[rodgersorganusers] Re: Analog
- From: Topa12283@xxxxxxx
- To: rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 17:12:28 EST
I read with great interest this talk of analog vs. digital. I do a great
deal of voicing for the local Rodgers dealer, so I've played on and worked with
dozens and dozens of the newer digital organs. My church owns a 27 year old
Rodgers 990E, currently installed in the 500-seat chapel. The new Sanctuary
got
a 5-manual Moller in 1989! The chapel is an acoustical nightmare - the
deadest room on earth. The 990 sounded dreadful from day one. Very cold and
sterile, hitting you like a flame thrower. I was surprised that the church
actually wanted to spend a load of money on a pipe organ since their only
experience
with organ music came from this instrument. But after we were settled into
the new Sanctuary, I decided to go to work on the 990 in the chapel. It had
only two main speakers in addition to the Pedal cabinet and the solo reed horn.
There were three balconies in the chapel, and all three had an antiphonal
speaker that was too close to the seats. I removed them and added them to the
main organ, thus allowing me to split the channels (Swell reeds from one
speaker
and the flues from a separate source). Much improvement! I later added two
Leslies and two Allen gyrophonic cabinets to the organ that operate through the
Antiphonal channels. Wow!!! Then I spent three days revoicing every single
control on the organ. The original Rodgers dealer in town thought that every
organ should sound like a Ruffatti, so all controls were turned to BRIGHT and
SHRILL. There was no air sound and no activity to the sound. It was amazing
what could be done with good voicing. I moved the organ from a caustic
Ruffatti to a "concert hall Austin" type of sound which was much friendlier in
that
dead room. I also added a home-made reverb system using condenser mics, a
MicroVerb digital reverb box, and several extra left-over speakers. WOW!
If given the chance, I would probably go for a new digital instrument, but
only if it could have the three 32's, the multiple celestes, solo reed, and all
the sub & super couplers that I've grown accustomed to. Otherwise, leave my
analog alone ... it rocks!!!!
Tom Alderman
Roswell, GA.
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