The Allen organ
The Allen Organ Company began making electronic organs in the 1930s, but by the 1970s, they had made advances in digital electronics to produce organs that reproduced sounds sampled from real pipe organs. They started with church and classical organs, adding digitally reproduced sounds alongside pipes, and then entirely digital (pipe free) organs installed in churches, cathedrals and public halls. Allens then turned their attention to theatre pipe organ sampling and soon came out with their first digital theatre organs. After 30 years, they now have a range of authentic sounding theatre organs ranging from small specification 2 manual instruments to enormous 5 manual 55 rank “Unit Orchestras”. They also have produced a range of instruments reproducing the sounds sampled from the famous American organist George Wright’s “Hollywood Philharmonic Organ” Wurlitzer, as recorded on many CDs by him.
My Allen is a 1988 Vintage ADC4600, equivalent to a 12 rank pipe organ, with some additional classical voices available on a “second voicing” tab. This earlier Allen theatre organ is not as advanced as the current “Renaissance” technology instruments, but still very much gives the authentic theatre pipe organ sound – even down to the tremulants, glockenspiel, xylophone, harps, chimes, drums, tambourine, wood block and cymbals!
While not a greatly accomplished organist, I have produced a CD which I would be happy to send you in return for a donation to the Tamar Organ Club’s "Dartford Warbler" Compton restoration fund.
