Why Everything is "Missing" A.K.A. "All Change"

2007-08-15T18:28:00.001-07:00

Hello, Dear Reader, if indeed anyone still bothers reading this stuff.

I had an epiphany this morning, after showing my organist friend G a Lightwave screenshot of my planned new console. His comment was, (pix below) it "looks quite cumbersome" and he is right. I had bumped into my woodworking-artist friend J in town earlier who had offered to help me with the woodwork, disassembling my old console etc.

What? What, what, WHAAAAT? you cry, like the Jewish Mother from Southpark. What was wrong with the old console?

Well, in a nutshell, everything. Here's a list (including some veritable "don'ts" for a Hauptwerk Console:

1) Solenoid drawstops.

Forget it. Too heavy, too noisy for a large home organ, high current drain and no easy way of providing it. Did I mention expensive? My organ-builder acquaintance A.S. once told me that they don't ever build a large 3-manual console with a single power supply, since the high current draw can be dangerous and a fire risk. I hadn't thought of that, or of where to buy such a thing. Actually I had stupidly assumed my console came with such, but naturally it didn't.

2) Size. I moved to sunny Saltburn-by-the-Sea 18 months ago to be, well, closer to the sea, and to work, and it is wonderful. Unfortunately my abode is a large Victorian terrace with very large doors and 12' ceilings BUT there is a 180-degree bend in the staircase which no single-piece console - even a small Johannus - can navigate.

Also, as they say in Germany, the console still resides at my parents' house where it has not been connected to Hauptwerk since early 2006. All the demos I have produced (none recently) since then have been multi-tracked with a single keyboard, played as naturally in real-time as I can do. Hand-foot coordination is a lot easier, trust me.

3) There was no way on earth that I could fit the number of drawstops I wanted, even if I swapped them for the close-packing Petersen units.

4) Aside from having spent literally months working on them, my keyboards never panned out. Reed switch operation was a lot more reliable and bounce-free than the Kimber-Allen contacts, which had to be replaced due to half a dozen really important keys having broken wires. I might put up a picture of the reed-switch solution I eventually settled on but to cut a long story short, reed switches are best on pedal boards, where the fact that the "bite point" suffers from hysteresis (i.e is not the same coming up as going down) isn't really a problem due to the foot being a less sensitive implement.

5) What else...oh yes, I couldn't refit the toe studs because after fitting 2 expression pedals, there was insufficient space for the carved wooden blocks, and I was not about to make some more.

So, a while ago I sat down and started to design a new console - substantial but transportable due to being designed to be taken apart rather than "happening" to come apart if one tries hard enough.

Well, as G pointed out, there is a lot of wood in this, and it hasn't even got a music stand yet. I had previously thought about doing something wild with a wood/metal combo, but had no idea about where to get the metal or an arc welder (although I can actually use an arc welder).

Then today, G said the magic words, "Dexion Speedframe" and that set my mind a-racing.

If you've no idea what I'm talking about, go here:

http://shop.instant-shop.com/stodec/category740226.html?linkedfrommoreinfo=1&page=1

Now, I know it just looks like some slot-together metal tubing, but there are useful things such as shelf brackets, multi-way joints, etc. and the most important thing is, metal is STRONG.

Notice the title of the blog changed? "4 Manual madness" means 4 keyboards, for reasons which I hope will become clear in the near future (no, they don't involve a certain 4-manual neo-baroque instrument from Mr Zurek). Now, since I only have 3 and they're shot, I plan to acquire a 4-keyboard Fatar set from Bob Mosley, who is a useful go-between for Renatus who just don't have the time to be dealing with crackpots such as I. I think these can be supplied with end cheeks and piston rails, which will save me a lot of bother but it can be dealt with if not.
So, I am going to make a skeletal metal frame with wooden panels, which will add rigidity, aesthetics and appease my subconscious which is still ranting at me for being conned into parting with so much cash for a bundle of old wood...

Anyway, I can sit here enthusing about what I am going to do, or I can get on with it, so I'll sign off for now and get Lightwave fired back up.

Welcome!

2004-11-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is the first post in my new Blog, which is devoted to the development and use of my three-manual drawstop organ console purchased last week on eBay. The console will be used to interface with the Hauptwerk pipe organ simulator created by Martin Dyde. You can find the details at http://www.hauptwerk.co.uk For the last 9 months I have been using Hatupwerk with my 1995 Johannus Etude 2-manual organ.

Details on the new console

End faces: solid teak
Key table: solid teak
Case top: teak-veneered marine ply
Stop-jamb panels: light oak
Other case-parts: teak-veneered marine ply
Pedal-board: Beech pedals, solid teak case

56 Kimber-Allen solenoid drawstops with black shafts and white plastic heads, 1 5/8" diameter

14 Kimber-Allen square-base toe pistons, antique brass finish

6 general pistons, 6 pistons to each department

Keyboards: wooden-cored, K-A contact system (to be replaced), plastic key tops. Solid-oak end-cheeks, brass hinges (allowing easy access)

Expression: Single solid-teak pedal (with no mechanism or electronics so basically useless)

MIDI hardware - currently none.

I have not yet taken delivery of this console. It is presently in Spalding, Lincs and awaiting collection. I will be travelling to Spalding from Guisborough with my brother (driving) and my workplace site supervisor (Paul) who will be helping with roping the console, which is extremely heavy.

Departure scheduled 11:00 am tomorrow

4 Manual Madness

Why Everything is "Missing" A.K.A. "All Change"

Welcome!