Home practice organs

[Bach>Meer]

Hi all

I'm after a cheap two manual and pedalboard organ that would fit nicely into a house and look nice also as I'm getting very cold in church at times and I am only allowed a couple of hours a week to practice and I want more really!

Can anyone recommend anything?

thanks

 

[musicalis]

Hi !
I had got, long time ago, such an organ : Allegro from RIHA. It was an electronic church organ with 2 manuals 60 notes and 32 notes pedalboard. Not very expensive (about 2000 $, but it was 25 or 30 years ago). May be you can still found a second-hand one.

 

[Krummhorn]

Hi Bach>Meer,

You might check out any of the following in your geographic area:

• Albhorn Galanti - played a few of these - not a bad instrument
• Allen - some early digital models (1972 - 1986) make for good practice instruments
• Rodgers -
• Viscount
• Walker

The late Virgil Fox once told me "it matters not how great a practice organ sounds - the importance is rehearsing the fingering!"

I do a lot of my "manual" workout on the piano at home since my church is a 30 minute drive away.

 

[NEB]

The late Virgil Fox once told me "it matters not how great a practice organ sounds - the importance is rehearsing the fingering!"

I do a lot of my "manual" workout on the piano at home since my church is a 30 minute drive away.

Yeah - I use two cheap keyboards and a 70 year old pedal board with some sound stuff added. Does the job quite adequately and cost a mite less than £150 total including the bench! All acquired off ebay.

 

[methodistgirl]

Hi all

I'm after a cheap two manual and pedalboard organ that would fit nicely into a house and look nice also as I'm getting very cold in church at times and I am only allowed a couple of hours a week to practice and I want more really!

Can anyone recommend anything?

thanks

I know what you are saying. Although I don't have room enough for
any size organ except maybe a harmonica. Churches can be picky
on how long and how often you can practice on their church organ.
Believe me! If I had the chance right now I would probably spend
a whole day with the church's pipe organ just like an old friend; but
I can't I have only one hour to practice on just three days a week.
So, good look on finding the house organ you want.
judy tooley

 

[Krummhorn]

Yeah - I use two cheap keyboards and a 70 year old pedal board with some sound stuff added. Does the job quite adequately and cost a mite less than £150 total including the bench! All acquired off ebay.

Hi NEB,
Sounds like you have a system that works for you. Got any pictures of this? Would be interesting to see.

 

[Argoth]

Something like this seems practical as well:

[edit: youtube video no longer available]



Sounds similar to what NEB was talking about.

 

[NEB]

Yeah - that's the general idea, except mine is not nearly so pretty! No fancy keyboard stands, and the ketboards aren't nearly so good, I don't have swell pedals either, so it's pretty crude.

But it allows me to run over the notes with no-one else around!

 

[Bach>Meer]

Thanks for that everyone - if I were to get a pedalboard off ebay for example how would i get it to actually produce sounds in the simplest way possible?

 

[Corno Dolce]

Hi Bach>Meer,

Simply put - you need an interface with the keyboards or a separate sound module. Generally speaking, you use what is called MIDI (musical instrument digital interface).

Here is a link to a pedal keyboard manufacturer:

http://www.laukhuff.de/english/midipedal_e.html

Hope this will help you in your quest.

Cheers,

Corno Dolce

 

[NEB]

I took an old midi keyboard and canibalised it for the parts. Then I put contacts on the pedalboard and wired those into the keyboard's contact board. took a bit of time and effort but works a treat.

Given that a 'midi pedalboard' ready-made costs about £800-£1200 (that's heading for 1500-2000 US), and that 'midi-kits' for pedalboards cost around £200+ Getting a £15 midi keyboard that has all the electronics on board and then proceeding to destroy it so that the pedals can play it doesn't seem such a bad idea.