How much better is the current Johannus Opus 370 than the previous Opus 37?

[farnsy]

I'm looking at buying a new Johannus Opus 370 but I also have the opportunity to buy an Opus 37 on the used market. I'm trying to get a feel for how much technological progress this generational change represents and how this affects the player experience. We don't really have a Johannus timeline that I can see (like we do Allen) so I don't know how old an Opus 37 is. Do you think the differences would be quite noticeable? Has anyone had experience with both of these organs (or similar, like the 270 and 27)? Since they posted their youtube ad for the Opus 370 in 2011, I'm assuming that's around when it came out. But I don't know how old the 37 would be, technologically.

Has anything functionally changed between generations (for better or for worse)?

To give you some cost context, let's say the Opus 370 costs X, which is right at the top of what I'm willing to pay for an organ and is the best the dealer is able to give me--I can afford it without making noticeable sacrifices, but the thought of spending X on an organ is definitely uncomfortable. The Opus 37 owner is asking 0.65*X. I offered 0.4*X, which is what I think it should really sell for, but despite it being on the market for a long time, the owners are holding firm. The 370 also takes 6-8 weeks to get, while the 37 is available immediately--and I'm pretty impatient.

I would also be open to the question of whether it makes more sense to spend X on a used organ. For example, I know of an Allen MDS 38 that I expect I could get for X as well, possibly less. Better quality organ, but such old technology. The MDS 38 is appealing because I play an MDS 36 at church and they are very similar.

What do you think? How important is the generation from which the tech comes?

[jbird604]

It seems to me that Johannus has tended to "recycle" model numbers, but maybe I'm just not paying attention. At times I've seen someone mention a model number that I thought was a fairly new one, only to discover they're talking about some old analog from the 80's. So I could be completely wrong about what the Opus 37 is. However I "think" it is one of the really superb models they were offering back when we had a local Johannus dealer and I did some of his work.

So, IF this Opus 37 is one of the organs built back around 2005 - 2010, then I'd think it's a very nice organ indeed. I never worked with an Opus 37, but I did get to do the voicing and setup for a small church when they bought a brand new Opus 27 about 2007. I was absolutely in awe of that little organ. I think the 27 was merely the two-manual version of the 37.

The models ending in "7" were all brought out about the same time, replacing a previous series that ended either in "5" or "0" (best I recall). The "7" series were quite a major improvement and had at least one startling new feature, which was called "12 organs in one" I think. The advertising slogan was only slightly misleading, and did represent a vast new variety of tonal resources at your disposal when playing one of these.

In brief, each organ was shipped with five complete sets of samples stored in a ROM. In other words, five completely separate stop lists. So, for example, the Principal 8 on the Great could have any of five different tone colors, and the same goes for every stop in every division. Like having a Hauptwerk organ and owning five distinctive sample sets representing five nice organs of different national characters.

There were four (yes, 4, not 5) pistons for choosing your organ. Why not 5? Well, the default voicing was one that you would design at the time the initial voicing was done -- pick and choose from among all the samples available for each stop, and assign that one as the default. Thus building your own "custom" default organ. The pistons would select one of the remaining alternatives at the press of a piston. Quite flexible and convenient.

So you have "four" pistons for selecting the organ type. Then three more pistons for switching among three different "intonations" of each organ type. These are individual "preferences" more or less -- one intonation might emphasize the reeds, another one the flutes, etc. Therefore, you have four distinct stop lists, and each stop list can be "filtered" by three different "intonations" -- thus you have pretty literally "12" different organ styles from which to choose at any given time.

The "7" series models also featured some other nice improvements over earlier Johannus products, such as better cabinet finishes, better speakers, more substantial internal hardware and components, better keyboards and pedal boards. In general, it was at that point when Johannus "got serious" about competing in the US, going head to head with Allen and Rodgers. Still not on the very same level in build quality, but pretty darn close, and a whole lot cheaper.

So, if this one is no more than 15 or 16 years old and has these nice features, it would be a great choice, providing, of course, that it is in perfect condition.

But -- the price... Your seller may have an exaggerated idea of the value of a used organ, even if it's only 10 years old. It isn't worth even half of what a comparable new organ sells for today. Possibly no more than about one-fourth. That's just the way pricing works. Like a used car. A 10-year-old car may compare in looks and size and features to one that costs $80K today, but any owner knows it's not worth one-tenth of what they paid for it new, at that age. Organs hold value better than cars, but still, wanting 2/3 of the original cost is not realistic.

Obviously, it won't do you any good to lecture the seller. Just make your offer and stick to it. Offering 40% of the price of a new one is actually very generous, and could be worth it to you, given that it is available immediately and the new one is not. But I wouldn't go any higher than that unless the seller offers some kind of incentive, such as delivery or a warranty.

[farnsy]

Thanks, John!