Portable Church Organ

[wunderman]

Hi. Newbie to forum here.

I regularly play real Pipe Organ in church. On occasion I need to play in churches with poor and old organs. I usually bring Nord C2 (which has Baroque organ will selectable stops) plus a PA sound system, cables etc.

I'm getting tired of having to carry this amount of equipment for a church service (as well as the setup time).

I've only just discovered these 2 options

Dexibelle Classico L3 and Viscount Cantorum VI.

Is any one of these better than the other?

Would their own speakers fill a church with sound without having to bring additional amplification?

Are there other choices?

Is there something similar in 2 manual with its own speakers?

Thank you

[Melos Antropon]

Hi. Newbie to forum here.

I regularly play real Pipe Organ in church. On occasion I need to play in churches with poor and old organs. I usually bring Nord C2 (which has Baroque organ will selectable stops) plus a PA sound system, cables etc.

I'm getting tired of having to carry this amount of equipment for a church service (as well as the setup time).

I've only just discovered these 2 options

Dexibelle Classico L3 and Viscount Cantorum VI.

Is any one of these better than the other?

Would their own speakers fill a church with sound without having to bring additional amplification?

Are there other choices?

Is there something similar in 2 manual with its own speakers?

Thank you

The Dexibelle and the Viscount would be of roughly equal quality, but Viscount has been in the "church organ" business a lot longer. Their sound level is only adequate for a tiny church or chapel. One other good choice is the Johannus "One", which gets good reviews. Similar pricing, but still not enough volume for the job. There are instruments along the same line with two manuals, yes, but the stop sounds would be less "churchy", and more rock/pop. Still the problem with not enough volume onboard, though.

Tony

[samibe]

To a certain extent, getting everything set up and functioning as expected always takes time, regardless of the instrument.
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Getting things to fit in a car, reducing setup time, reducing the number of trips between the car and the church, simplifying setup, making setup easier (less work), etc.
What sacrifices to other things (sound quality, tonal options, work, etc.) are you willing to make to solve the problem?

Is it possible to reconfigure your system so that it takes less time and effort to set up (consolidate to fewer units to move, attached bins for cables and accessories, labels, efficient setup procedure and task/checklist, etc.) but doesn't adversely affect sound quality?

I don't know what your transportation situation is like, but if I were using my own equipment to "tour"/substitute at several different venues regularly, I would try to make a cabinet that everything attaches to (if the components aren't too big) so that I can move everything between the minivan and the church in one trip. The cabinet becomes the console once the speakers, bench, pedals, and keyboard case are removed. I would probably try to set it up so that the speaker cables were always plugged in and the power for the whole system was run through one power strip with a surge protector.
If you have to work out of a car, then I'm not sure what to suggest because lifting equipment into and out of a trunk or back seat is tiring. Maybe a hitch and small trailer might be helpful?

[wunderman]

The Dexibelle and the Viscount would be of roughly equal quality, but Viscount has been in the "church organ" business a lot longer. Their sound level is only adequate for a tiny church or chapel. One other good choice is the Johannus "One", which gets good reviews. Similar pricing, but still not enough volume for the job. There are instruments along the same line with two manuals, yes, but the stop sounds would be less "churchy", and more rock/pop. Still the problem with not enough volume onboard, though.

Tony

Thank you Tony. I have played Viscounts in their larger form. I have been looking at the Johannus One. Is it sold in Europe? If I have to connect amplification I would probably stay with the Nord C2.

Is there a good single amplifier or speaker that you are aware of that could enhance the volume? Nothing too heavy :-)

I agree it takes time if setting up with speaker/PA.

I want to reduce the number of trips from car to church, though that counts as good exercise perhaps!

I really want to put the keyboard on stand, plug in and play. Perhaps choose a good keyboard amp that I can connect into to boost volume/low end.

I bought Leslie 2101 a few years back but it's very awkward to carry up church steps to gallery. Also low end is not as good as Bose L2 which I currently use (that is a few pieces though not heavy)

To a certain extent, getting everything set up and functioning as expected always takes time, regardless of the instrument.
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Getting things to fit in a car, reducing setup time, reducing the number of trips between the car and the church, simplifying setup, making setup easier (less work), etc.
What sacrifices to other things (sound quality, tonal options, work, etc.) are you willing to make to solve the problem?

Is it possible to reconfigure your system so that it takes less time and effort to set up (consolidate to fewer units to move, attached bins for cables and accessories, labels, efficient setup procedure and task/checklist, etc.) but doesn't adversely affect sound quality?

I have plenty of room in the car. This is really just of the occasional service that is not in the church i play in weekly.

I would like good sound quality of course. This is really just for playing simple Psalms and Hymns for a choir usually.

[radagast]

The Dexibelle and the Viscount would be of roughly equal quality, but Viscount has been in the "church organ" business a lot longer. Their sound level is only adequate for a tiny church or chapel. One other good choice is the Johannus "One", which gets good reviews. Similar pricing, but still not enough volume for the job. There are instruments along the same line with two manuals, yes, but the stop sounds would be less "churchy", and more rock/pop. Still the problem with not enough volume onboard, though.

Tony

The Dexibell and the Johannus One are the same instrument. And don't think Dexibell is a newcomer. The company is built around former Roland Italy employees who are very smart. I've played the Dexibell in person and I can tell you I'd rather have it than the Viscount. The Dexibell has 5 different suites of stops and also a crescendo function. Dexibell also uses long samples, up to 15 seconds. Like any other instrument of its type, it needs its own sound system. I heard it through a Roland CM-110 2.1 system with a subwoofer. It sounded loud and clean and full.

[Larrytow]

I use a chopped Yamaha EL-25 for those sorts of jobs. Of course it does not have "real" organ stops on-board, but I do have pedals ( only 20 short ones, but still better than nothing ) and an expression pedal then. I have it all on a Ultimate A frame stand and use a Peavey KB-100 amp for it. I actually like the option of putting the amp remote from the organ in most places, so a self contained organ / amp system never was a consideration for me. If I want more organ ( and other sounds as well ) options from the setup, I add a Roland Sound Canvas module to the system via MIDI. I can move and setup the whole system in about a half an hour or so. From the back of my minivan to ready to play.

The organ sounds are enough for church services, when compared to some of the organs I'm asked to play. Those churches that have organs I cant stand / deal with are not looking for real super high quality sounds in most cases, because they have never had it with their lousy organs. So this is a vast improvement to what they usually have. It also works well for doing weddings in outdoor venues and other places that have no organ. There again, the realism of the organ sounds is a secondary consideration to the ability to Have an organ there.

[Dutchy]

Hallo Wunderman,

The Johannus one sounds good but the keys are rather flabby. The Viscount is better, its keyboard plays very well.

I know a person who uses a Viscount Cantorum VI and a Dave 8 Roadie as 'mobile church organ' to full satisfaction.

Grtz, Dutchy

[wunderman]

Hallo Wunderman,

The Johannus one sounds good but the keys are rather flabby. The Viscount is better, its keyboard plays very well.

I know a person who uses a Viscount Cantorum VI and a Dave 8 Roadie as 'mobile church organ' to full satisfaction.

Grtz, Dutchy

Thank you for alerting me to the keyboard action Dutchy. I do like the idea of 76 keys though for split.

Do you know if the Nord Pedal board will work with Viscount, Dexibell or Johannus?

[Dutchy]

Do you know if the Nord Pedal board will work with Viscount, Dexibell or Johannus?

No, I'm sorry. Grtz, D.

[wunderman]

No, I'm sorry. Grtz, D.

That's not problem. Thanks for your help

- - - Updated - - -

I use a chopped Yamaha EL-25 for those sorts of jobs. Of course it does not have "real" organ stops on-board, but I do have pedals ( only 20 short ones, but still better than nothing ) and an expression pedal then. I have it all on a Ultimate A frame stand and use a Peavey KB-100 amp for it. I actually like the option of putting the amp remote from the organ in most places, so a self contained organ / amp system never was a consideration for me. If I want more organ ( and other sounds as well ) options from the setup, I add a Roland Sound Canvas module to the system via MIDI. I can move and setup the whole system in about a half an hour or so. From the back of my minivan to ready to play.

The organ sounds are enough for church services, when compared to some of the organs I'm asked to play. Those churches that have organs I cant stand / deal with are not looking for real super high quality sounds in most cases, because they have never had it with their lousy organs. So this is a vast improvement to what they usually have. It also works well for doing weddings in outdoor venues and other places that have no organ. There again, the realism of the organ sounds is a secondary consideration to the ability to Have an organ there.

I have keyboards that have pipe organ samples but have to say I choose the Nord C2. I do wonder if quality of Viscount or Decibel is better than the Nord and I don't know a store where I can try one near where I live.

Indeed so many organs in churches are poor in quality.

[Lindsay Smith]

It will. for sure.

[Victor Jules]

Time and tech change so fast it's easy to lose track of the ways this makes life easier. My beloved Korg Microstation has no speakers, but getting it on my Catholic church's PA system was as simple as unplugging a cord from the electric guitar behind the Technics keyboard and plugging it into the Korg. The folk band's instruments were always on as the default! Yes it's just monaural but today's mono beats yesterday's stereo sound in my HUMBLE opinion.