How to disable Allen stops after Hauptwerk addition?

[crapmaster]

I just added Hauptwerk to an Allen Protege c12c in a church. Well, a kind volunteer did it for me. When I went to map the stop tabs today, I realized that they were still using the Allen stops in addition to the HW stops. This makes sense. I also have Hauptwerk on my Allen MDS-1 at home. I avoided this issue by plugging an adapter into the headphone jack. Also, I don't have any speakers connected to that organ. I just use headphones connected to the computer. Is there any (easy) way to disable to the Allen stops on the Protege so that I can use the stop tabs for Hauptwerk only?

[jbird604]

If you know how to access the voicing menu in the console controller, you can turn the volume down all the way on every stop. Or if you can access the channel volumes in the controller, turn down the audio channels all the way on the stop channels but NOT the expander channels.

Doing either will leave the Allen audio system functional so you will still hear the Hauptwerk sounds through the Allen speakers.

[Larason2]

Most modern instruments have some kind of "local off" setting buried in the menu somewhere for just this kind of situation, and it's usually programmed so that if you turn the power off and on again, it resets. Here's a manual online for a similar protege organ, just search it for "local off."

https://www.allenorgan.com/support/o.../033-00157.pdf

[crapmaster]

I'll check when I'm back at the church, but I think my console controller doesn't have a setting like that. It's an older model, purchased in 2000.

[AllenAnalog]

1) Is it a correct assumption that there are no Main/Antiphonal speaker controls on this instrument?

2) What is the sound system for the Hauptwerk organ? Are you somehow feeding the audio back into the Allen amplifiers and speakers or is it a totally separate audio system?

3) Do you intend to switch back and forth between the native Allen voices and Hauptwerk or just use Hauptwerk going forward? If you were just going to use Hauptwerk and it has its own audio system you could turn down the volume controls on the Allen amps.

[you795a]

If you have Antiphonal relays for Internal and External speakers, you can turn them off but they will still function with the piston buttons as they are mapped as regular stops. If you do not intend to use the Allen sounds, you can either turn down the volume on the amplifiers or unplug the audio from the CEN-1 board. It would be a 12 place white connector located near the bottom left side of the board with either gray or white shielded cables attached. The other possibility is to unplug the power to the amplifier AS LONG AS there is nothing else plugged into the amplifier. The power going into the amplifier is located on the top left and any other powered devices would be connected to the right side of the amplifier. If something is plugged into the right side, I would recommend not to unplug the power to the amplifier. If you turn the volume down on the amplifiers, be extremely careful turning those pots down as they can get damaged easily. You would need a small straight blade screwdriver to turn them down.

[crapmaster]

1) Is it a correct assumption that there are no Main/Antiphonal speaker controls on this instrument?

2) What is the sound system for the Hauptwerk organ? Are you somehow feeding the audio back into the Allen amplifiers and speakers or is it a totally separate audio system?

3) Do you intend to switch back and forth between the native Allen voices and Hauptwerk or just use Hauptwerk going forward? If you were just going to use Hauptwerk and it has its own audio system you could turn down the volume controls on the Allen amps.

You're correct on #1.

The organ had an Allen Ensemble box. It was removed, and the audio outputs were moved to the audio interface we purchased for Hauptwerk. I have no interest in continuing to use the Allen voices.

Your advice in 3 is a bit beyond me. I might ask for help from the person who set it up for me, but he's a hobbyist who's already volunteered a lot of time on this, and he doesn't live nearby.

[jbird604]

If you know how to access the voicing menu in the console controller, you can turn the volume down all the way on every stop. Or if you can access the channel volumes in the controller, turn down the audio channels all the way on the stop channels but NOT the expander channels.

Doing either will leave the Allen audio system functional so you will still hear the Hauptwerk sounds through the Allen speakers.

[crapmaster]

If you know how to access the voicing menu in the console controller, you can turn the volume down all the way on every stop. Or if you can access the channel volumes in the controller, turn down the audio channels all the way on the stop channels but NOT the expander channels.

Doing either will leave the Allen audio system functional so you will still hear the Hauptwerk sounds through the Allen speakers.

Can you give me any advice on how to access the channel volumes to turn down only the stop volumes? I tried your first suggestion, but it lowers both the Allen stop and the Hauptwerk stop, so it didn't get me what I wanted. Thanks.

[jbird604]

unplug the audio from the CEN-1 board. It would be a 12 place white connector located near the bottom left side of the board with either gray or white shielded cables attached.

Since you want the Allen amps and speakers to continue to function and serve as the audio system for the VPO stops, what you must do is prevent the Allen voices from getting from the generator board to the amps. You can try you795a's suggestion to see if that works but still lets the expander audio get to the amps.

If the expander audio actually gets mixed into the organ audio on the CEN-1 board, then this won't work.

I don't have any service literature any more, so I can't tell you for sure. If that doesn't work you will have to silence the stops, all 32 of them, rank by rank in the voicing menu.

[crapmaster]

Since you want the Allen amps and speakers to continue to function and serve as the audio system for the VPO stops, what you must do is prevent the Allen voices from getting from the generator board to the amps. You can try you795a's suggestion to see if that works but still lets the expander audio get to the amps.

If the expander audio actually gets mixed into the organ audio on the CEN-1 board, then this won't work.

I don't have any service literature any more, so I can't tell you for sure. If that doesn't work you will have to silence the stops, all 32 of them, rank by rank in the voicing menu.

OK - I thought silencing the stops individually was what I was doing when I last tinkered with it. I don't think I saw a way to select just the Allen voices, so it turned down everything.

[jbird604]

I may be giving inaccurate or dated advice, but there MUST be a way on that organ to just turn down the volume of each ALLEN stop individually. I've done it in the Console Controller window on several different modern-day Allens (Renaissance and later).

Generally, you have to first disable the lock on the voicing. In early Allen Renaissance and related technologies, there was a small chrome-plated toggle switch underneath the roll-top on the bass end. So close the roll-top, open the top lid, and see if there is a small switch there. If so, in one position or the other you should be able to get "Voicing" as one of the menu options when you scroll through the Console Controller using Set+R.

If there is no toggle switch, you have a model that can only be unlocked using a numerical code. Most Allen functions on the Console Controller are unlocked by holding down the MEM button and pressing 2-5-5 on the general pistons. But I'm pretty sure yours is old enough to unlock with a toggle switch.

Once you are able to see "Voicing" in the Menu, go to the submenu under that and select "Voicing by Rank." Once in that mode, you can use the up/down and right/left arrow keys to go to the rank number, and start with #1 and go all the way through #32, using the arrow keys to turn each one all the way down to off. It would be wise before doing that to make a note of the setting of each rank BEFORE you turn them down, just in case you ever change your mind and want to hear the Allen voices again.

Doing that should ONLY affect the internally generated Allen stops, and have no effect on your Hauptwerk stops. That should allow your existing Allen amps and speakers to work with the Hauptwerk voices, since you are routing them into the Allen audio system by plugging them in where the Expander was connected.

If this doesn't work, there must be something going on that I'm unfamiliar with, which wouldn't be unusual. I'm a little behind the curve on Allen nowadays, since I no longer work with a dealer. But I have many times used the Console Controller Menu to alter the levels of the onboard stops, so I know it can be done once you get into the voicing menu.

I seem to remember that you must "save" the new voice levels before you exit the menu. Maybe you press Set & Cancel at the same time to do that. I'm not sure. Maybe another Allen guy will chime in with more info on that.