Viscount Organ

[Rosanne]

Does anyone know anything about Viscount organs? Our church is purchasing a new organ and we are investigating the DB5. Is it a "full" sound or is it tinny? We don't know where to go to test one. Our church is located in Wind Gap PA which is in eastern Pennsylvania. I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks

[megodenas]

I will be very short : bad sound, bad quality, bad reliability and... too expansive. Even wood is to usable to burn. Sorry!

Marc

[Frederik Magle]

Hmmm... I have never played nor heard a "Viscount Organ" so I can not comment, but please let us know what you decided to buy (and why)

[Robert Bell]

I used to sell Viscount Organs and have visited the Italian factories. They build organs at a reasonable price and I know of an orgaqn still in use that was installed in 1979.
The Viscount DB5 I own is an excellent substitute for the Hammond B3. Sound is good and Leslie simulation is good.
One tip. If you are using stereo speaker keep them close together or the Leslie simulation becomes just too wide and becomes a wide vibrato. Remember you are trying to reproduce the sound of microphones about 3 feet apart.

[megodenas]

I am sure that you are very satisfied for this DB5 model from Viscount, because you are in a particular situation : you have buyed an electronic organ who is a copy of another electronic organ. Obviously and logically, you obtain an "electronic organ sound" and both Hammond B3 and Viscount DB5 are built to do that and nothing else.

So, I think it is necessary to remember you that we are here in a "PIPE" organ forum and we normally talk about pipe organs. When Rosanne posted her question about Viscount Organ, I logically answered about the church or classical organ models from Viscount, that is to say, for example, the Jubilate models, the Prestige models or the Concerto models, all built in the aim to imitate or simulate pipe organ, with sound extract from true pipes sampled. In few word, copies of church organs. And it is only in this domain that I said "I do not like the Viscount sound" because there are other brands building digital organs with pipe organ sounds sampled whose do that very very very better, like Johannus or Allen.

If your need is to have an electronic organ that simulate another electronic organ, It is obvious that you have 99 percent chance to be satisfied and happy. But simulating a pipe organ with digitised sound is another problem, more hard to achieve and since today, very very few brands can do that, and inside these brands, very few models can do that. To have the best achievement in digital simulation pipe organ sound, samples must be very fine, precise and perfect. Nothing to be compared with the old Hammond sound more easy to copy and to reproduce.

This picture of the DB5 Viscount organ shows that the console has nothing to compare with traditional pipe organ console.

[D P Werner]

Rosanne,

Could you tell me which brand of organ your church decided to buy?

Thanks,
Dave Werner werner@asia.com

[rdm38]

Great Marc,
finally a decent answer.

Anyway I see you list in your answer older models of Viscount, I suggest you to try the lastest Prestige series or the CM100 Expander, maybe you will find some interesting stuff.

[rdm38]

Hey Marc,
you should not be so short in answering, it seems you have just prejudices and not an opinion.

By the way, what do you mean with "expansive" ?

Cheers

[Andrea]

I have a Jubilate 332.

As mechanical point of view it's perfect for studio.
Infact is the most used, here in Italy, between students.

Sound is not the best one the quality is like soundblaster soundfonts !!
Try Prestige, Johannes are better but are more expensive.

Personally I drive, with the Viscount, a PC with Hauptwerk program and sampled sounds.

[Nadav]

AS an israeli i was not lucky to practice real pipe organs
often.
my electric anlogue organ is an old viscount .
it is ok .
I simply suggest that you try the specific model that you consider buying . if you can't do it yourself ,take someone with good ear and some knowledge about organs.

[luca]

Message for Andrea: Are You italian boy? Anche io sono italiano,
avrei alcune informazioni da chiederti riguardo lo jubilate 332 e sopratutto il programma hauptwerk. Potresti gentilmente scrivere alla mia mail?

eufonio@tiscali.it

General message: I have a Ahlborn sl 300, and it works fine.
The price is low, and is possible for connect interactive programmer at this organ.
The suond is good for home practice.

Thank

[D P Werner]

I have taken delivery of a Viscount Jubilate 330 Deluxe about a month ago. I am very pleased with it. It sounds as much like a pipe organ as can something that speaks through a pair of amplifiers and four console-mounted speakers. As for color of stops and balance between stops and divisions, if it were a pipe organ, it would be an excellent pipe organ. This is an issue of value. Megodenas (Marc Giacone, for whom I have great respect) disparagingly compares Viscount to Allen, but model for model the equivalent Allen costs 75% more! Is it 75% better? In the small two manual models I think Allen is even inferior in some ways. Marc also negatively compares the cabinet work to Johannus. The excellent Johannus cabinet work is uniqwue to their Rembrandt line. The Johannus Sweelink and Opus lines are very ordinary and the Studio line (same price as Viscount Jubilate 330) is one of the strangest minimalist things ever and hardly qualifies as a "console". The cabinet work of my Viscount exceeded my expecations and the console has several fine touches I did not expect for the price. The question is not simply "is Viscount good?" The question is "is Viscount good value?" I enjoy the look and sound of my Jubilate 330. It is clear, musical, authentic and even beautiful.

[luca]

Hello Msr. Werner;
I am much content that you satisfied of its Visount Jubilate. I have a question: he could send to my email (eufonio@tiscali.it) some small played musical fragment with its Viscount? I ask them this courtesy for being able to appreciate the qualities of the samples of its organ, and to understand the difference with my Ahlborn sl300.

Thanks

Regards.

[harfo32]

The Viscount organs are no better nor worse than most of the mass produced instruments. Most of them have nice flutes and celestes but fail dismally on Principal/Montres/Diapason sound - whatever you wish to call it, and anything above mf. I have a Jubilate instrument with an Ahlborn Archive attached - it's nice for the Corno di Bassetto, variety of flute stops, Fanfare Trumpet and Pedal 32's! Good for practising on and the final sound depends to a large extent on the amplifier and speaker systems, but the full organ sound is a bit of a jangle. If you spend a lot on the amplifiers and speakers digital organs sound much better. They cost more, too. I played a Copemann Hart for a church service in London recently which included a "pre service recital" - an excellent instrument. II/30 aproximately - not large, but very good quality. But the star must be Graham Blyth's Veritas organ! I suggest you listen to Graham playing Bach and romantic music on the organs in the Church of the Ascension, Buffalo or the concert hall in his house - the latter a IV/150 instrument. I played it a few weeks ago. It is fantastic for an electronic organ! Not in the same league as Torkildsen or Fuhrer, but a very convincing imitation. Roger Fisher playing Copemann Hart is also worth a moment of your time. You can hear these organs on
http://www.organsandorganistsonline.com/
Allen's are much more expensive than Viscount for what you get, and I don't think they are markedly better - though I maintain an even handed approach on my website!
You can hear quite a wide variety of digital instruments, including my Viscount and some larger Allen's and, at the top end of the range, organs by Veritas, Copeman Hart and Phoenix. Actually if you are looking for value for money I'd go for Phoenix.
I have no vested interest in any of theses companies nor do I have an axe to grind with any company producing digital instruments, but some are almost as good as the real thing. Other's less so.
Good luck with your venture!
John Foss

[yury habrus]

My churh where I work posesses 3 small Viscount organs and one large Ahlborn organ. And I play on large Viscount models in our Music Academy in Minsk. Sorry, I don't remember titles of models. I also play on Rieger-Kloss pipe organ 34/III/P at St. Trinity catholic church. So, I have enough experience to judge that sound of Viscount instruments is more bad than good. And I think every organist can never confuses their sound with the sound of a real pipe organ despite definite charm of "artificial" sound of Viscount instruments. I found my Ahlborn instrument much better in sound although it has more modest disposition than larger Viscount instrument in Music Academy. I find "my" Ahlborn organ the best electronic organ I ever played and heard in my city. But I can nothing say about it cost.