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Might be interesting. I'd like to play one and hear what it sounds like.
http://www.viscountinstruments.com/cantorum-duo.html
http://www.viscountinstruments.com/cantorum-duo.html
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It would be nice if a pedalboard option were available, similar to what Content offers. -
There are a bazillion pedalboards on their website and they say they fit 'any' organ. Maybe except the Cantorum, and maybe not, but I'm betting maybe yes. Probably not the 32' concave radiating model though.Originally posted by Casavant Fan View PostComment
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Yes, it does appear from the manual that you can connect a MIDI pedalboard so anyone of the Viscount ones should work.Originally posted by Casavant Fan View Post
One European retailer has some prices up so its interesting to compare similar products to see where this one fits in the market:
Viscount Cantorum V - €1,395
Viscount Cantorum VI Plus - €1,650
Dexibell Classico L3 - €2,190
Viscount Cantorum Duo - €2,995
Content Compact 224 Intern - €3,0951971 Allen Organ TC-3S (#42904) w/sequential capture system.
Speakers: x1 Model 100 Gyro, x1 Model 105 & x3 Model 108.Comment
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Downloaded the "brochure" -- turns out to be a 166 page owner's guide! In three languages, so not all of it readable for me, but still...
Takeaway -- for less than the cost of medium-level repairs to an old MOS organ, or a Rodgers Cheetah, or any number of old organs with good consoles but dated sound, you can slide in a brand new state of the art complete two-manual organ! And you don't have to learn Hauptwerk or other steep-learning-curve computer software, you don't have to wire up key switches to encoders, no fussing with interfacing stops to a computer, or settling for a touch screen.
Using an inexpensive MIDI encoder from a third party, one can MIDI up the existing pedalboard (very easy with the Allen and Rodgers reed switch assemblies), or presumably buy a ready-made MIDI pedalboard. Should be easy to tie the Cantorum audio into the existing amps and speakers of most any electronic organ. It's not even hard to conceive of using the expression pedal or pedals that are already in an old console to control the volume, if you have general knowledge of audio circuits and some technical skill.
Some interesting features, such as the ability to assign different divisions among the four audio outputs. A flexible multi-band equalizer. Four "suites" of stops.
Other than being somewhat barebones with the stoplist and only six general pistons, it's got about everything you get on a mid-line new organ from a major builder.
And priced at about 3000 Euros? I'll take a half dozen!
Could open up a whole new marketing possibility. Churches that will never spend even $25K on the tiniest, cheapest, flimsiest new organ from a major brand might upgrade their existing organ, even if it's an old worn-out Conn or Baldwin or whatever, for a fraction of the cost of a new organ.
---------------MORE FROM THE BROCHURE---------------
Built-in sequencer, stores infinite number of songs on USB drives. Stores unlimited sets of piston combinations on USB drives. More alternative temperaments than any other instrument I've seen. You can apparently configure just about every aspect of everything to make this organ work just like you want it to work.
There is even an input jack for a CRESCENDO pedal! This could be the basis for a pretty darn elaborate organ.
What did they NOT think of?Last edited by jbird604; 08-17-2018, 07:12 AM.John
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Birds...97551893588434Comment
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I'm interested in it myself. Maybe something for home...Allen MOS 1105 (1982)
Allen ADC 5000 (1985) w/ MDS Expander II (drawer unit)
Henry Reinich Pipe 2m/29ranks (1908)Comment
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Viscount cantorum duo
Chose this over the Content 224 as it has more voices, orchestral voices and thumb pistons below the manuals. Also has a tailor made carry case, which would be improved if it had wheels. Also would have liked a solid music stand like the Content rather than the flimsy bit of wire that passes for most keyboards music stand.Originally posted by organman95 View Post
Those quibbles apart, I am impressed with what you get for just under £2k if you shop around. The voicing seems a definite improvement from the last time I played a Viscount (Domus5!) and there is clear variation in the 4 specs. The features all fit very easily under the hands, but have been unable to connect a Roland MIDI pedalboard to it. The internal audio is 10w more than the Content at 40w and it is plenty, without distortion even on full organ. The looks are solid wood, and i will be gigging it over the next couple of weeks. I will post an update about the audience reaction to it after Christmas.Comment
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Just spotted this new Viscount online. Anyone heard it? I'm really interested.Comment
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There are several videos out on YouTube you can check out.Originally posted by wunderman View PostComment
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Yes I watched the videos thanks. I actually hired one recently, it was good to play it in person.Originally posted by radagast View PostComment
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Wow! That's really a very cool keyboard+organ combination. I'm ditching the idea to get a Hammond SKX or Nord C2D as a dual keyboard in favor of this one
Thanks folks!Comment
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Just bought one!
Sorry for the story, but it's kind of relevant. I had a Cantorum 6 which I used for 'at home' practice and occasional diversion and rather liked it in preference to a 'normal' home keyboard with a few organ voices. I knew the Duo was around and thought it looked interesting but had done nothing to upgrade the Cantorum 6 as it 'did the job' I'd bought it for. Now maybe it was "lockdown" and the lack of opportunity to go out an play a, for want of a better word, real organ, or maybe it was something to do to distract me from boxed sets on the TV, but, having checked the bank account, I thought, 'Oh why not', so I ordered one.
It arrived on Wednesday and I am, in no way, disappointed. Well ... the manual (which John referred to above) could really do with a revision but that's a quibble. I unpacked it, plugged it in, switched it on, pressed the 4th piston and the AP, played a chord and thought "Oh!" ... that's "Oh" in a good way. The sound quality, for, effectively, a keyboard is very satisfactory. I'm having great fun playing with the individual stops. There's a delightful chiff on the flutes. The reeds are so much better than the old Cantorum 6. Of course, having two manuals makes playing so much more 'interesting'.
Altogether, I'm very happy with the Duo and consider it the most positive thing to come out of 'lockdown' for me. I'm now not hankering after getting back to church ... well, to play. (Now to start exploring getting a pedalboard.)
Happy to answer any questions about it. The YouTube examples of its performance are 'accurate'.Comment
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Congrats! I find the concept of the Duo as an affordable non-VPO practice organ interesting. Could you elaborate on the touch and keyboard quality? Is it a tad spongy? -
Got one last January and am very pleased with it. Keyboards play just fine and appear to be good quality, certainly not spongy but have a solid tracker touch feel to it. Viscount's own "console" allows for the 30-note RACO pedalboard but if you made your own console/support stand you could size it to suit the AGO 32-note configuration. Our church is planning to fit a DUO into an old tired Allen AGO console and feed the Duo stereo output to a 4.1 amplifier driving proper church type speakers.
Yes, it may look a little bit different than a "real" organ but it will sound vastly superior than the Allen and all that for only $4,000 which includes the external 4.1 sound system.
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I think it would be interesting to have a Duo with a pedalboard, and add a CM-100 Accupipe module. Unfortunately Viscount doesn't make it anymore. I have also read elsewhere, in this forum, that the CM-100 is inferior to the latest Viscount Physis technology. Regardless it still sounded pretty good and would be an interesting accessory for the Duo. I wonder if the Duo can play external modules through its built in sound system?Comment
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The Duo has Midi In and Out ports, so it should play anything plugged into it. All sounds normally come thru the Left and Right on-board speakers, which sound ok, but .... a subwoofer and additional external speakers powered by their own external amps makes a nice organ a great organ. BTW, the Duo has 2 (double) audio out connections, so you could have 2 external amps with 4 speakers each., now that fill a large room with plenty of volume. I think I just talked myself into another 4.1 system.
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Agree with mrdc2000, I don't find it spongy. I do find its feel closest to the tracker organ I occasionally play. I like the keyboard, it feels of a more solid quality than other keyboards I've played from Yamaha or Casio.
I'll be honest that I'm now seriously contemplating adding a pedalboard. I can see why a church would go for a Duo with additions. The sound system seems built with the possibility of additional amplification in mind (though it would stand alone in a small chapel). But who knows what I might add once I do get pedals.
I'm pretty sure the Duo can play external modules through it's own system, there were several comments in the manual about connecting external devices.Comment
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The Cantorum Duo is great for small congregations, especially if one can repurpose the existing pedal board.Comment
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If there is an existing organ console with a sturdy pedal board, it should be a snap to wire a simple encoder to the 32 switches. Might take a few hours of work, by the time you cut away the old wiring and solder the new ones to the switches, but not nearly as big a job as MIDI-ing an entire console. There are low-cost encoders out there that do just the 32 pedals, well under $100.
Pedal boards vary in quality and suitability of course. Some will need new upstop/downstop felts or bumpers installed. Some use non-standard felt or bumpers, such as some old Baldwin or Viscount pedals that have 1" squares of rubber above and below each pedal key at the front end. But re-felting a more typical Allen or Rodgers pedal board, or a typical pipe organ pedal board, isn't that hard.
Most pedal boards have a provision for adjusting the tension of each pedal, and that may need adjusting if the organ is older. And there are other things than can be wrong, but the solution is usually obvious. It ought to be much cheaper to repair and reuse the old pedals than to pay $1000 to $2000 for a new one.
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