[rodgersorganusers] Re: Analog

"Why are there those that prefer analog sound?"

Here are my reasons:

Sometimes I find digital organs lacking in a convincing ensemble--the =
stops just don't come together "right".=20

Sometimes I hear digital sound that I can only describe as two-dimensional-=
-lacking a depth to the sound, that I don't find missing in analog =
sound.=20

Perhaps it is that there just are not that many pitch sources in a digital =
instrument. To duplicate an analog Rodgers, much less a big pipe organ, =
the digital would have to have as many individual clocks as analog organ, =
and you're right back to an organ with lots of expensive oscillators.

My C-180 has, obviously, two tuning sources that are out of tune with =
respect to each other, I imagine to give some semblance of "ensemble". But =
they are too far out of tune for my ears with big registrations. It's =
delicious, though, with a lone gedackt.

Even if the digital has a frequency table that doesn't have locked =
octaves, whatever it has is fixed, without random variation. The analogs =
have the random variations. There is NOTHING random in a digital organ.=20

So, while I admire what is being done with digital, I also appreciate the =
sound of a fine analog organ. In some ways analog is less pipe-like than =
the digitals and in some ways more pipe-like. I can only describe the =
results from a good Rodgers analog as very musical.

And, finally, with a digital organ you can only make voicing changes and =
adjustments as far as the digital designer allows. With analog, you can =
modify the circuits to go beyond the designer's intent & permission. If =
you don't like and never use, say, the 4 ft spitzfl=F6te you can't do =
anything about it on a digital instrument. The exception being, like with =
some Rodgers voices, you have a choice behind the main voice. On an analog =
organ, you can at least remove the offending stop, and likely substitute =
something else quite easily.

"The first organs to use sampled chimes were often criticized..and still =
are, for the chimes=20
sounding too much like someone actually striking a chime rod...whcih of=20
course is what chimes are."

There is a difference between "chimes" and "carillon". And even between =
orchestral chimes & church chimes. I suspect most organists want the sound =
of church chimes.=20

Church chimes are not hit by someone, but by solenoids. Solenoids cannot, =
by their very nature, strike exactly the way a person would. Also, =
solenoids have virtually a fixed strike strength. (Yes, there is  some =
variation with voltage, but it is pretty minimal and nothing close to what =
a human can do.) Digital chimes should not be touch sensitive to duplicate =
church chimes. If they are touch sensivite, then they duplicate the =
orchestral instrument, not the church instrument.

The difficulty of using an analog scheme to make a chimes sound is exactly =
as Noel describes: the chime overtones are not really on the harmonic =
series--they are off-tune. (This is true of many idiophones--struck solid =
objects.) Without a separate oscillator tune to each individual harmonic =
(read: expensive), an analog approach won't be very convincing.

Digital samples work wonderfully for most percussions.

Charlie

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