Has Anyone Ever Purchased a Viscount Cantorum Duo with Pedalboard

[Pompeii2017]

I am considering getting an organ for home practice but there are few things holding me back

1) Price
2) My living situation (I don't know much longer I will be living where I am currently living)

I have heard about this organ, and the fact that it's portable is a big plus for me, but I have several questions.

https://us.midiworks.ca/index.php?op...product_id=354

If I were to order it from this company, I would have to put it together myself and I am not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree LOL! I am hoping that it is not super complicated tto use either

If anyone has one of these, please share your experience with me. Is this a good organ for a student?

[JeffW]

I have not purchased or seen in person the Viscount Cantorum Duo with pedalboard (V-CDwP). However, a couple of years ago when I was considering what organ to purchase I had kept that setup in mind if: 1) I was going to take the VPO/Hauptwerk choice, or 2) I was going to go for a bit less "pipe-like" sound.

For the VPO/Hauptwerk choice, I didn't want to take a bunch of time to cobble/pull-together/modify/rewire/strip-down/re-build/add-MIDI to an existing non-MIDI console. Hauptwerk takes a bit to setup and having the V-CDwP would get me playing almost immediately. That the V-CDwP is MIDI-equipped makes it the quick choice for those wanting to use VPO software; however, $6K ain't cheap.

I've only heard short bits of recordings of the internal voices (can't remember where I heard them), and it was fairly clear to my ears that the sound was not unpleasant but had less pipe-like sound than I would have been happy with.

On the putting the setup together, from the various pieces included it is at or slight more complicated than a small Ikea bookcase--hella easier than finding an old organ console and repurposing it with MIDI for VPO software.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide.

[rjsilva]

I actually know someone who just bought a Cantorum Duo with 30-note concave radiating pedalboard with two expression shoes and I just happened to check it out today.

I had previously only heard recordings on the internet and I can confidently say that it's a lot better than I was anticipating.

The sounds are very good even with the small internal speakers. The internal speakers are excellent for portability. This person will be setting up 4 external speakers and I think that will improve the sound further, especially for the 16' stops. There are 4 voicing styles and I felt there was a range of quality among the stops, but I liked many of them and the tutti was surprisingly satisfying on the Symphonic setting despite the low stop count.

I was also very impressed with the keys and touch. They didn't feel like cheap plastic keys and the tracker simulated touch was nice, and heavier than I anticipated. There was a subtle texture to the keys which was nice.

The 30-note pedalboard also felt nice and I didn't notice any difference in feel and positioning vs a 32-note AGO board.

It also has features you might not expect, such as 4-channel output with 7-band EQ for each stereo output. Lots of generals through multiple memory levels and next/prev pistons. More stuff too. The harpsichord sound was the best I've personally played on a digital instrument, and of course there was the requisite harpsichord ‘click' when releasing a key.

My guess is that the MIDI implementation is complete although I didn't test it.

Personally, if I were space conscious and had the money for it I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I was really impressed.

[jbird604]

I haven't tried one out, but I have looked it over thoroughly online, and it looks like a perfectly good choice to me, as long as the feature set meets one's expectations. Just two manuals, of course, and just 30 stops, and only 6 general pistons (though with 16 memory levels and a sequencer). So it's a smallish but adequate two-manual organ, which is plenty of organ for a good many of us, myself included, most of the time. If you have aspirations for a three-manual, it might be possible to enlarge it, but it wouldn't be a snap, so I wouldn't count on doing that as a home project.

So, if the feature set is what you need, it does have a LOT of things to recommend it, such as the four channel output (complete with 7-band EQ), the nice keys with textured surface and tracker touch (as rjsilva tells us above, and possibly similar to other Viscount products that I have tried out myself). The fact that it's "ready to play" and ready to accept the addition of the pedal board and expression, for a no-fuss conversion into a useful 2m with pedals. I am sure that you can't get an organ this flexible in a regular console from one of the regular builders for this little money. You'll probably want better sound than you're likely to get from the small speakers in the keyboard stack. Adding an external amp and either two or four good speakers will add to the cost considerably, but even then you'd probably have less money invested than in a typical entry level "studio" organ, and it would probably sound better than one of those.

And it's ready to plug right into a computer and serve as the base for a VPO, should you decide to get into that.

If you are inclined to do any of your own construction, no doubt you can do this for even less money. The manual-only unit can probably be bought for around $4K US (I'm guessing, but extrapolating from the European prices I've seen on the internet). And a used AGO pedal board might be bought for $100 or so if you look around. A kit to MIDI-fy a 32 note pedal board is available from someone for under $100 (I saw a video about it recently, but can't recall the source). And the stand and bench could probably be built with a few hundred dollars worth of materials and hardware, if you're handy with tools and woodworking.

But the quoted price of $6580 actually is quite attractive, and the "some assembly required" shouldn't be too difficult, even for an amateur. Shouldn't be any harder to put together than a piece of IKEA furniture or a bookcase from Walmart or Target.

As to adding external speakers, you can probably get some good recommendations on available units by browsing Hauptwerk groups, as those folks are used to having to add some small but high-quality speakers to their setups.

[Charles Gentry]

I bought the Cantorum Duo but added a non-viscount pedalboard. The built-in sound quality is OK but not as good as Hauptwerk or GrandOrgue with a good sample set. But, the keyboard feels really really good compared with a standard synth keyboard and has the advantage that you can connect it easily to external equipment (computers, amps), and does have some thumb pistons. Putting the sound through an amp and external speakers improves the sound. It has a one advantage you don't get with just a Haupwerk-based system: you can just power it on and play without turning on the computer, loading a sample set, and running the amp. I use it both ways: quick practice with internal sounds and expanded playing with the computer and amp running.

If you haven't tried it, the keys are not slick and have require a bit of pressure to depress a key. I believe Viscount use customised Fatar keyboards. I never liked less expensive keyboards; they tend to feel too light and plastic.

[jbird604]

Thanks for the helpful information. You make a good point -- it's ready to play instantly, but if you want to use your VPO it is totally prepared for that. And since it only costs a little bit more than you'd pay for a pair of good keyboards, some pistons and stop tabs, it would seem to be a good buy. A person could use it as a starter organ, using the onboard sounds and audio system, then expand it with a computer system and external audio.

[myorgan]

Mr. Gentry,

Thank you for the update and review of the Cantorum Duo. It is nice to hear positive reviews of organs other than Allen or Rodgers, and that other options are available with good sounds.

It's also nice to hear from a user how convenient a non-VPO is vs. a VPO. Welcome to the Forum!

Michael

[jubilatedeo]

sorry to revive an old thread, but what is your experience with the Cantorum two years later?

Do you have the built-in tab stops working with Hauptwerk, or as VPO do you just ignore the built-in stuff?