I'd go for the Rodgers. I think their sampling is far superior to that of Allen. A church where a friend of mine ministers bought a Johannus for their chapel. They have had a tough time with it because the construction was not of the highest quality. Now, that was several years ago. Perhaps things have changed. While my preference would clearly be for the Rodgers in terms of sound, ultimately, I think it is important to have a dealer who is going to give you the best service. If it turns out that the best dealer locally sells Allen organs, that might tip the scales in their favor.

The Rodgers 538 is a legacy product - you do not want a 538 - it has been replaced with the Roland C-330, which has a standard European BDO 30 note, parallel, concave radiating sharps pedalboard.

Redsox1 is correct. Though I prefer the Rodgers for a number of reasons, if the dealership in your area seems lacking...you may visit other dealers in the region and, by your travel there and walking in their door, they are permitted to sell to you.

I'd suggest the C-330 with the CM-200 subwoofer....this gives you 7 channels of audio, and as Francis knows, the more independent audio channels, the better to sound.

In addition, the Roland/Rodgers organs have a unique educational system to prepare your organists for mastering the instruments. In the industry, it appears that Roland/Rodgers may have the edge on educational materials.

I suggest that you make a day of it and hit all three companies and play all the organs you are considering, as sound is the only criteria. If price is upper mount in anyone's mind, the Rodgers is always a bit more expensive.

Anyone needing info on instruments, I am always able to help. noel@frogmusic.com

roland... by far... you will need to voice it and place the speakers however... noel or i will help you place and voice the instrument... 90% of installers don't know the finesse of placing digital organ speakers and voicing the console... get an expert or you will be installed but will never be musical.

Thanks, Ben and Adam. I work hard to try to keep a set of rotating hats to make sure that I don't step over the line. I did an AGO presentation last month about taking the AGO Exams, and insisted on having it at a local church with a pipe organ by a local builder who is internationally known, for the same reason.

By the way anyone want to download a free Catholic Choirbook or buy one? Catholic Choirbook

Sorry if that was obvious!

No objection from me. (and i assumed none from ben)

No objection. Noel is a great contributor here, and elsewhere with his materials! I didn't mean sneaky with any sort of negative connotation...

My two-manual Allen has always served me admirably (I've had it for around three years now in my apartment, with headphones) and it far surpasses the Johannus with which I had previously lumbered myself.

I actually played a Roland C330-pretty impressive stuff. Great sounds. Since it wasn't listed, it escaped my mind, and of course, Roland owns Rodgers. Can you upgrade the keyboards? That was the one area I wasn't so thrilled about. I know, something has to give when it comes to keeping the price competitive.

CharlesW,

Thanks, this may be one of the best compliments I've heard in my life and, sadly, is very accurate!

Yikes! ... I thought Digital Organ Advice here would be DOA.

I played some pretty convincing Walker digital organs while I lived in western PA. One was in a stunning acoustic and it was entirely based on E.M and Aeolian-Skinner samples. It was a lot of fun to play. Small ensembles were particularly life-like. However, as you got closer to tutti you started to lose the acoustical energy that is generated from pipes. Still, the console was well-crafted, and the samples were beautifully voiced. I would have been much happier with it than the crappy 1972 Moller I suffered with every day.

Pipe organs are just like digital organs. There are excellent ones, average ones and ones that no one wants to play.

The Organ Clearing House does great work, I've known John Bishop for about forty years after driving him and my wife to Oberlin from Cleveland in my MGB...after his audition to replace me a Calvary Presbyterian when I left for Pittsburgh then Italy.

The expense of installation and ongoing maintenance of a pipe organ, even a small one aside from the purchase cost, requires the firm support of the pastor, sadly something that is rare today.

Hartley's right, periodic checks of the physical instrument are very useful.

Checking the pedalboard tension - since it relies on springs, the tension can diminish with use, but so gradually you don't notice it. And then your playing gets sloppy...if you live a long way from the tech, the tech may be willing to teach you how to do an annual check of this and adjust yourself.

Also, there are a lot of switches and buttons...it is worth having a knowledgeable tech/organist go through and play it. They may catch things that you just never use that could use help, as well as explain functions that you may be unaware of.

I recently visited a large III manual to find that the Choir EXP pedal was inoperable. The organist didn't know, as he uses ALL SWELLS to SWELL all the time....

Lightning will do one of two things: 1. Cause things not to work. That's fixable. 2. Cause things to work on their own...including playing by itself, turning on and off by itself. They become possessed because the logic is blown. Non-fixable. Had one recently that would turn itself on and set stops before the organist got the roll top open...

Hartley, that organ is undoubtedly shot.

Pipe organs increasingly use digital control systems and are subject to the same danger of lightning. Unplugging the organ is not much of a preventative....since lightning can travel in "clouds" that affect everything in its way. In fact, it is possible that keeping the organ plugged in might reduce the chance slightly, since the ground could drain away the charge prior to damage.

The only difference between modern (non-tracker) pipe and digital organs comes after the digital circuitry for the keyboards, stops, and pistons which all works essentially the same on digital or pipe organs. Then all that information either triggers pipes to play or a digital stops to play.

It is also possible to power the bellows with your church mice. They check into the mouse wheels, but they can't check out!

Often the digital samples as solos are exciting but the ensemble sound deteriorates as the stops are added. We voiced our digital organ to achieve a good ensempbel sound at the expense of some solo brilliance. That is why you may need a larger stop list or multiple voicings.

CharlesW

You have to have an array... like Trinity in New York, or Ave Maria in Florida. Check out their installations.

check this array... at about 1:51

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzKtSb3hv5Q&feature=player_embedded#!

Agreed - Why spend so much money on an electronic instrument when your needs would best be served by a slightly smaller acoustic instrument?

Most parish churches would be best served by a modest 2-manual instrument of about 22 ranks.

Francis, I have heard the one at Trinity. They need to bring back the Skinner.