Hauptwerk on Allen ADC-530A?

I was adding midi to an old pre digital Allen and have got the pedalboard done but was still thinking on the keyboards when I came across a second better console - a later Allen "Digital Computer" organ, the ADC 530A. It has seven pistons each of which can be used in 2 ways and 8 toes pistons and 2 expression pedals. Being fully digital this should be easy to extract midi for a virtual organ. Does anyone have any experience of midifying this organ or similar digital organs.

Mike
Bonsall, California

[mdyde]

[Topic moved here, since the 'instruments' section of the forum is meant for discussions about sample sets, rather than MIDI hardware.]

Hi Mike
I think that trying to reuse the electronics in a very old and outdated console is fraught with unseen problems and continuing repair adventures. By replacing the old electronics, all the pistons will become instantly programmable with Hauptwerk.
Several years ago i bought an Allen MOS 1 three manual console. I gutted the entire Allen electronics, keeping only the wiring from the pistons and pedalboard. It actually was very easy, requiring only a screwdriver and wire cutters. I bought the MOS 1 midi kit from Artisan Instruments http://www.artisanorgans.com/. There are also other companies that offer such kits. (Google is our friend) I than wired the keyboards, pistons, and pedalboard to the Artisan input boards, plugged it in, and out came midi! Actually, of course, it did take me about a month or three to do the wiring. I gave the old Allen guts to a local Allen repair man to give to churches in need of the no longer available parts. The keyboard wiring I replaced with a harness from Peterson http://www.petersonemp.com/. All together, the midi boards and wiring stuff came to about $1,500.00, making the total 3 manual console, pedalboard, and lots of finger and toe pistons come to just under $2,000. (plus my time, of course)
Good luck with your project!
James

Hi Mike,

The ADC530A was built in 1987+/- and does not have factory MIDI.
The same answers in reply to your previous question to the forum apply to this console.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15728

Pick which console you most want to sit at, gut it and replace the 198x Allen electronics with MIDI encoders and a Hauptwerk computer and compatible sound module. The answer is not going to change until you get to Allen models with full implementation and even then the older better built consoles are more flexible for Hauptwerk.

I was adding midi to an old pre digital Allen and have got the pedalboard done but was still thinking on the keyboards when I came across a second better console - a later Allen "Digital Computer" organ, the ADC 530A. It has seven pistons each of which can be used in 2 ways and 8 toes pistons and 2 expression pedals. Being fully digital this should be easy to extract midi for a virtual organ. Does anyone have any experience of midifying this organ or similar digital organs.

Mike
Bonsall, California

Excellent comment.

Hi Mike
I think that trying to reuse the electronics in a very old and outdated console is fraught with unseen problems and continuing repair adventures. By replacing the old electronics, all the pistons will become instantly programmable with Hauptwerk.
Several years ago i bought an Allen MOS 1 three manual console. I gutted the entire Allen electronics, keeping only the wiring from the pistons and pedalboard. It actually was very easy, requiring only a screwdriver and wire cutters. I bought the MOS 1 midi kit from Artisan Instruments http://www.artisanorgans.com/. There are also other companies that offer such kits. (Google is our friend) I than wired the keyboards, pistons, and pedalboard to the Artisan input boards, plugged it in, and out came midi! Actually, of course, it did take me about a month or three to do the wiring. I gave the old Allen guts to a local Allen repair man to give to churches in need of the no longer available parts. The keyboard wiring I replaced with a harness from Peterson http://www.petersonemp.com/. All together, the midi boards and wiring stuff came to about $1,500.00, making the total 3 manual console, pedalboard, and lots of finger and toe pistons come to just under $2,000. (plus my time, of course)
Good luck with your project!
James