Portable 2 Manuals Console & Pedals

Dear Forum members,

It has been a while since the last time I accessed the forum and actually practising... this was due to many changes happening in my life... I am happy to read about version 5 and all the improvements..

One of my plans now is that in addition to my 3 manuals lovely classic brown console; I am thinking to build or buy a portable console, something easy to pack and install including the touch screen and the sound system etc...

I am sure many of you can recommend ideas of DIY consoles or recommend a developer to buy a ready or customized console.. I appreciate your advices on that; maybe some pictures and links if possible..

Wishing you all the best..
Wadih

The Nord2CD https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-c2d with its 27 note pedal board https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-pedal-keys-27 is designed for being moved around for sessions and quite robust. The midi out implementation is detailed in the user manual see https://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads/products/nord-c2d-organ.

I think the pianos and drawbar organ are are excellent and the small baroque sampled organ included is quite useful - but not as good as HW. The drawbars operate as the organ "stops" (and are listed as sending midi out).

It is quite expensive (around £3,300 in the UK) but designed to be portable. I suspect it would be quite easy to get going with HW.

I think there is a thread about using this with Hauptwerk. look at this one http://forum.hauptwerk.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16960&hilit=nord.


Iain

I would second the recommendation of the Nord C2D. My church group has used one for 5 years, packing and unpacking every Sunday, and we have never had any troubles with it. Of note is I don’t believe it has any piano sounds, just 3 tone wheel organs and the sampled baroque organ. I would confirm what sounds it has if piano emulation is important to you.

An alternative is the Hammond SK2. It also has a nice sampled American Classic organ, which I was surprised by how good it is. Not as good as Hauptwerk though, obviously. Not sure if the midi implementation is as good as the C2D, but it does have Midi for the keyboards and pedals. The build quality is also not quite as good as the C2D, and there are a lot less built in couplers and options for the organ. It does have a full range of piano, synth, strings, and other voices though. It is also a fair bit less expensive than the C2D.

Another option is the Viscount Cantorum Duo. It is sold by Midiworks in Canada, but I don’t have any experience with it. Perhaps another user can comment.

Dear Lain,

Thank you very much for your reply and for providing all the useful links. I think this could be one of the best opt ms if not the best. It kinds of remind me of the famous Yamaha Electron more or less but I fully agree that these were built to move around and their built is quit robust.

Much appreciated.
Regards,
Wadih

My apologies, it does not have a piano instrument included and it seems you can’t add one with their sound manager product. Thanks to larason2 for correcting my error. (Ihave played my son’s Nord stage piano quite a lot and it is great. I tried the “organ” in the show room and found it rather good. I then made the wrong connection.)
Iain

Hello,

you could also have a look at the Hoffrichter Blockorgel: http://www.hoffrichter-kirchenorgel.de/ ... orgeln.htm
However, I do not know who sells them outside Germany, and they recently lost their owner/boss. Albeit they do want to continue they currently have to find ways. Nevertheless, I had the pleasure to play a Hoffrichter organ that was combined with a pipe organ and I really liked it.

Regarding the Cantorum Duo, I regularly play a Cantorum VI, which is the predecessor of the Duo. The feeling of the keys is very good and it offers different organ sounds (romantic, baroque, symphonic, and one more I can't remember). However, in my opinion, the Duo is designed to be used without a pedal. There are no "soft" stops in the pedal and no mixture or anything like that. Just keep that in mind.

Kind Regards,
Rico

Just an update, I had forgotten that the Hammond SK2 has been updated, and is now called the SKx. Seems to be similar though, with some new features. I think the hardware is otherwise very similar to the SK2.

Thank you very much Larason 2 for recommending the Hamond SK2 as an additional option. I am comparing both options in order to make a decision.
I will keep you informed on my final decision.
Best wishes,
Wadih

Dear Rico,
Many thanks for the additional recommendation. I highly appreciate your support and sharing your knowledge and experience.
I will keep you informed on my final decision.
Best wishes,
Wadih

Hello,

you could also have a look at the Hoffrichter Blockorgel: http://www.hoffrichter-kirchenorgel.de/ ... orgeln.htm
However, I do not know who sells them outside Germany, and they recently lost their owner/boss. Albeit they do want to continue they currently have to find ways.

Kind Regards,
Rico

I represent Hoffrichter outside of Germany (since 2006).
He is my go-to supplier for home-use and portable consoles.