Rodgers 790CI? Allen C-6?

[StevenTX]

I am new to the organ hunt and it's very overwhelming to say the least. I haven't played organ regularly for a number of years and I rarely had any exposure to digital organs when I was playing regularly. I'd now like to find one for my home. I'm trying to educate myself but I would really appreciate any information/advice from you experts out there. I'm looking for an organ that can be self-contained. There are a couple of instruments in my area. Can anyone give me any thoughts on either the Rodgers 790 (with internal speakers) and/or the Allen C-6? Would either of these be adequate as far as quality sound? (Would an older MDS Allen model be better?) The Rodgers 790 looks interesting but I hadn't really considered a Rodgers until I saw it. Also - pricing? Thoughts on a fair price for a C-6? The Rodgers 790 with internal speakers has been serviced and would include delivery and set-up. I thank you for any information you might be able to share. I could really use some help!

[myorgan]

StevenTX,

Welcome to the Forum! Best of luck with your search. I don't know much about the various generations of digital Rodgers organs.

That said, however, I would highly recommend an MDS organ over a more modern technology. If you purchase a used organ, eventually something will go wrong or need to be adjusted. With an MDS model, most of the repairs can be done by the owner (within limits), however, with the newer models, you run into specific software for modifying organ settings, as well as finding a specific platform to run the older software. Generally, this runs into a service visit, which can be very expensive from the dealer.

I hope this helps somewhat.

Michael

[SchnarrHorn]

Hi StevenTX,
Welcome (one newcomer to another :-> ). Sixteen years ago, I found an Allen C6c for the church I was serving at the time. Allen was still selling that model new then and the used one for sale was only a little over a year old, from a private home. The seller was a brand X organ dealer who accepted it as a trade in. We got it for $10,000 at the time, when new it would have gone for closer to $20,000. It did have 2 external speakers (finished in walnut) in addition to the built-in console speakers. It also had the sound module in the drawer, which was an option. So, that was the price 16 years ago for a used (very new) instrument. I played it for about 12 years and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's quite a capable instrument and would make a very nice home organ, IMO.

I will agree above with Michael regarding the voicing. The short answer is - you can't - unless you have the special software from Allen. And I don't know if your local Allen dealer will sell it to you. (Allen, in general, doesn't sell directly to the public; you have to go through a dealer.) About all you can do is adjust the amplifier volume of the 2 channels. I cannot comment on what it would take to service the instrument.

I have a 3 manual MDS organ at home which does provide some voicing capability for groups of stops and overall volume level. It has nowhere near the flexibility and control of the later Allen models (like the C6) using the proprietary software, however, I only need a narrow tip screwdriver to make the adjustments. My instrument is going on 30 years old and has only had two repairs in that time, one major. One of the stops went dead which required replacement of a printed circuit board - that cost around $1500. The other service call replaced and remoted a battery off of a circuit board. The battery could leak over time and destroy the circuit board. The organ was no longer under warranty, but I received a service bulletin regarding this from the dealer. That cost me $150 total. The other pending problem is related to speaker foam deterioration. For some reason, I only see evidence of it on one mid-range speaker. Redoing speakers isn't too expensive and there's help here to diy. I certainly do recommend the MDS models. I think they sound quite convincing although, of course, not as pipe-like as today's technology. And close up in a home or worse - with headphones - the limitations are more obvious.

I cannot comment on Rodgers digital organs since I am not familiar with them. I did serve at a church some decades ago that had an analog Rodgers bought new around 1980 which sounded very nice, IMO. Cannot comment on their service requirements.

George

[SchnarrHorn]

The owner's manual for the C-6 is available on the Allen web site here:
https://www.allenorgan.com/support/ownersmanuals/033-00105.pdf

George