Nelson,
Thanks for your excellent post on this subject. It is great to have an
established Rodgers dealer explain what you know to the rest of us.
I suspect that Rodgers will "borrow" some technology from Global. However, I
selected Rodgers for our church for the sound, not technology. I suspect any
organ manufactured by the four organs sold worldwide, counting Rodgers as one
of the four, will play well for at least 20 years and perhaps even 50 or more.
As you stated, there is a difference in the sound. Rodgers will continue to do
well here in the US as most organists prefer the Rodgers sound except for some
"baroque only" organists, who prefer a different brand.
Thanks for explaining how it is really working at Rodgers. Global, I suspect,
will want to keep the Rodgers sound to add to their canon of organs and organ
sounds that they can sell throughout the world.
I'm hoping that Rodgers will consider using more of those great samples from
the Trillium and Masterpiece series. I have many Rodgers CDs given to me as we
were considering our purchase in 2006. I really love the sounds of the
Trillium and Masterpiece series of Rodgers organs.
I'm sure the Infinity organs sound just as great, but I have only heard those
organs through my computer speakers, not through the great sound system in our
church which is better than many organ speaker systems used in many churches,
especially in older organs.
Again, Thanks Nelson for an excellent post!
Robert McMenisMinister of Worship and OrganistFirst UMC, Smackover, AR808
Trilliuim Masterpiece MX200 with Hector voices
On Monday, May 15, 2017 7:03 PM, Nelson Dodge <nelson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Mr. Bill Hubert....
Re. your "sad commentary" post: the first sentence was the most true statement
in the whole thing. The rest of the post is Exhibit A that you have become a
victim of this truth. You make many statements about Rodgers--not just
comments or opinions--that are presented as facts that I and many others know
to be completely false. But apparently this "sad" state of affairs is what you
have come to believe. Check your sources--if there really are any--they're
nefarious.
So how do I "know" this? What are my sources? First, I'm a top ten Rodgers
dealer buying new organs from Rodgers and supporting hundreds of customers with
Rodgers organs as old as 50+ years. I'm getting everything I need from Rodgers
to support the legacy organs, and and we continue to support hundreds of
existing Rodgers organs. The new owners of Rodgers did not sell "all the parts
for existing Rodgers instruments" as you stated. This would have been an
egregious abdication of their legal responsibility for existing warranties. On
its face, your statement is implausible, and more importantly (for existing
owners) what you claim didn't happen.
Second, I speak regularly with Rodgers personnel in just about every
department, and at every level of management, including the owners. We have
clear and honest conversations. I am more optimistic than ever about the
future of my Rodgers dealership.
Third, I have insights (and input) into some future product developments. This,
more than anything, confirms for me that the "soul" of Rodgers is in good hands
and that the company is continuing to be an innovator, as they have for their
entire history. As you might be aware, I am one of the dealers that added the
Johannus line in my showroom side-by-side with Rodgers--your jumbled
description of how this works for a dealer like me bears no resemblance to my
reality. It's pretty simple: I buy organs from two
separate companies. The Rodgers models are the same as they were pre-ownership
change. The Johannus models are a different design and sound--the brands are
distinct and will remain this way. I invite anyone to come to my showroom and
see for themselves. Some will prefer Rodgers, some will prefer Johannus--all
will be delighted with their choice. Ask any of my customers.
Per my earlier post in this thread where I advocated making this a moderated
list: I've changed my mind. I don't think it's necessary--why inconvenience or
second guess most of the list members who have demonstrated their ability to
make useful contributions? I'm now of the opinion that everyone should have
the opportunity to freely post and contribute until they demonstrate an
inability to handle the responsibility that comes with such freedom. I am now
suggesting that an irresponsible and utterly confused post such as
yours--particularly one that contains multiple statements that are known to be
outright falsehoods--would immediately flag any future posts from that list
member for review by a moderator.
This is a users' group after all--not a political forum. From my perspective
it's about maintaining integrity and quality--free speech is not the issue. If
anything, members have a "right" to expect reliable and useful information,
which apparently requires some effort. Make the ground rules clear when people
sign up, challenge members to behave responsibly--it's a fair deal. And
ironically, if the list were operated in this manner, this post wouldn't be
necessary inasmuch as the amount of misinformation would be minimal. This is
my opinion--others may disagree.
Nelson Dodge