Viscount Prestige

[julianjsoh]

Hi gurus,

I would appreciate any info on this Viscount Prestige VI I have become acquainted with while playing at my parish. Some info like when it was produced and others' experience with something of similar Viscount vintage would be appreciated.

I am definitely not a fan of how it sounds, but I wonder whether if it is just outdated sampling technology or Viscount wasn't good during that era. It sounds like an accordion more than a good pipe organ.

Julian

[julianjsoh]

[julianjsoh]

[rjsilva]

Is it using built-in speakers? If so, that might be the main problem.

I have a Viscount which I think is older than that Prestige and while mine doesn't sound amazing it does sound better than an accordion :) But, I also have it setup with 9 external audio channels. I only used it for a very short time with the built in speakers and barely remember what it sounded like (and I've disconnected them since), but I do remember thinking it didn't sound good.

[myorgan]

Julian,

I'm confused. I thought you had an Allen ADC organ at your parish. Is the Viscount a replacement or new organ at your parish? From what I've read here on the Forum (and having no personal experience with Viscount), I wonder if the organ was just voiced poorly, and that could be fixed.

Michael

[julianjsoh]

Is it using built-in speakers? If so, that might be the main problem.

I have a Viscount which I think is older than that Prestige and while mine doesn't sound amazing it does sound better than an accordion :) But, I also have it setup with 9 external audio channels. I only used it for a very short time with the built in speakers and barely remember what it sounded like (and I've disconnected them since), but I do remember thinking it didn't sound good.

Yes it is playing through its internal speakers, but it is connected to the church's sound system through the aux out (I think). It used to have a pair of Viscount external speakers which the parish discarded of I believe. They have disappeared.

There are also problems with the organ. The Lcd display in the console drawer is totally blank, so I have no idea what I'm doing by turning or touching the controls. A couple of pedals also have intermittent sound (when you play some pedals, the note goes on and off). Would it be worth it to get these fixed? Every stop sounds, but in general the stops sound synthesized and very unrealistic, with the reeds sounding tinny. I'm also wondering if having external audio channels would improve the sound dramatically. Would you be kind enough to post some details of your organ and its speaker setup?

Unfortunately, at this point the parish may not want to invest in a new organ.

[julianjsoh]

Julian,

I'm confused. I thought you had an Allen ADC organ at your parish. Is the Viscount a replacement or new organ at your parish? From what I've read here on the Forum (and having no personal experience with Viscount), I wonder if the organ was just voiced poorly, and that could be fixed.

Michael

Michael, you are right indeed that it used to be an Allen ADC organ. There is a long story to it, and that organ is now residing at someone's home. Long story short- a new parish priest came in and made the decision to remove the organ. He also made certain decisions on the direction of liturgical music that did not sit well with me and the choir I was with. The organ was purchased by the choir and is awaiting installation at a chapel where the choir now sings in. As for me, I am now assisting with playing at another church, which is my actual parish based on geographical boundary. This is where the Viscount is.

Hope that didn't bore you. :)

[myorgan]

Hope that didn't bore you.

Nope, not in the least. Isn't it sad how church politics can affect the ability of a church to have a strong, diverse music program. Glad you preserved the organ, though.

Michael

[rjsilva]

I think there was more than one model with the Prestige name so if you have more information that would be helpful.

I suspect your tonal complaints are largely due to the internal and church sound systems. You need speakers just for the organ which are placed for maximum ‘realism'.

Are you able to post photos of where there are audio output connectors on the organ? Or is there a manual which shows its output capabilities? My organ has 12 potential output channels but yours is likely different. If I knew what you had I could make suggestions.

I suspect the pedal repair is simple. I'm not sure about the LCD screen—what is it used for?

[arie v]

Hi,

This organ I think is a first generation Prestige model from Viscount. They were made from around 1997 to 2005.

These organs generally were good sounding, much better than what Viscount offered before.

There are some reason why this one does not sound good, including internal speakers that are faling apart, external speakers and amps. that don't follow the tonal curve properly, etc.

The alpha numeric display is to show settings for the voicing parameters, reverbs, tremulants, show sequencer information, set MIDI, etc.

If the display screepn is not functioning, you really can't adjust anything.

AV

[John Vanderlee]

Generally I found that the worst thing you can do is to feed a digital organ through the house sound system. Organ companies design their speakers specifically for their organs. House systems are often optimized for speech clarity, and roll off on the low end.

[julianjsoh]

This organ is fed through the church sound system as its only means of amplification. I know it is not an ideal scenario, but it is what it is and what we have to deal with for now. To be honest, it doesn't sound too bad through the sound system, although it is of course unrealistic because pipe organs don't sound from every speaker that fills the room with the same sound - it is basically a mono sum of the organ coming through every PA speaker.

My question is - can this thing be voiced at all.? And how does one do that? In general every stop sounds way too chiffy and overly bright, with the mixtures screaming away. It is a typical Italian organ sound which I'm not a fan of. The reeds sound synthesized and fake.

[rjsilva]

To be honest, it doesn't sound too bad through the sound system..

My question is - can this thing be voiced at all.? And how does one do that?

If the organ doesn't sound ‘too bad' running through the PA system then it seems to me you're ahead of the game :) Some organs sound pretty poor even through dedicated organ speakers, and I can't remember seeing or hearing any PA system that wouldn't sound terrible with an organ. The PA's mixer probably has rudimentary tone controls, so maybe you could ask them to turn down the treble for the organ channels?

As Arie said, the display that isn't working is what you'd need to voice it.

[myorgan]

The PA's mixer probably has rudimentary tone controls, so maybe you could ask them to turn down the treble for the organ channels?

Mr. Silva,

You took the words out of my mouth. Often PA systems are set to over-accentuate the highs for purposes of reproducing the human voice for clarity, and because the highs are the most vulnerable frequencies, they are overly boosted. Each channel should have its own rudimentary tone controls, and that should temporarily solve the Mixture & Chiff issues.

Michael

[arie v]

Hi,

There are parameters that can be adjusted on this organ, but you will need an owners manual to figure out how to do it. Also you stated earlier that the display screen was not functioning, which means you are navigating blindly.

I would suggest you contact Viscount, to get the information you need.

AV

[julianjsoh]

Thank you for all your comments. Actually, the problem with the shrilly mixtures and chiffy stops comes even with only the internal speakers on. It sounds the same over the sound system. Hence, I am led to believe the voicing needs work done.

[myorgan]

You're probably right. I didn't remember the internal speakers in your original post, so the PA system was my immediate thought.

Michael