I’ve tried registering several times with this forum, but to no avail. They just wont have me. Registration requires a moderator to review your application before you can post, and my application has been waiting for months with nothing even so much as a whisper. Has my account been denied? I’ve no idea, and emails to the webmaster ([email protected]) asking about my account seem to have disappeared into the ether.
This website was once a fantastic thriving community of enthusiasts. Originally developed by Margaret Falkner – a truly great figure on the UK home organ scene, and a huge inspiration to many people. Sadly, she passed away several years ago. Remembered by many – such a shame I cannot add to this post to her memory.
Unfortunately the market of the home electronic organ is in a bad state. Manufacturers insist on producing organs for the elderly, the incompetent, or people who just don’t want to put in any time or effort to improve their playing. Take the absolutely dreadful Yamaha AR100 and AR80. For a start, their cabinets look low quality sticky back plastic covered chipboard – hardly what you would expect for the circa £8000 you would have had to have paid when they came on to the market. A console that is just so full of automatic accompaniments that it is more difficult to switch them off and just play something simple. Sound quality that is so horrible. And to top it all off, a speaker system that is more powerful than a professional instrument such as the EL90.
Manufacturers should be targeting and encouraging younger people to buy these instruments, not people that wont be here in 20 years. So sad.
The organfax forums are dead! Long live the organfax forums!
…well it sounded funny in my head!
Comment by Michael Smith — August 20, 2008 @ 8:43 am
I dont understand why Joe Brewer should make comments on Yamaha AR100 and the AR80. First the cabinet has nothing to do with the sound or the playing of the instrument. These organs are well respected by profesional player and others alike. How has he arrived at his conclusions. Is he an expert on electonic organs and what has he compered these organs with?
Comment by Hamilton Davies — September 22, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
While the cabinet does not make any real difference to the overall sound, if I am going to spend several thousand pounds on a keyboard I don’t really expect it to look like chipboard that has been covered in stick back plastic, but that’s just my opinion.
I have played electronic organs for 20+ years and have reached diploma standard playing. Plus my technical knowledge has allowed my to create the EVT2MID software for converting electone performances into midi files, and I have converted a normal PC disk drive into a drive that I can put into my EL90 – see here: http://www.brewsterware.com/archives/11-evt2mid-yamaha-electone-software.html. Whether this classes me as an expert – you can decide.
I was comparing the AR series to my EL90. Here are some of the major differences:
EL90 combines AWM and FM voices, the AR series only has AWM.
EL90 has a 6 channel amplifier, the AR series only has 2.
EL90 has touch sensitive pedals, the AR series does not.
The AR series is obviously aimed at the home market, hense no second expression pedal, no touch sensitive pedal board, and the 100s of built in presets. It is however, puzzling why the AR100 has 340 watts of amplication.
Comment by Joe Brewer — September 23, 2008 @ 1:20 pm