Which pipe ranks to add to digital?

[dave3]

Interested in opinions about which wind-blown ranks would make sense to add to a recent 38-stop Allen digital organ at a medium-sized church in the choir loft. I’m thinking of maybe two ranks. Perhaps built into a new small case designed in the style of the church. This will be a long term project as the funds are located… Perhaps a Gedackt and Principal, both unified, that could either be blended with the Allen, or even used by themselves on occasion? Or should I take a different approach?

The original purpose of the project is to revive a piece of the removed mediocre 10-rank pipe organ for which funding was unavailable for its past due needed repairs and long-term maintenance and upgrade expenses. I want to satisfy the preservation interests but also provide a practical usable instrument addition.

[Moller Artiste]

My home installation has a principal, flute and string pipe rank augmented with digital flues and reeds, and they blend very well together. The principal and flute is a good start for your church. Perhaps you could add additional ranks from the pipe organ, if they are suitable, when funds are available. If that is feasible, it will be less expensive for Allen to build the interface to include future ranks rather than updating later.

[m&m's]

Hope you hung on to parts of the removed pipe organ. Maybe it could be reconfigured into a Great section, or at least part of it. Pipes should not be added to the Swell, because they cannot respond to the expression pedal.

Rodgers used to do this sort of thing with their analog organs, using maybe two or three ranks of pipes. One problem there was that the pipes sounded so much better than the electronic voices. With a digital instrument, the blend is often better, and it is possible to get results that are almost unbelievable .

Moller Artiste is right-plan for the future.

[beel m]

Just to add a contrary notion here.... I played for many years an excellent Rodgers digital that replaced an "OK" pipe organ. The church wanted to incorporate pipes from the old organ into it, but the rep from Daffer convinced them that it wasn't wise since NONE of the pipe organ's ranks were as fine a sound as the equivalent Rodgers organ stops. After playing the Rodgers for quite some time I came to agree with that and saw the wisdom in the church's going all digital.
If your Allen digital is excellently voiced it is a magnificent organ; what could "mediocre" pipe organ stops add to it? And if you unified any pipe additions, all the more so...
That's how I see it. Good luck and enjoy your Allen.
R, Bill Miller, Phila PA
Allen S-100, Cont Carousel, T-44; Wurli 4480; Galanti P-1

[Admin]

I would also point out that pitch of the pipes will drift with temperature while the Allen will not. This could be a problem if there are temperature swings. I believe that Rodgers had a circuit on the hybrid instruments that would track the pitch change due to temperature. At the least, your Allen needs to have convenient way of adjusting the pitch of the entire instrument to keep it in tune with the pipes.

[pictureroll]

There was a Rogers in Duncanville that had 4 ranks of pipes with it and all of the organ tracked pitch with the pipes, EXCEPT the celeste.
In order to have a decent celeste one had to tune the rest of the rodgers to suit but then the pipes would be way out of tune.
Cheers
Jerry F Bacon

[Moller Artiste]

I would also point out that pitch of the pipes will drift with temperature while the Allen will not. This could be a problem if there are temperature swings. I believe that Rodgers had a circuit on the hybrid instruments that would track the pitch change due to temperature. At the least, your Allen needs to have convenient way of adjusting the pitch of the entire instrument to keep it in tune with the pipes.

The Allen pipe interface package includes digital tuning that adjusts automatically for pipe tuning drifting.

[SubBase]

I'd add a 32ft Bombard or high-pressure Tuba for the pedals.
Casey

[Kurzweil]

I'd add a 32ft Bombard or high-pressure Tuba for the pedals.
Casey

Isn't this the way folk go when adding digital stops to a pipe organ (rather than the other way around)?

[dave3]

Thanks all! Some excellent points.