Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:55 am
When you refer to work being done by a reputable builder, one could assume the restoration work would be done by other(s) than yourself?. Many, if not most of us, have done much, if not all this work, by ourselves with help from the many very knowledgeable contributors who frequent this forum.
But to answer your question, "we" would need to know about what your end goals are. Physical questions such as number of manuals, how you want to control the instrument (existing stops or touch screen(s) come to mind. (BTW, many old consoles have been successfully converted for use as a Hauptwerk instrument). Likewise, would you consider retaining the existing instrument's electronics or gutting it in place of just adding the new components. Further, which sample set(s) do you wish to use? Are you considering using real pipes with H/W as an augment?
The space and environment for the finished instrument being another factor here. Folks in this group have been involved with everything from a single MIDI equipped keyboard to massive installations. There are many used already MIDI equipped consoles available from time to time on such as eBay or Craig's list, not to mention private listings, Many classical consoles from churches that have "converted" to a "contemporary" music program are availble very reasonably. One of the cost considerations here, is the moving of such an instrument. On the other end of the spectrum, having a console built to spec has been done by some. Obviously, in addition to some idea of the eventual setup, budgetary considerations enter the picture.
How much available space, not only for the console, needs some planning. Everything from a self contained (in the console) speaker, to elaborate multi speaker installations have been done by Hauptwerkians. As a side note, my wife made the comment when I began my "project" that she was okay with "it" as long as eventually our music room reflected a home environment rather than a store that sells music components. That, actually, was a bigger challenge than the console conversion for me.
Bottom line, pretty much any and everything is doable.
Rgds,
Ed