Advice on something small

[Guest]

Hi All,</P>


So, I'm a beginner andam considering what to get as a home practice instrument. There is not enough room in my house for a 'real' organ; really I need something to spec, but as small as it can possibly be. The budget really isn't all that large either. Below are some of my considerations; any advice is appreciated!! (Hopefully this isn't the wrong forum)</P>


Option 1: buy a two manual "tracker-touch" stack from midiworks.ca, use the pedalboard I have been struggling to midify with Hauptwerk (already have an existing MIDI studio set up)</P>


Problems: have to figure out how to place everything so it's to-spec; this is by far the "clunkiest" option that will require the most work</P>


Option 2: get a decent small digital organ with MIDI so I could use Hauptwerk if needed. The Johannus Op. 7 *looks* like it's about the right size, but from reading on here, it gets so-so reviews. I've also had issues getting *anybody* to tell me what the pricing of these things is like!</P>


Rodgers would be good, because I like to support local companies. [um] Then, I don't know if there's digital model that would suit my size restrictions and budget.</P>


So, any thoughts? [:)]</P>

[jbird604]

Re: Advice on something small



JB,</P>


The Opus 7 is a cute little thing. It is being marketedin my area as a sort of "door-buster" that the dealer advertises for about $6995. Once he gets the curious interested, he tries to sell them something more substantial. It is a very stripped-down little thing,more like a little portative than a fully functional organ. I believe there is a single expression pedal, and it only expresses the swell. But some folks would think that is actually an advantage anyway!</P>


But, it is a real organ with the barebones specs you'd need to practice. No frills of any kind. The keys should be the same as on all standard model Johannus organs, quite nice. The pedalboard may not be exactly AGO, not sure about that, but not far off if at all.</P>


However, you are so close to our friends at Rodgers that you ought to get friendly with someone at the factory and see if they'd hook you up with a good deal. They are now selling factory direct into some areas of the country that lack local dealers, and they might let you buy someone's trade-in if it was one they didn't want to re-sell. If your budget is small enough that you'd consider an Opus 7, you probably won't find a new Rodgers that will fit you, but they might be taking in something less than 20 years old that you could use as a practice console and/or connect to Hauptwerk. Just be sure to get something that's already got MIDI.</P>


John</P>
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[Guest]

Re: Advice on something small



Thanks.</P>


From the sounds of things buying an organ is a lot like buying a car. No offense to anyone here, but I really *hate* dealing with pushy sales people. [:O] Especially since I certainly don't play well enough and with enough confidence to sit in the middle of a showroom pecking out something horrible.</P>


Anyway, I was looking again. The Op.7 iscalled RACO (I know of BDO and AGO and the RCO, but what is RACO?) The Op.5's pedalboardlooks more curved and it has more expression pedals -- and a few toe studs. It sounds like they are not all that bad, though. Until I get a lot better, I don't think I'm going to have too fierce an opinion about it.</P>

[Guest]

Re: Advice on something small



From the photos on the Johannus site, the Opus 7 RACO appears to not have the standardized AGO pedalboard. The concave radiature is lots less than an AGO pedalboard. The spaces between the pedals might also be non-standard to an AGO one.</P>


If one is serious about organ study, I would recommend getting an instrument that was AGO standard - makes for easier transition from home organ to church organs which are mostly built to AGO standards in theUS. </P>


The Opus 7 though, looks like a rather nice practice instrument - nice stoplist, too</P>

[radagast]

Re: Advice on something small

[quote user="jbreweral2or"]


.</P>


Anyway, I was looking again. The Op.7 iscalled RACO (I know of BDO and AGO and the RCO, but what is RACO?) </P>


[/quote]</P>


RACO stands for "RAdial COncave". So the pedalboard is radial and it is concave, but it is still smaller than AGO spec.</P>


Bill</P>

[Guest]

Re: Advice on something small



Thanks guys. I'll probably stick to looking at the Op.5, which, due to the lack of mention on their website, leads me to believe it's a discontinued model. However, they are still selling it at Jim Laabs. Does anyone have any experience with that place? I have emailed them twice, the second time I just wanted to get the measurements of the console. Apparently that requires speaking to the owner's son over the telephone. I'm sure they'll be going for an upsell.</P>


There don't seem to be any dealers in Portland. We have two(?) organ builders and Rodgers, but hardly anybody to sell any. If it's a guitar you want, though, you have about 50 choices. &lt;sigh&gt;</P>

[jbird604]

Re: Advice on something small



Yes, the Opus 5 was discontinued several months ago, as it was part of the previous series, all of which were replaced by the new models ending in the digit"7." However, the technology was not changed much except for the addition of the multiple sample sets ("12 organs in one!") that is headlined in their new advertising.</P>


The Opus 5 shouldbe an excellent choice for an entry level organ, especially if it really is more organthan the 7, and with an AGO pedalboard too. But be sure the price is right. It should sell for under $10K, possibly quite a bit under. Let the dealer make you a price, then don't bite the first bait. Hum-haw around and see if he offers you a real close-out deal!</P>


John</P>

[Guest]

Re: Advice on something small

I'm shopping again.  Does anybody know about the Allen Protege series... like how much the entry model should cost?<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Thanks,</DIV><DIV>Jason</DIV>

[buzzyreed]

Re: Advice on something small



Oh ho, ho ho!</p>

</p>

Buying a car is easy. Think about it. Everyone owns a car or two, many people foolishly buy brand new. How many people do you know that actually own their own organ or two (hands down guys, you KNOW what I mean..)</p>

</p>

When I was looking at buying a practice organ about five years ago there were only two options within my price range-- both used of course. One was a decent Allen TC-3 and the other was a decent early model digital Allen whose model number I choose to forget, because the damn thing reminds me of an Atari. </p>

</p>

Point is, if you are a beginner, take your time and wow, if you have enough ca$h to plunk down $10,000 for an organ, you can find many, many, many, many great newer model digitals for sale.</p>

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welllll that's my two cents. Whatever the case, when you get it, please post a recording of it so we can all hear and see it, ok?</p>

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the buuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz</p>

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[Guest]

Re: Advice on something small

Well, my ideal budget is as close to $0 as possible.  :-)  I got a quote on the Protege CF-2a... $13,500.  That's about what my Jetta cost when I bought it.  While I could *cope* with a $300 organ payment, I really don't want to.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Space is more my problem.  I don't have room for an enormous winged console and five giant speakers, but I want something up to AGO spec that sounds decent.  The only things I seem to be able to see for sale (out here at least) are said enormous monsters that are yet still analog, or tiny little amusement machines.  So, the only options I can see -- buy a new, small digital or go MIDI.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV>

[jbird604]

Re: Advice on something small



Yes, what you really want may be hard to find at the price you want to pay. But don't despair. Here in Arkansas I've seen several churches lately replacing good organs than were less than25 years old, and that's not old for an organ, especially a well-made name-brand church organ. So keep checking around in the churches.</P>


You may not find a digital, since only Allen was making digitals until about 1989. But an Allen digital from the 80's could be perfectly suitable. In every one of their product lines, theyincluded a self-contained model, and it usually was quite full-featured, other than having only two audio channels.</P>


But Rodgers and others, even Baldwin, made quite good AGO 2-manual self-contained organs back in the 80's. The Baldwin 626 was a really nice little organ, and they are sometimes being sold for a song these days. These are analog models, of course, but many are surprisingly good, even by today's standards.</P>


You might check with the LDS Facilities Management office in your area. The LDS churches around here seem to get new organs about every 20 or 25 years, and they have models much like you're seeking in their smaller chapels. You just have to be in the right place at the right time to pick up a bargain from them.</P>


John</P>
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[buzzyreed]

Re: Advice on something small



Try the Church Organ Trader website and organ classifides. I can't spell classifides, three college degrees and I cant' spell classifides, isn't that just great.</p>

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So what part of the country are you in? That makes a difference. Out here in MN/ SD finding organs is a real problem.</p>

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[Clavier]

Re: Advice on something small



A note about what John said referring to the LDS churches: I have found that, in a lot of cases they give those organs away for free.</p>

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[Vercus]

Re: Advice on something small



Forgive my ignorance, what does LDS stand for?</p>

-Jon</p>

[Guest]

Re: Advice on something small

If i'm not mistaken (i'm not 100 percent sure), but it stands for Latter Day Saints...which is referring to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon Church).