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Yesterday I played on a Holloway organ, but I cannot figure out how to set the pistons. There is no set button. Is there some other way to set the pistons that I don't know about?
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Re: How to set pistons
I am only guessing, but I think that Holloway is an older organ. The pistons may be on a "setter board" system or perhaps "hold and set." Or, they may be permanently set one way (i.e., hard wired) and can only be changed by rearranging the wiring. Sorry this is not much help; but at least itmay help you regarding where to look.
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Re: How to set pistons
You had to play a Holloway? I'm so sorry![:'(][N][+o(]
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Re: How to set pistons
What is a Holloway organ? Never heard of them. I'm assuming it's a small pipe organ outfit? Can anyone elaborate?
As far as setting stops, you might have to hold the piston down and change the stops while it's being held down. Be careful while doing this for the first time until you are sure that this is the case. If it isn't and you press too hard, you might damage something.
-Jon
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Re: How to set pistons
They are definitely not hard wired. I will try the hold and set system you mentioned. I have never played an organ that didn't have a set button before....
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Re: How to set pistons
Heh, you should try using the console at my church. Old Reisner console with setter boards... grab the two drawers underneath the left and right sides, pull em out, and configure all of the 15 million switches.
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Re: How to set pistons
At least you have drawers for the setter - I know several organs where you have to get up and go inside the organ to set each registration. [:S]
One organ is not so nice, the other is quite a treasure.Comment
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Re: How to set pistons
Oh man! That must be fun... call up your friend and have him go into the loft... "did that turn it on?" "no" "is that it" "no, that's the 8' trumpet" :)
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Re: How to set pistons
Of course if you had an organ with mechanial key and stop action, you wouldn't have to worry about a combination action, because there'd be none. I was playing the Flentrop (the big one) at Trinity Cathedral (the local Episcopal cathedral) and was sorely missing a combo action. I realize that it was built without one and does just fine, but trying to make major stop changes alone, quickly, just doesn't work. But, of course, that is what registrants are for...lol...
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Re: How to set pistons
Hold and set is actually a nice feature. Rodgers organs (at least the larger models with true capture actions) have always had two ways to set the pistons -- with the set button, or by holding the piston inwhile making your changes.
When setting up a series of registration changes from scratch I'll usually use the Set piston. But when modifying a registration, trying to decide whether to include a certain stop or not, hold and set comes in very handy. It's so easy to just hold in the piston you want to modify and push in the knob you want to delete from that registration. Takes only two hands instead of three.
On our old Rodgers 660 with moving tabs and the magnetic core memory, hold and set was something of a liability, as the system might delete a stop from a registration without warning if the contact switch for that stop happened to be a bit dirty. You'd get the odd sight of a tab dropping down and then quickly jumping back up in the fraction of a second it took to press a piston!
I don't know if other electronic builders have incorporated this option. Allen does not, AFAIK, but I haven't tried it on anything else.
John
John
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Re: How to set pistons
Peterson has both set-button and hold-and-set on all of their systems. I really appreciate having both options available.
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Re: How to set pistons
[quote user="Austin766"]Of course if you had an organ with mechanial key and stop action, you wouldn't have to worry about a combination action, because there'd be none. I was playing the Flentrop (the big one) at Trinity Cathedral (the local Episcopal cathedral) and was sorely missing a combo action. I realize that it was built without one and does just fine, but trying to make major stop changes alone, quickly, just doesn't work. But, of course, that is what registrants are for...lol...
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It is possible to have adjustable combinations with mechanicalstop action, as with this1891 Roosevelt. The two small adjuster levers on the left change the combination pedals for the left jamb (Swell and Pedal) while the two on the right change the combinations for the right jamb (Great and Choir).
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...eveltOrgan.jpg
Photograph from The Organs of Chicago by Stephen J. Schnurr, Jr. and Dennis E. Northway
(I love this book and am pleased to shamelessly promote it.)Comment
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Re: How to set pistons
(childishly)...Well...fine...be that way...
I guess I was sort of half bitching about trying to make fast stop changes on the Flentrop, which is very hard for an organist to do alone, since it is not set up to be fast on the changes, horizontal rows on flat jambs, and well, I think a picture would do the talking better.
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/c...e/DSCN1267.jpgComment
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Re: How to set pistons
Ah, why is beauty often impractical? SIGH!
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Re: How to set pistons
The closest thing to a combo action on that organ is a system of pedals which will draw or cancel the pedal reeds when the knobs are turned to the right. I have no idea why just the pedal reeds, or why the pedal reeds at all, after all, it isn't like an entire combo action would be nice, stupid Organ Reform Movement.
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