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During a recent search for a used Allen to meet the needs of a customer, I looked into the types of keyboards found on Allen organs. This isn't "news" of course, as we've all known about these for some time. But the sake of discussion, I'll summarize... At the present time, there are two basic keyboards available on new Allens:
The "premium" keys are of course currently available with either magnetic reed switches or with optical sensors (which are velocity sensitive). In the past these same keysticks had industrial leaf switches at the rear (all MOS organs and ADC organs before the final year or two of production). And before that, these same wooden keys were found in Allen analog organ keyboards, with the lifter at the rear actuating a crank arm that energized the oscillators via silver finger wires. Obviously these keyboards have a long and successful history.
The Fatar keyboards of today evidently use rubber "button" contact strips (like you find on Kurzweil, Yamaha, Roland, and just about every other digital keyboard today). They are all velocity-sensitive. I can't tell you when Allen first used these, but I seem to remember that it was the entry-level "Chapel" series where they first appeared, just a few years ago.
The wooden keys that Allen has built in their own factory and used in perhaps 75,000 organs have been widely acclaimed. And it's easy to see why. I can't think of any other mass producer of organs that has ever used such a complex and hand-crafted keyboard. Rodgers used to offer (and may still do so) wooden keys on premium organs, and they were very nice as well, though it don't think the keys were individually leveled, tension wasn't readily adjustable, and the contact point could be changed only by bending the wires, which were underneath the keys. So Allen's keyboards have been pretty unique.
To be honest, I haven't always loved the Allen wooden keys. A number of years ago I played at a church with a big analog Rodgers that had the deluxe wooden keys, and I loved the feel of it. Could not fault it in any way. Then we traded it for an Allen digital, and I was frankly a little disappointed with the feel of the keys until I got used to it. Nowadays, with an Allen at home and one at church, I am perfectly comfortable with Allen keyboards and have no complaints about them at all.
My only experience with the Fatar keyboards is on other brands of organs. When I look at the (very rare) pics of these keyboards on the Allen tech site, they appear to be exactly the same keyboards we see on most Johannus organs around here, all of which were installed between 10 and 20 years ago when we had a dealership. The feel on those Johannus organs can be a little flimsy or bouncy, and we occasionally hear a complaint about the noise and the flexing of the keyboards as you play. I don't know if Allen has done anything to ameliorate these faults when using Fatar keyboards in their own organs.
Anyway, just throwing the topic out there for discussion. Has anyone actually seen and played an Allen with Fatar keyboards? Any observations or thoughts on this?
- "Real" Allen keyboards, built in-house, now called "premium" keyboards. Wooden keysticks with plastic tops/fronts. Like fine piano keys, these are bushed at the balance rail and on the front guide rail with felt. There is an adjustable tension spring on each key, and each key can be individually leveled using the knurled nut under the front. The contact point is adjustable for each key with a screw at the rear. These keyboards are maybe 12" or so deep, with the contact pusher at the rear of the key, thus pushing "up" when the front is pushed down. Keying happens pretty much in plain sight for ease of troubleshooting and repair.
- Outside-sourced keyboards from Fatar, now referred to as "standard" keyboards, though best I can tell there is not a single picture of this keyboard on the Allen website. Tension is provided by a large coiled spring at the rear of each key and is not adjustable. No obvious way to adjust leveling or dip, and no contact point adjustment. No felt bushings are used or needed in this design, as the keys ride on plastic or Teflon guides. The keys themselves are molded from a hard plastic. The keyframe could be plastic or metal; I haven't seen one to check it out. Each manual is only a tad over 6" deep, saving space in the console. Keying takes place under the keys, so troubleshooting and repair may require removing the action from the console and the contact pc board from the frame.
The "premium" keys are of course currently available with either magnetic reed switches or with optical sensors (which are velocity sensitive). In the past these same keysticks had industrial leaf switches at the rear (all MOS organs and ADC organs before the final year or two of production). And before that, these same wooden keys were found in Allen analog organ keyboards, with the lifter at the rear actuating a crank arm that energized the oscillators via silver finger wires. Obviously these keyboards have a long and successful history.
The Fatar keyboards of today evidently use rubber "button" contact strips (like you find on Kurzweil, Yamaha, Roland, and just about every other digital keyboard today). They are all velocity-sensitive. I can't tell you when Allen first used these, but I seem to remember that it was the entry-level "Chapel" series where they first appeared, just a few years ago.
The wooden keys that Allen has built in their own factory and used in perhaps 75,000 organs have been widely acclaimed. And it's easy to see why. I can't think of any other mass producer of organs that has ever used such a complex and hand-crafted keyboard. Rodgers used to offer (and may still do so) wooden keys on premium organs, and they were very nice as well, though it don't think the keys were individually leveled, tension wasn't readily adjustable, and the contact point could be changed only by bending the wires, which were underneath the keys. So Allen's keyboards have been pretty unique.
To be honest, I haven't always loved the Allen wooden keys. A number of years ago I played at a church with a big analog Rodgers that had the deluxe wooden keys, and I loved the feel of it. Could not fault it in any way. Then we traded it for an Allen digital, and I was frankly a little disappointed with the feel of the keys until I got used to it. Nowadays, with an Allen at home and one at church, I am perfectly comfortable with Allen keyboards and have no complaints about them at all.
My only experience with the Fatar keyboards is on other brands of organs. When I look at the (very rare) pics of these keyboards on the Allen tech site, they appear to be exactly the same keyboards we see on most Johannus organs around here, all of which were installed between 10 and 20 years ago when we had a dealership. The feel on those Johannus organs can be a little flimsy or bouncy, and we occasionally hear a complaint about the noise and the flexing of the keyboards as you play. I don't know if Allen has done anything to ameliorate these faults when using Fatar keyboards in their own organs.
Anyway, just throwing the topic out there for discussion. Has anyone actually seen and played an Allen with Fatar keyboards? Any observations or thoughts on this?
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