Rodgers 520/530: how old is it?

[Dutchy]

Hello all,

I regularly play a Rodgers 530 in the community room of a retirement home, for miniconcerts or for accompaniment of the singing community. The sound is really acceptable given its age, but it is no longer reliable and already repaired several times. I would like to have it replaced by a new one. But.... the management is not so willing to do this.

So I want to know how old this vehicle is, maybe I can use that as an argument, ie "a car is replaced every 10-15 years (or earlier when it is no longer reliable), why should an unreliable organ last for more than 20 years?" But I have to know for sure that is IS 20+ years old.

Hope somebody of you kan inform me, thanks in advance!

Dutchy.

[arie v]

Hi,

I have serviced this model, as well as related models ( 530, 525, 535). It is a product of Roland Italy. Not really a Rodgers organ, other than the name plate stuck on it.

This model was made from 1993 to 1997.

These organs were not particularly well made, or good sounding. They were not voiceable. Problem areas were, pedalboard construction, pedalboard switching, keyboard switching (both the switching strips as well as the tracker touch strips) tend to wear out, stop lamps burn out, some benches wwre found in a collapsible state, the vinyl cladding on console came away. The electronics tended to be pretty reliable. One good aspecht of these Rodgers models was the MIDI implementation. It was better because of Roland's input.

There are other threads on this forum dealing with these models.

How long a digital organ is a question I get all the time. I think a reasonable life span for an average instrument can be said to be 20 to 25 years. Better constructed models 25 to 30 years. I service many organs that are still serviceable when 35 to 40 years.

Knowing what I know about these models, I would say the organ being discussed should be replaced. Too many problems with them when they are played regularly, and they get older.

AV

[myorgan]

...it is no longer reliable and already repaired several times. I would like to have it replaced by a new one. But.... the management is not so willing to do this.

Dutchy,

Retirement homes get their organs as residents move through and bring them with them. When the resident leaves, the organ leaves not long after when another comes along. Retirement homes don't necessarily purchase the organs (there are exceptions); they're usually brought and "donated" by a resident moving in. The same is true of pianos.

I used to play for services at a nursing home one time, and during the year or two stint, I saw no less than 3 organs go through. When they need repairs, they're replaced by another "donation." Hopefully, they're better in your part of the world, but I doubt it. Sorry to be such a downer.

Michael

[Dutchy]

@ Arie v, thanks VERY MUCH for your reply. It is exact the information I need. It will be very helpfull when I try tuo convince the manager to buy a new one for the community room.

@myorgan: excuse me, maybe I have not used the right wordt 'retirement home' (NL"woonzorgcentrum"). I meant a place where older people live, when they cannot longer be at their own home because they are not able to care for themself any longer (for mental or physiscal reasons).
This organ is not brought in by a resident, it is bought by the organisation. So seemingly the situation in the Netherlands is other than in te US, in this respect.

Besides, in my view you are not a downer but a realistic, because THAT aspect is the samein NL: in such houses we mostly have to live with bad instruments. For everthing is money, not for the organ. Maybe I can change this a bit now, but I doubt it. I rate my succes change as, maybe, 25%.

Borth thanks for the reply,
regards, D.

[Dutchy]

Ooops, Arie v, (or other people)

I forgot to ask if you know how many Wattt the organ is and how many speakers there are inside? I have the user manual but this information is not mentioned in the specs on page 21 nor anywhere else in this 39 page manual. IF I can advise by buying a new organ, this indicates what we need (the power of this 'Rodgers' is way enough for the room where it is in, even when there are 60+ singers).

again thx in advance, D.

[arie v]

Hi,

If memory serves me right, the 520 has an internal 2 chanel audio system, each amp rated to put out 50 Watts. The speakers for each channel 2 way, a bass and a treble drivers. Not necessarily a standard 2 way setup, but one designed to maximize output for the bass. These organs sound best when few stops are played at any one time, otherwise the tone starts to sound congested. A ot of stops and the organ sounds brash.

You can improve the sound by adding external audio that works well with the audio outputs. Just remember these organs are not voiceable, so any old audio system will not be an improvement.

AV

[myorgan]

@myorgan: excuse me, maybe I have not used the right wordt 'retirement home' (NL"woonzorgcentrum"). I meant a place where older people live, when they cannot longer be at their own home because they are not able to care for themself any longer (for mental or physiscal reasons).

Dutchy,

You used the correct phrase. Generally here on the other side of the "pond," there is a progression of terms, and those are a moving target.

1. First, there is a retirement community of people who live independently. Golf carts are the transportation of choice unless the resident keeps his/her vehicle to travel out to shop, etc.
2. Second, there is assisted living for those who can still live independently and drive, but need to live where an attendant or medical assistance is/are readily available.
3. Third, there is a nursing home for those who can no longer live on their own, and are in the process of progressing toward the end of their lives. By then, (s)he has lost his/her license to drive, and needs assistance to travel outside the building.
4. The final step is palliative care (or hospice) for those within days or weeks of death.

Of course certain conditions will move one more quickly along the continuum (i.e. stroke or Alzheimer's) and will skip some steps.

If I understood my Dutch exchange daughter's mother correctly, in your healthcare system, one is taken care of throughout the process. In our healthcare system, the first step or two above bleed a person's estate of any value, so there is little or no money left for the last step or two--much less for any heirs. Needless to say, there is little or no money left at that stage. Our end-of-life care is more complicated, controlled by insurance companies and the government, and less by the retired. My parents had saved thousands for their children's inheritance, but it was only hundreds after the nursing home was through with their estate.

On the other hand, historically we Americans are supposed to value life through the final day of life, whereas in some other countries care is rationed in the later stages of life. The government is starting to try that here in America as well.

Now back to organs. My wife's chair in the Symphony is sponsored (i.e. paid for) by a local nursing home's assisted living unit. Consequently, we play a 3-4 concerts per year for them, write it off on taxes, and they also get discounted tickets for Symphony concerts. One of their residents came in with a very nice Yamaha baby grand a few years ago, and it is a pleasure to play there. On the other hand, in the nursing home section of the facility, they have a small upright piano with only 76 keys, and a soundboard that will never stay in tune (baby upright?). It's a good picture of how they value each population.

Best of luck finding an organ that will work for your needs there--or just work reliably.

Michael

P.S. We have a member who works selling organs in the Netherlands. Perhaps he might know of a good, used organ you could use. PM me for more information.

[Dutchy]

Rodgers 530 repaired

Hello all,

Thanks for the replies, the tips and the education about US 'retirement community' and the like.

The manager of the retirement home ('woonzorgcentrum') has decided NOt to buy a new one ad NOt to buy even a good used one, but to repair the old Rodgers. It works fine again just now, but when the repairman was only one day gone, there was already a failure of a stoplight (the backlight from one of the tabs).
Well, I have to do with it. :-(
And the pedal keys and the swell pedal are working properly now, anyway. Also the loud clicks when playing the Great Manual are gone :-)

@arie v: indeed, only a few stops sound good. Especially some reeds are so bad that they are really unusable. But that is acceptable for me, because with creative stop selection there are nice sounds possibe, given the age of the instrument. But....a new Johannus, Content or Viscount Physis would serve me much better, I must admit.

*anecdote modus on: Yesterday I played a miniconcert and accompanied the singing community, they all thought 'our organist plays much better today then he normally does'. I had a tough time to tell them it was not my playing but only a normally functioning organ that produced better sound. And that the repaired organ allowed me to choice other music to play… (ie pedaliter playing instead of only manualiter due to disfunctioning pedal keys, and more virtuoso playing because the loud clicks in the manuals are gone). anecdote modus off.*

Btw: the pipe organ in my church is luckily in good condition and gets regular maintainance. I play it every Sunday.

Regards, Dutchy

[Dutchy]

Old Rodgers Replaced!

Hello all,

The old Rodgers failed again in October on several Pedal keys. Same thing as in June, when it was repaired. My collegue organist and I talked to the manager again, and I again let him read the post of arie v [06-15-2018, 04:25 PM].

I'm glad to tell we are allowed to buy an NEW one! . :-)

After some listening to installations elsewhere, we decided us for a Content Chapel 227, 180 Watt total, 2 manuals, 27 stops (227, right). Nice sound, good price and really sufficient for the room it is in. If needed, 2 external speakers can be connected, but the advisor from Content didn't think there is any need for it. We shall see (listen), but the budget allows even for some externals when needed.
Here is the link, if anybody is interested. https://www.contentorgans.com/en/church/chapel-227/

Everybody thanks for the advise and reactions.

Regards, D.

[beel m]

Congratulations! Enjoy your new instrument~!

Bill Miller, Phila PA USA

[jbird604]

Good news! That looks like a nice instrument for your situation.

[rjsilva]

Congratulations! I’m sure some of us would appreciate hearing it once you get it installed.

[myorgan]

Dutchy,

I notice the larger instruments have a stoplist, but your model doesn't appear to have one. Is that available on their website?

Congratulations on getting a new instrument for use at the retirement home.

Michael

[Dutchy]

I notice the larger instruments have a stoplist, but your model doesn't appear to have one. Is that available on their website? Michael

Michael, it appears to be only on the Dutch version of the site. I din't notice that till now, excuse me. Here's the link: https://www.contentorgans.com/nl/kerken/chapel-227/ - scroll down. I tried to cut and past it directly in this message but it seems that doesn't work, I only got one long row.

Btw, is has 4 intonations in it, at least one of them will be voiced by a Content technician at delivery. May be I'll try to voice one of the other intonations by myself (I have already a bit of experience with my Physis organ, and when I mess it up there is always the possibility to reset to Factory Settings).

D.

[ahlborn]

Congratulations Dutchy!! This Content is a nice organ!