Bartolomeo Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 I haven't been playing church music that long, but I'm already starting to get dependent on a 32-key pedalboard. Once you get used to it, it really frees up the left hand. I'm thinking of seeing if I can find a cheap pedalboard from an organ console being scrapped out, and then MIDIfying it. I've heard of people doing this, and there are MIDI kits, so it can't be that unusual. Has anyone here done this? Comments? Pitfalls? Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyS Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 heey bartolomeo, I have post this link before. this is a project were a friend and I worked on. it is a midified pedal board. We build it for his "church organ setup". He uses it to play samples of really great organs. It is not perfect yet, cause the reed contacts are held by paper clips Rudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyS Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 oops I forgot the link! midi pedal board ow.. and the site is in dutch, but you can see the pictures. If you have questions, feel free to ask. Rudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 uh, link? There is a firm that's doing this, BTW - someone posted a link earlier this year. Price $1200ish US, IIRC. My D152 is AGO-compliant - wouldn't trade it for anything. THAT'S a pedalboard I wouldn't want to haul around, though - 100 lbs. or so. Daf I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcS Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 You might look into these: http://www.btproductions.com/Gear/Hammonds/Pedalboard/Pedalboard.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 AGO is 32 pedals, not 25. That Channel 4 thing is weird too... Daf I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcS Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 There is going to be a 25 note pedalboard available for the XK-3 in the near future. It will be a MIDI board, so could be plugged into anything. My understanding from talking with a dealer is that they will be full size and pivot under the bench. I have not seen any 32 note pedalboards available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I have to echo the sentiment about the necessity for a 32 note AGO spec pedalboard. It's not just the 32 notes, but the concave shape and radiating spread. After playing AGO spec consoles for most of my life, it's rough playing a flat 25-note pedal board. Don't get me wrong, I love my C3, but there's so much organ literature that's impossible to play correctly on that pedalboard. If one could find a 32-note pedal board, you could use the Midi9 (Gulbransen) sensor kit. I just found this thing on the net (after recalling that Gulbransen dabbled in midi). I'd like to read more about it. If a 32-note pedalboard would fit under the C3, I could trigger any poly synth or sampler for pedal tones. Whooooo!!! Check out this link: Midi9 retro fit kits k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Ah, here it is: http://www.organworks.com/Web/products/products.asp?productid=25&category=MIDI%20Works $1400ish. Whaddya think? Daf I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Thanks, Daf....that's what I need. $1400...eh, I don't know. Gotta think about it. k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Originally posted by ksoper: If a 32-note pedalboard would fit under the C3, I could trigger any poly synth or sampler for pedal tones. Whooooo!!! k.Sorry, but it won't fit - the C-3 is too narrow. The RT-3, which is the Hammond model with AGO pedalboard, is about 8 to 10 inches wider. See: Catalog image of RT-3 and: Catalog image of C-3 Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Originally posted by ksoper: After playing AGO spec consoles for most of my life, it's rough playing a flat 25-note pedal board. BTW, the organs of Bach's day had pedals that were not only flat, but non-radiating as well. From all historical accounts, he could still kick everybody's butt playing and improvising while in his 70's. Ah, to have just a piece of his talent... Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolomeo Posted December 18, 2004 Author Share Posted December 18, 2004 The pedalboards of Bach's day were suited to the detached style of playing now called "articulate touch." Using modern heel-toe pedal technique was impossible because of the wide spacing and long throw for each key. To play organ works from a later era, or to play hymns in the legato style that has been in vogue since the late 1800s, requires a modern pedalboard. Though I have not played any organs in my few travels in Europe, I understand that pedalboards there are less standardized and more frequently flat rather than concave. While concave pedalboards have their practical advantages, the main reason I want one is so that it is the same as the pedalboards I am most likely to encounter elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 Are you looking for something to move for gigging, of for home? I've often thought that someday I would put an organ in my house just for playing organ repertoire on. I don't think my Hammond would do an adequate job, much as I love it. The only question is: electronic for huge tonal variety, or a small tracker for the real deal. Which would you do? Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 Originally posted by mate_stubb: From all historical accounts, he could still kick everybody's butt playing and improvising while in his 70's. Quite a feat, since he died at age 65. k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 OK, let's see: Born 1685 Died 1750 That makes him 75, er 65 when he died. Oops. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 No sweat... I'm just delighted to find all these classical organists coming out of the closet, so to speak. k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Originally posted by mate_stubb: The only question is: electronic for huge tonal variety, or a small tracker for the real deal.What I did, facing the same situation, was to buy a Hammond D-152 off ebay. Including my moving expenses (I had to pick it up), got it for under $1500 US. It's full AGO spec. I've practiced on other cheapies - Baldwin 500, Allen Classic Model 10 - they are AWFUL by comparison. Bald One feels like the pedals are on leaf springs, the Allen had these "princess pedals" with half-size black slats, and all the slats were narrower than usual. And there's the whole repair parts thing: Hammonds are eminently repairable. Most of the rest aren't. As far as installing a pipe organ - My college just had a small self-enclosed Wilhelm tracker put in last year, 10 stops (12 ranks?) - cost us $90K+. Unless you can find giveaway pipes, manuals, and windchests (check the Organ Clearing House), and can do your own rebuilding, you'll need to be independently wealthy. A guy I knew who had an in-house tracker needed to leave town suddenly, had to practically give his away. So it's questionable as an investment too. OTOH, I should have little trouble getting what I paid for my D-152... Daf I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolomeo Posted December 29, 2004 Author Share Posted December 29, 2004 Well, I gone and done it. Stopped by the local organbuilder's shop today and picked up a used pedalboard, 32 keys, AGO spec, concave, radiating. It has all new felt, the contacts are clean, and it is prewired with 25-pair telco cable. Oak. Standard throw. Nice action, better than the one I have been playing on Sunday mornings. I also got a bench from him of the sort that straddles the pedalboard. I'm going to get a MIDI encoder from some guy in Utah who sells them on eBay, and MIDI it up to my Electro as though it were a second manual. I think I'm going to have to build a special stand for the Electro, so that it doesn't interfere with the pedals. Meanwhile, one of the churches where I practice has earmarked $1.5 million for renovation of their pipe organ . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYKeys Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 After reading what you guys were talking about I remember seeing directions on how to do exactly what you guys want. Peep this http://www.wendycarlos.com/wurlynew/index.html Time For Something New= A Custom MIDI Pedalboard = http://www.wendycarlos.com/wurlynew/CF-5m.jpg Here is what Wendy came up with http://www.wendycarlos.com/wurlynew/midiorg.JPG MY Toys - Kurzweil PC1X, Roland A-90, Yamaha KX88, Yamaha CS1x, Novation 49SL MkII, Presonus Studiolive 16.4.2, JBL PRX615M My Music Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 Clark's instrument looked suspiciously like a Photoshopped Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, but I followed your link...holy shit! Yeah, that would about do it. k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartolomeo Posted December 30, 2004 Author Share Posted December 30, 2004 I don't think I'd know quite what to do with more than four manuals. Otherwise, Clark's setup is cool. Wendy's is interesting in that she specifically sought out a velocity-sensitive pedalboard. I have also heard of people making these by carving up a cheap 61-key MIDI controller and wiring two contacts per pedal to it, with the contacts staggard so one closes first. Not my cup of tea, but I guess everyone finds heaven in their own way. I suppose you could play that one Schumann piece for pedal piano on it. I'm using my pedalboard unmodified, with just the little wire-spring electrical contacts that it came with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.