Honest Review's on the Lowrey Organ

[sweet melody 79]

So, i have listened to countless people play the Lowrey organ. Many many people Love it but i just dont get it and want to see if i am missing the point. I realize that the sound of an organ is subjective but i really dont think the tone of a $50,000 Lowrey is anything special and i would go as far to say they sound really cheap. If you take away all the flashing spaceship lights, auto fill ins, one finger chords and just play it as a straight organ... how does it rate in your eyes?

[andyg]

There aren't that many examples of the Lowrey being played straight. I assume that you have heard Lori Graves play it?

I never judge an organ until I've sat down and played it myself, so I don't bother commenting on video clips. I haven't played any of the more recent models but when one of my students was buying his AT900 Platinum, he was with the store guys doing the paperwork, so I wandered around the store playing a few organs, including some Lowreys. I was not impressed with them in terms of overall tone. Nice creamy flutes and the usual slightly mushy Lowrey strings, but the rest, no. How old those models were, I couldn't tell you. I assume that things improved after they were made!

Many years ago, I was set to go up and review a Lowrey or two here in the UK, but for whatever reason, the appointment was cancelled. I never did find out why.

I'm sure if I sat down at something like a Marquee or Aria Pro, and you gave me half an hour, I'd be making some great sounds on it, and enjoying myself, but that's been my job, if you like, for the past 40+ years, finding out what makes an instrument tick and getting the best out of it.

I have to say that I haven't played anything that would want to make me part with my AT900P, though.

[RogerM]

I have to say that I haven't played anything that would want to make me part with my AT900P, though.

Don't forget Klaus' invitation to try the Böhm Sempra. Your next opportunity is probably Kent Piano & Keyboard Expo at Bexley on 19/20 January. I'm sure we'd all appreciate your opinion.

[sweet melody 79]

There aren't that many examples of the Lowrey being played straight. I assume that you have heard Lori Graves play it?

I never judge an organ until I've sat down and played it myself, so I don't bother commenting on video clips. I haven't played any of the more recent models but when one of my students was buying his AT900 Platinum, he was with the store guys doing the paperwork, so I wandered around the store playing a few organs, including some Lowreys. I was not impressed with them in terms of overall tone. Nice creamy flutes and the usual slightly mushy Lowrey strings, but the rest, no. How old those models were, I couldn't tell you. I assume that things improved after they were made!

Many years ago, I was set to go up and review a Lowrey or two here in the UK, but for whatever reason, the appointment was cancelled. I never did find out why.

I'm sure if I sat down at something like a Marquee or Aria Pro, and you gave me half an hour, I'd be making some great sounds on it, and enjoying myself, but that's been my job, if you like, for the past 40+ years, finding out what makes an instrument tick and getting the best out of it.

I have to say that I haven't played anything that would want to make me part with my AT900P, though.

Yes, i have heard her play the Lowrey and must say she does a better job than most. Its funny how a top-of-the-range Lowrey which would set you back three or four times the cost of a Roland 900P sounds like a toy in comparison.

Again, i know these things are subjective but i think i would be speaking for the majority of organists out there.

[dressur4]

Well the short comings of Lowrey. first most are made of particle board or MDF they do a great job of hiding that fact. for what they sell for you would think they would use the best casework available. Another short coming is in their solo and chorus sounds you can only use one at a time. another short coming is that when you turn off the organ it goes back to the standard settings everytime you switch the organ on. What I LOVE about the Lowrey is the sound the look and the build quality for an MDF cabinet it is well put together and the boards and stuff are installed in metal trays and uses fiberglass boards. I love the sound of the Lowrey and I love mine. I have an Allen and that sounds amazing but I have heard Hauptwerk organs though that sounded even better. I have an old C500 Lowrey and it has some particle board in it and it is still like new. So they muse use special binders that are water resistant. THE BIGGEST short coming is that parts are impossible to obtain even for the Imperial anything newer will be hard to find parts for.

[dressur4]

now for aesthetics I wish they would have never went to those clear stoptabs I love the pearled ones they used like on the C500 and the ones of that era

[sweet melody 79]

now for aesthetics I wish they would have never went to those clear stoptabs I love the pearled ones they used like on the C500 and the ones of that era

I think it must depend on how you are using the organ and what sort of music you like playing. I love theater organ sounds and i am afraid no Lowrey sounds like a theater organ. The Roland has far better theater organ sounds. I would actually say that the Yamaha AR100 sounds better than any Lowrey organ. But, that is just me. Each to their own! :-)

[abacus]

Not 100% sure but I think only the flat sided models (EG: Rialto) are MDF, the posh ones with fancy shapes and curves are wood. (Nothing wrong with MDF mind you)

Bill

[andyg]

Another short coming is in their solo and chorus sounds you can only use one at a time. another short coming is that when you turn off the organ it goes back to the standard settings everytime you switch the organ on.

Hmm. Even as far back as the NT series, you could layer two of the Orchestral voices together, you simply held down one button and pressed another. Would be surprised if that had changed with the newer technology.

And the start-up sound was deliberately chosen - they plugged it as 'turn on and enjoy that sweet Lowrey sound'. Whilst you could rightly argue that it would have been nice to have the option of going back to the sound that was set when it was last turned off, the fact is that most owners turn on and hit a preset - either one of the factory sets or one of their own.

Yes, there's nothing wrong with MDF, but I'm also pretty sure that the cabinets of the larger models, whether built in Chicago or Kawai's piano plant were real wood.

[dressur4]

Hmm. Even as far back as the NT series, you could layer two of the Orchestral voices together, you simply held down one button and pressed another. Would be surprised if that had changed with the newer technology.

And the start-up sound was deliberately chosen - they plugged it as 'turn on and enjoy that sweet Lowrey sound'. Whilst you could rightly argue that it would have been nice to have the option of going back to the sound that was set when it was last turned off, the fact is that most owners turn on and hit a preset - either one of the factory sets or one of their own.

Yes, there's nothing wrong with MDF, but I'm also pretty sure that the cabinets of the larger models, whether built in Chicago or Kawai's piano plant were real wood.

So you think a Grand Royale would be solid wood? that would be great

[Teradon]

I have owned 2 Wurtlizers, Rogers, Wersi, and now a Lowrey Legend.
I enjoyed the Wersi the most and the sounds were great.
When I first sat down to the Lowrey, it was difficult to get the sound and levels I wanted.
I agree the sounds are not as good as the Wersi.
I do understand from the business side of organ manufacturing that Lowrey went after the money, meaning the older retired generation.
Retired people that have time on their hands, so Lowrey made an organ that was easy to play, only one finger.
The Lowreys are a beautiful piece of furniture and a comfortable bench to sit on.
You can make music with one finger on each hand and you don't even need to use your foot on the pedals.
The music that Lowrey used has very large music notes (for people with bad eyesite) with the name of each note and music in the key of C so no Sharps or Flats except when noted on the notes. The Lowrey has the lights for the name of each note on the keyboards. Lowrey has a large number of standard songs so you can play along with them with an intro and ending, making it easy for someone to make music and have fun.
My foot just will not stay off the pedals and I can't play 1 finger chords.
Yes Lowrey seems to be over priced. They offered free lifetime lessons to buyers of the Lowrey to hook the buyer.
The marketing Lowrey did to sell organs was great, just the market has went away for large organs in the USA.
Go to Walmart and buy a keyboard.
For us old retired people it is fun to make music and sometimes the easy way helps, plus keeps the mind going.

[sweet melody 79]

Hi Teradon,

I understand your point completely i just dont understand why Lowrey spend so much time manufacturing an organ with all those lights and bells and whistles with a huge organ cabinet for people like yourselves who want something basic... The organs they make seem completely contradictory to the market they are selling to!

[Piperdane]

I've played one of these . I think the Palladium model - $50 or $60k was the original price. I've played many large pipe organs, some with 5 manuals and was always able to create music with the engagement of a couple stops. I always found the 'spaceship' controls very confusing ... on my first sit at the large Lowrey it took 20 minutes for me to figure out what to push to make which blinking light to start flashing which then required pressing another lighted button after which 16 more lights started flashing ... and then I was able to play a chord.

The sound was not all that bad ... nor was it good. I always loved the sound of the Conn 580 Theaterette home organ - it had (for its time) good sounding reeds, flutes and strings. The spaceship Lowrey had good flute tones and that was about it, at least for me.

These days I much prefer the analog organ to digital sound wise ... there is always something about the analog organ that the digital manufacturers, imho, have not been able to duplicate ... for me the analogs have much more warmth whereas the digitals are always perfectly in tune and somewhat sterile sounding.

The church where I play has an excellent analog AOB 2 manual (AGO specs) organ. After almost 29 years in constant use it shows absolutely no signs of aging and the electronics have been extremely reliable.

[Teradon]

I see we have some from AZ. This was one of the hot spots for the Lowrey Organ sales. The other was Florida.
You know why, because of the old rich reired people and the snow birds. Lots of money to spend.
Lowrey must have made while in business a very large profit due to the marketing.
I really do like to play the Lowrey for the fun of it. I do have another Wersi on its way to me, to arrive in the next 2 weeks.
The lowrey will go to my daughter. She hasn't play in many years and would like to get back into it.
Her teenage son has played piano and should pick up the organ very quick.

[Ian Nel]

For me, the Lowrey organ ended at the end of the old analogue range. Not personally exposed to the entire range of course, but owning a couple of the old models, and always wishing to be able to play better, with full left-hand movement and active pedals - I could never see myself playing a modern, digital, one-hand organ. I have recently purchased a Lowrey Citation Theatre Spinet (early-70's), and really enjoying getting back into my music after 20 years of almost no playing - my life followed another route when I had children - now it's back to the organ, and creating music the hard way - and in parallel, making that music sound decent on the piano too.

All that said, I recently watched an expert playing an Aria Pro on Youtube, some marketing video I think, and he certainly put the organ through it's paces, presenting all aspects of that amazing machine - and he certainly wasn't using the automatic features, was playing full organ style, active solo, accompaniment, pedals - and it sounded great - I don't have the expertise or experience to compare to the organ makes discussed here, so I can't tell if it was better or worse - the only point I'm making is that the top-of-the-range Lowrey's can obviously be used quite well as a manual organ without one-finger playing, and it is down to the musician to make the best of the machine.

I do however agree that Lowrey (Kawai) pushed the 'easy-playing' style to grab a huge part of the home-market, but their monster machines were over-priced - I mean you talk about $50K to play with one finger? Come on. Well, it looks like their strategy has finally run out of a target market and they have shut down, no surprise. I however, will always play a Lowrey - old-style - as it's familiar to me. I've played Yamaha - no comparison at the low range, several brands of keyboards - Roland stands out - Oh! I had a white Gulbransen in the early 80's - honest, decent sound but not very exciting. For me, it has always been the Lowrey for home-organ playing.