Quixotic Allen MOS 120/ 120-3 question

[Hiawatha]

So, In case I am unable to get my Allen 120 -3 or whatnot working would it be too much trouble to swap out the electronics of the Allen 120 that works better than perfectly to take advantage of the roll top case or somehow incorporate the Salizional/ Salizional II?

[myorgan]

So, In case I am unable to get my Allen 120 -3 or whatnot working would it be too much trouble to swap out the electronics of the Allen 120 that works better than perfectly to take advantage of the roll top case or somehow incorporate the Salizional/ Salizional II?

I'm a bit lost, only seeing one post. In the last week while I've been away, and now reviewing the 40-some posts I've missed, I've forgotten what your original issue was with your organ.

Have you received responses on what you have posted earlier, and what you should do to effect a repair?

Michael

[jbird604]

The differences in the stop list between a 120 and 120-3 are due entirely to the use of a different CODE of MOS board. The regular 120 uses Code B-1-4-6 (or if the optional card reader is installed, A-1-4-6). The 120-3 uses code B-2-4-6 (or A-2-4-6 if card reader is present).

The numeral "2" in place of the numeral "1" indicates that the ROM on the board contains the "second church" sample set. The differences are mostly minor, but possibly significant. All the upperwork volumes are slightly decreased, so the overall tone is slightly more mellow with "second church" voicing. Also a new concept, that of "cascading" is introduced into the digital organ -- some members of each chorus will be in different audio channels for better "ensemble" effects. This concept would eventually revolutionize the way digital organs are channelized, with most models throughout the ADC and MDS era having a similar scheme for separating out the components of each chorus.

In addition, in the swell, there is no Tierce 1-3/5 stop, that stop's ROM slot having been given to the "Salizional II" sample. The Salizional II is simply a copy of the original Salizional, but it is in the opposite audio channel. Now, IF the board is also equipped with the optional "frequency separation" circuit, THEN the two salizional stops will be tuned slightly apart, making for a mild string celeste. If the board does NOT have the optional frequency separation circuit, there will be no difference between the two stops other than coming from different speakers. Personally, I think this was a goof-up on the part of the Allen engineers, who probably thought they were giving the -3 models that "real celeste" which had been so obviously missing from the original stoplist. In reality, even with frequency separation there is only a very slight offset in tuning, not enough to call it a celeste. So I really don't get it. And the lack of the Tierce may be considered a major omission if you want to build a true Cornet for classical registration.

You can of course simply replace your B-1-4-6 board with a B-2-4-6 board and you will get "second voicing" without making any other changes. The Tierce tab in the swell will not give you a Tierce but a second Salizional, and I believe the 4' principal and 4' flute stops in each division will also swap tones. One could easily move the wires around on the back of the stop tabs to correct the displaced 4' stops and make a paper label for the second Salicional.

[Hiawatha]

That's fascinating, John. I almost want to start a podcast just to interview you and others on here to tell the story of The American Electronic Organ.

[OrganistAnthony]

Wow, if I ever come across an A246(FS) board I'll have to snatch it up. Although I'm fond of these instruments, I'm definitely not crazy about the neo-baroque stop list on the MOS-1 instruments. For me personally, I feel that the lack of sophisticated tone generation is actually an asset in that some of those neo-baroque qualities like strongly developed harmonics, buzziness, chiff, high piercing pitches, etc. aren't strongly developed. I'm grateful that chiff can be turned off and the tone knob can be dialed down to mellow. The 2nd church voicing sounds right up my alley with gentler upperwork and it sounds like the "spread" would be better with the way the stops are split between channels, especially for my home setup. I've often wondered why all of the lower pitched tones were crammed into one channel on the two channel MOS-1 setups. You could also substitute that 1 3/5 with a tone card on some models.

[jbird604]

Yes, the changes are mostly for the good, unless you actually prefer that neo-baroque flavor. And don't get me wrong, the "second church" voicing is certainly not "romantic" at all, just less crisp. Also, the pedal stops remain all in the "flute" channel, as Allen engineers always seemed to think they could only afford to put one channel into a small organ that had any bass in it. Not sure why they felt that way, just an old habit going back to the analog era.