedals of some compact Allen organs, the 32-note parallel pedalboard featured by Allen in their brand new home practice organs. Some folks even manage well using a 25-key pedalboard on a Hammond or other brand organ, though this style pedalboard is probably not the best for playing classical organ pieces.

Where is this noted on the Allen website? For the new, rather ugly mini-consoles, the description for both pedal boards is still: 32-Note Compact Radiating Pedalboard

Link here: http://www.allenorgan.com/www/produc...epertoire.html
Looks like a typical princess pedalboard to me.

[psrick]

On the link you provided, under "Console Specifications", it lists the 32-note parallel pedalboard as an option. There is also a downloadable pdf file with comparison pictures of the two pedalboards.

[circa1949]

Thanks, I hadn't even scrolled down far enough to see that. I suppose that is to appeal mostly to European organists. Why can't an AGO pedalboard be an "option", too? (Yes, that is a rhetorical question; though the sharps on the European board look almost as long as the AGO ones and if the pitch between pedals is closer too, I suspect it would be easier to move between the parallel board and an AGO board than between the princess pedalboard and an AGO board. Maybe that was Allen's intent. To offer a more AGO compatible non-AGO pedalboard!)

[jbird604]

Probably correct. The 32-note parallel can't be any wider than the princess where it mates with the console, but at least the keys don't have to get closer together toward the rear. This makes possible a spacing at the area right under one's feet that is closer to AGO, and bigger sharps. (Those dinky little sharps are the most odious feature of the princess IMHO).

Why can't they offer a real AGO pedalboard on these compact consoles? It won't fit.... an AGO pedalboard requires a console at least 57" wide, and the compact console is only 52" wide at it's widest point. Allen wants to continue offering the compact console because it really does take up less space in a room, and that is critical to some buyers. Not only is is 6" narrower than the smallest AGO console, it is also requires somewhat less depth, and it weighs a lot less, especially the pedalboard. Perhaps the parallel pedalboard will catch on and give buyers a better option when space is limited.

[mashaffer]

What I would prefer personally is a pedal board that is AGO spec except that it lops off the upper range as necessary to accomodate the reduced total width. The times that I need the extended range are so rare as to be of little consequence to me, but having the correct placement of the remaining pedals would be priceless. JMHO.

mike

[jbird604]

I agree, but it might be difficult to design a quasi-AGO pedal with, perhaps, 27 pedals because it would no longer be symmetrical -- would be more angled at the bass end than at the top. Lay a piece of poster board across the top 5 pedals and observe the rather peculiar shape that results. Also would be nearer the floor on the lopped-off side because the arc of the keys rises as it nears the top G key. Could be done, but would be a strange-looking thing. Of course the 25-note pedalboards of Hammond etc. are strange-looking too with an irregular curve, but they are flat, so no problems with the concavity.

Then, to have the low C of the pedals as far to the left of low C on the manuals as it's supposed to be by AGO specs, the keyboards would have to be shifted to the right, which would also look weird. The top C of the manuals would probably have to be right up against the treble side panel of the console and there would need to be close to a foot of open space to the left of the low C.

I suppose people would reject these non-symmetrical strange-looking arrangements, and that is why the builders have opted for various non-AGO designs such as the flat 25-note and the 30 or 32-note parallel.

The best plan is to make yourself a music room or space that is plenty big enough for a full-size console. And here I am with my crippled 25-pedal Yamaha organ crammed into a tiny spot in my office nook. But one of these days . . .

[beagleboigb]

Maybe it's because I switch back and forth so much but I have the compact princess pedals at home and AGO at the church I play at every Sunday and I don't have any trouble at all going back and forth between them.