Thank you for this video. I am a "wanna be" church organist kindly allowed to play for a couple of morning services each month. Your suggestions will be a big help to my being more satisfied with my playing for church. I really enjoy our 3-manual Allen at church. I wish it was newer but I must be satisfied with the opportunity I have. I really enjoy the chance to play for our church services. Thanks for the tips. Marvin W. Canyon Lake CA
A live room helps. Doubling up the loudspeakers per channel, a pedal cabinet which really delivers in order that you "feel it where you sit" and a little reverb with surround also helps.
Beefing-up the audio system on a modest electronic organ can really help. It also is possible to un-mix some channels, effectively getting more channels of audio. The more channels of audio you have, the better the sound is. You will have more natural chorus-blending effect as well.
my Episcopal Church for years had a smaller Reuter pipe organ, they had installed about 1979, it was done very bright sounding and sounded better than some bigger pipe organs or Rodgers or Allen church organs as the time. It could blast you out of the building if someone tried. We moved about 9 years ago, and built a larger building and this organ is now hybed with a Allen, but the guy we have hired to play can really pull out the pipe organ part of it
Sometimes "more" is "less" ans sometimes "less" is "more" as expertly shown in this demo. The secret is to know your instrument and experiment, experiment, experiment.
I used to get complaints that no one could hear the organ at a previous church where I played. I did the late service, while someone else did the early service. I tried to explain that the late service had more people singing, and I was using everything the organ had, and had the expression pedal all the way open.
I have a sub $4 iPhone / iPad app that gives you a very good practice (or if you’re not from the UK, practise) organ. Look for Victorian Chapel Organ in the app store - 19 stops, tremulant, excellent reverb unit, works with single manual, 2 manuals or 2 manuals plus pedals. It really is very good.
@@drewway9599 about 5 years ago, I was looking for a home for my late moms 1964 Hammond M Spinet . It was a great organ but no one wanted them, finally found a guy that was going to chop it and use it in his contemporary warehouse church music.
It's definitely not the same but it's easy and cheap to put together a digital organ using a midi keyboard and a computer. I don't prefer it so I mainly use mine when my room mate is sleeping but it gets the job done and recording is a breeze.
I’m sorry, I have to agree with some of the others on here . That Allen organ sounds typically electronic and absolutely diabolical and I am certain would be no use in a medium or large church building because I don’t think it could support a large congregation without using all the stops and the sound would be ghastly! If any congregation had to choose between spending money on restoring a good pipe organ or replacing it with an Allen such as what you demonstrated, I would strongly advise them to save their money and continue to fundraise until they had the money to have the pipe organ restored. All the time and any time.
I don't know; as for me personally, I would rather have this Allen than a Hauptwerk set up. I just don't care for those unsightly and unrealistic touchscreens (my opinion only). I just bought an Allen ADC organ and had it moved to my basement and it sounds amazing! Just like a real pipe organ! Hauptwerk set-ups do sound neat if they're installed right - - as many organs do. But, the neat thing about Allens and the like is that one can simply turn it on and play it. I'm not technology savvy at all, so I would not know the first thing about how to install Hauptwerk, nor would I have any interest in doing so. When I hear my Allen, I am hearing a pipe organ. I love it! (:
I agree about the unsightly touchscreens that some people use but that is just their choice to allow them to install all sorts of different sample sets. I have seen Hauptwerk installed in traditional organ consoles and if the computer running it is quick, it takes no longer to boot up than a real pipe organ would take to fill its wind chests with air. I can tell an Allen organ straight away, they sound electronic, Hauptwerk doesn't. The only ready made organs that are any good are the Marshall & Ogletree but they are quite expensive. An Allen console may look a nice piece of furniture but for me it is the sound that matters and although they have improved and will continue to, Hauptwerk is still well ahead. And it is easy to set up a basic Hauptwerk organ with just one MIDI keyboard. :-)
Yes, I have too seen the traditional organ consoles running Hauptwerk and they are quite impressive. And I definitely agree, if the sound is the main thing that matters to one who wants to play organ, than Hauptwerk is definitely the way to go. For me, it is both sound and looks that matter. I am a picky organist I guess. Maybe picky in different ways than other organists. Lol! I also agree that Allens have an "Alleny" sound which I am totally okay with personally. Sure, it won't sound as realistic as Hauptwerk in some set-ups, but I like the cabinet and the moving stop tabs (which is one of the things I love about mine). And the sound is perfect for me and it has features that will allow me to improve. That of course is just my opinion and I am totally okay with others who may disagree. In the end, it is good that each one has what makes him satisfied. One may prefer Hauptwerk, while another prefers Allen, etc. I love what I have (Allen) and I would assume Hauptwerk owners love what they have.
Could not have said that any better! My only problem with people are those that try to shove Hauptwerk down my throat as if it's the only thing around! I may not have an organ right now(my old vintage Hammond A-100 quit on me),but I want Allen for my next organ. Allens have their own sound,...as MANY organs do,...and I'm okay with that! When I hear Allen,I hear pipes!
What do you expect when it is recorded from a camera? In a good acoustic with a decent array of speakers, electronic/digital organs sound great. There is a lot to voicing and setting up electronic instruments and it makes a huge difference to the overall sound.
BULL SHIT,...you just don't like Allens,..and it seems like any chance you get,you trash them! Nothing wrong with that organ if you were to listen to it in person,..and not recorded from a camera!
Remember this organ was obsolete in 1994. The MDS series was far better, particularly in good acoustics,external speakers and 5 channels including sub bass woofer.
@@praestant8 Well,..another person who doesn't like Allen,..no different than Cameron Dean,and his attitude towards Allen. What do you expect out of recording with a cheap video camera?
