Comments on This Console?

[myorgan]

Just visiting *Bay for my weekly organ search and ran across the console pictured below. What do you think about the viability of this organ, ergonomics, etc.?

Michael

[AllenAnalog]

I saw that one too. I found the statement "Console is 95% finished" to be curious. Someone spent a lot of money making a console that, IMHO, is rather ugly and somewhat impractical. Among other things: the keyboards all are flat, there is no incremental rake as you go up from manual 1 to 5 to improve ergonomics (which I realize can be controversial); the toe studs seem way too close together for practical use; with piston sequencers very common in Europe and gaining favor in the US, it seems crazy to have that many pistons on what clearly was intended to be a performance instrument rather than one that is routinely used in a church. If you are going to mark your music with piston numbers, why not then just use the NEXT button or toe stud? They would already be in memory.

As much as I like the look of moving drawknobs on a console, to spend that much money for them (I presume they are moving and not lighted) on a Hauptwerk instrument seems like an anachronistic extravagance. Yes, dual vertical touch panels are not traditional but neither is Hauptwerk. It is a relatively new concept and one of the features of it is the flexibility of virtual instruments that can be loaded at touch of button and clearly labeled stops on the screens. The mashup of sample sets from multiple pipe organs makes me wonder how the whole thing holds together in ensemble.

[toodles]

I would not want it. Too hard to reach the music rack, and too high to comfortably read the music. Think of the power supply needed to switch all those drawknobs if they are moving! And what a pain to use if they are lighted.

[myorgan]

I wonder if the music rack is moveable? I also notice the lack of rotation on the keyboards, making the last 1 or 2 almost unusable, but perhaps someone likes that? I think the console would be an acquired taste, but to someone who is impressed by organ music, it certainly has the potential to be impressive!

Michael

[southernscots]

How in the world would one reach out to the toe studs on the left or right side (esp the upper rear rows), essentially at a 90 degree angle with your leg from your torso, and pedaling with your other foot while trying to also play on the manuals? Or be able to reach any of the upper level stops from a seated position on the bench? Setup appears rather impractical, although I do admire the quality of the workmanship and am appreciative of the skill and effort that went into creating it. The columns on the sides of the stop chambers create a wonderful, visually dramatic effect! I'm sure it would be a spectacular sight to behold installed in front of a huge pipe ensemble in a church or theater... something so grand seems to be rather lost sitting in a private home somewhere.

[myorgan]

I think they're all reachable, but I get what you're saying. I guess it depends on the piece being played.

Michael

[m&m's]

It reminds me of the huge console at the Methodist church in Hurricane, West Virginia, which has a large number of stops hooked up to 40plus ranks of pipes and many ranks of Walker voices.It is capable of playing both liturgical-classical music and theatre music. I played it about 15 years ago, and found it just too big for comfort. Believe I would find the same true here.

[AllenAnalog]

I've spent a lot of time at the 7-manual console of the Atlantic City Midmer-Losh. It is astoundingly ergonomic. A great deal of effort went into the development of the console dimensions and reach distances for the keyboards and stops. The increasing angle of the keyboards makes even the 7th manual easy to play. It's the same way with the Wanamaker console. I can reach the 6th manual without bending over in an extreme posture. My wrists are bent at the same angle to play each keyboard, rather than having to tilt them increasingly downward to press the keys on the higher manuals.

The AGO console spec does mention having the option of an increasing angle of the manuals above the great. I personally believe that even four manual consoles would benefit from that but certainly a five manual should have some accommodation for playability. But that does increase the cost of building the console since the interior frame supporting the manuals has to be modified to accommodate the extra space needed for that configuration.

I've never understood the appeal of toe studs that are perpendicular to the kneeboard of the console, especially the way they are situated on the console in question in a double row. The contortion required to reach them, especially the ones farthest away from the swell shoes, make them seem like an "affectation" to boast that, "Hey, my console has so many toe studs that we had to put them on the sides of the pedalboard!"

Cameron Carpenter has them on his M&O console but then again he slides around on the bench like a monkey. We shall see if he can still do that when he is 50. I can't imagine a visiting organist ever using them since stabbing the wrong one with your foot in the middle of a piece might have some unfortunate consequences. And that leads me back to why you would even need them in these days of piston sequencers.

I've never liked the English console design with the music desk so high. The new console at Longwood Gardens has that configuration. For those of us with bifocals or progressive lenses, it certainly puts the music in the wrong position to use the reading distance section of the lenses without bending your head up to a much higher angle than is comfortable.

[jbird604]

To borrow a phrase from one of our esteemed members, "Burn it with fire!"