Rodgers Essex 645 opinions?

[rjsilva]

Does anyone have an opinion of the Rodgers Essex 645? Is it analog, does it require tuning, are there known issues with it? Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

[TSPhillips]

I have a 605, a lower end model in the same series. Well built console from the mid 80s, nice feeling keys, decent sound, though it is analog and doesn't have the most powerful full organ sound. Takes a bit of a less is more mentality towards registration to get the best sound. I think the differences between the 605 and 645 are mainly that the 645 has a few more stops and a lot more pistons. There may be another set of oscillatorsas well, but I don't know. My only gripe with mine is that it doesn't have Midi and that isn't easily added. I believe some units did come with Midi from the factory though. I think I remember seeing a short demonstration video on YouTube of a 645 model if you want to look over there.

[toodles]

The 655 is the same model as the 645, except the 655 has external speakers and the 645 has internal. There are some sample of demos with these models on the internet. The 655 had toe studs and the 645 did not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIqQr835ctI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxeC4Jt6WCI

These are analog models, and can require tuning from time to time, but Rodgers organs don't seem to need very frequent tuning-i.e., their tuning is pretty stable. No known issues. The scheme of the organ is a single unit flute, a single unit principal, a unit krummhorn, and a pulse keyer that derives the trompette, oboe, and swell string. They also had a 37 note celeste with flute and string on the swell, which could be transferred to the Great.

These models were introduced around 1988, and were offered with MIDI as an option--many of them did have MIDI.

If the particular organ you have in mind has MIDI, it would be an excellent candidate for conversion to a virtual organ, as the MIDI implementation would have included stops, notes, pistons, and expression.

I like the stoplist on this organ, although it is a small model so it has the limitations of any small organ.

Note that these models have a blind combination action--the stops don't move when you press a piston, but there are 10 and the combinations can be changed.

[rjsilva]

Thanks for the replies!

Toodles, you say the 645 had internal speakers. Does that mean it isn’t setup to handle external speakers?

[toodles]

I'll have to look at the tech manual for the details, but the organ is designed to accept external speakers.

More details: the 645 has a 3 position rotary switch for switching internal and external speakers--you can have one or the other or both. When the "both" position is used, the internal speakers have reduced volume.

[GagaWilky]

I just bought a Rodgers 645 and downloaded the manual. I would LOVE to connect the MIDI to my Finale notation software on my iMAC . i connected the organ using a USB UNO and the Mac finds the UNO but Finale will not recognize the organ playing in Speedy Entry or Hyperscribe. I've connected the MIDI cables correctly. (Finale & MIDI UNO worked well with my keyboard workstation before moving the iMac to the organ.) I've watched YouTube MIDI connection tutorials and they show that it's plug-and-play. Below the Great manual are "MIDI to Pedal," "MIDI to Swell," "MIDI to Great" pistons. Does that mean data entry would only work when those are lit and played on the pedals or that specific manual?

[jbird604]

Download a simple MIDI monitoring program (Artisan Organs offers a free one on their website) so you can see exactly what the organ is sending out on each MIDI channel. It's possible that it only sends when the MIDI couplers are on, but I'm pretty sure that later model Rodgers organs send MIDI at all times on certain channels. For example, it may be sending great manual notes on channel 1 at all times, but on channel 11 only when the coupler is on. This would make it possible for a sequencer to properly capture the MIDI data, but an external MIDI tone module could be set to only respond to the higher channel, thus speak only when the coupler is on. But I'm not certain. A MIDI Monitor program will tell you for sure.