Fri Dec 22, 2017 9:29 am
Perhaps not really Hauptwerk related, though maybe a caveat emptor for anyone considering an old Casavant console for use with Hauptwerk.
I've played a couple of 1920s-30s era 3-manual Casavant consoles locally and found them to be terribly uncomfortable. I'm 6'1" and if I raise the bench enough to play the pedals semi-comfortably, my knees are in the bottom of the choir manual, particularly if I try to use the expression pedals (which are also offset from the AGO standard.) I measured one last night and, while the AGO specs say there should be 29.5 inches between the playing surface of the lower manual and the pedal, the Casavant has only 28" there. No wonder there's not room for my lower leg in between them. I can partially compensate by not wearing shoes and sitting further away but, as you can imagine, that's not terribly comfortable.
Anyway, just a bit of a rant, and something people might want to be aware of. If you're planning to buy an old console and refit it, do make certain it's comfortable for you!
Happy Holidays!
Michael