Review: Roland C-330 Classic Organ

I had the opportunity early this month to attend a luncheon and demonstration of the new Roland C-330 Classic Organ by Hector Olivera at Heritage Church Organ Company.


I was initially intrigued by the size. With an older organ plus two external speakers taking up a large amount of space in my living room, the compact footprint of this new organ with satellite speakers that tuck away into the back of the organ would be a welcome change.


At first glance, the stops did not look impressive to me. With 33 stops, it seemed to cover just the very basics of organ registration.






Then the demonstration began, and I was amazed.

This tiny organ is magnificent. Beginning with Bach's organ in Arnstadt, Maestro Olivera took us on a wonderful journey through time, exposing us to organs throughout the world and through the centuries. Every one of these organs was played on this tiny new Roland, and I felt as if I were being transported to each church and cathedral as he played.

Then we were introduced to the orchestral oboe, clarinet, flute, and trumpet. I never imagined such sound could come from an organ! The pedal harpsichord was just icing on the cake.

The stoplist is extremely large, with three alternate voice palettes totaling 108 voices, plus an additional 72 which can be accessed on any keyboard through two user selected stops on each. Unlike with some other organs, palettes can be mixed and matched at will.

The keyboards have "true" tracker action (they even make wind noise when no stops are pulled), and are velocity sensitive for stops such as the orchestral trumpet.

My favorite feature, however is that no computer is needed to change the stops of the organ. Volume, octave, chiff, presence, warmth, windchest panning, and more are at your fingertips.


I can't even begin to cover everything that this organ does in one post. For more information, you can fill out a form on this website, or read the information on the official Roland site.

Oh, and if you want to buy one for me, I won't complain. :)

August 7, 2010 Update: I had the opportunity to play on this organ this past week at the BYU Organ Workshop. The built in speakers aren't nearly as powerful as the speakers in the above videos. They sound cheap. It also lacks a sub-woofer (which you can purchase separately), so the bass isn't as prominent, either. Also, in the bit of time I had to play with it, I did not see how to change all of the fun things (like chiff, presence, etc.). I was unable to mimic Hector's sounds. It is still a good little organ, and the price is "affordable," relatively speaking. It just wasn't as impressive when I played it as it was when Hector Olivera played it, which is to be expected, but was disappointing, nonetheless.

Review: Nine Hymn Studies by D. Kim Croft

Nine Hymn Studies by D. Kim Croft is often recommended for beginning organ students. Each simple arrangement has complete fingerings and pedaling already marked.

According to the publisher, Jackman Music:

The nine hymns included in this book have very easy pedaling. The pieces range from medium easy to easy to play. Fingerings and pedal markings are also included.

Hymns included are:
"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief"
"Abide With Me"
"How Gentle God's Commands"
"How Great the Wisdom and the Love"
"In Humility, Our Savior"
"Israel, Israel God Is Calling"
"Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee"
"Oh How Lovely Was the Morning"
"Sweet is the Work"

I have always loved these hymn arrangements. As a beginning organ student, they were simple enough for me to play well. As a more accomplished organist they are beautiful enough that I still include them in my prelude music.

"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief"

While I enjoy all of these arrangements, of the nine this arrangement is my least favorite. With a time signature of 6/8, the pedaling is very simple, alternating between an Ab and Eb throughout the piece. The right hand plays the melody and left hand provides a nice counter-melody. I would like to see something slightly different in the pedals, but it is a nice, simple piece.

"Abide With Me"

With long sustained pedal tones, this arrangement only changes the bass note three times. A very reverent piece, the counter-melody beautifully balances the melody and pedal and provides a wonderful prelude piece.

"How Gentle God's Commands"

With only four pedal changes, this piece is simple and beautiful. This piece uses the heel on one beat, and, again, has a beautiful counter-melody.

"How Great the Wisdom and the Love"

I would classify this arrangement as one of the more difficult pieces in this collection, but it is by far my favorite. The pedaling is just slightly more advanced than the previous pieces, but it also has a beautiful manual-only section with tied notes that can be a bit tricky to properly execute on the organ. This piece also contains a key change.

"In Humility, Our Savior"

With the melody bouncing from right hand to left, this piece requires hands to change manuals three times. The bass is a sustained note for over half of the song, then moves around a bit during the latter-middle section.

"Israel, Israel God Is Calling"

This piece is another of my favorites. The bass note changes almost every measure (see photo above), and the counter-melody is beautiful.

"Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee"

Again, this piece has very simple pedaling which is balanced by a moving counter-melody in the left hand. It's a lovely reverent, reflective piece.

"Oh How Lovely Was the Morning"

This is another of the more difficult pieces in this collection. The melody is played by the left hand while the right hand plays a moving line peppered with staccatos. The bass line moves around a little bit as well.

"Sweet is the Work"

With simple pedaling and a moving counter-melody, this arrangement is fun to play and beautiful to listen to.

In Conclusion

You can't go wrong with this book of arrangements. They are beautiful in their simplicity, and with fingerings and pedaling already written in, this book is ideal for a beginning organist.

Which organ is best--Johannus, Allen, or Rodgers?

August 7, 2010 Update: Please be aware that the organs are changing soon, so I believe this information will be out of date within the year. However, for general information, these reviews may still have some value to you, so I will leave this post up.

If your LDS church organ is quite old, or if you are getting a new building in your area, someone needs to choose an organ for the chapel. A couple of years ago I, too, had the opportunity to choose an organ when two of the chapels in my stake were approved for a new organ. Three of us, all organists, went on a tour of chapels in our area so that we could decide from experience which organs to choose.

Here is my review of the three organs that were available two years ago from the Church:

Allen

Allen has long been my favorite brand of organ. I even own an older Allen in my home. As of this writing, the model that is being installed is the AP22. Here's a link to the owner's manual: http://www.lds.org/cm/pdf/OrganManual_Allen_Model_AP22_eng.pdf

Prior to my initial trial of the organs, this one was by far my favorite. The Swell 2nd voices, Great 2nd voices, and Pedal 2nd voices give many different registration options. I had grand visions of my prelude and postlude pieces--they would be varied and beautiful.

Unfortunately, the standard installation settings left a lot to be desired. After installation, the sound was far too soft. Additionally, the balance between the great and swell was so far off that even with the swell volume all the way up and the great all the way down, I still could not solo on the swell, as the great was much louder. Coupling the swell to the great had no effect whatsoever in hymn accompanying. Fortunately, in my new stake center we were able to have the installer back out to bump up the volume quite a bit, and to better balance the swell with the great. Now the organ balances the congregation beautifully.

As far as the second voices are concerned, instead of two separate Flute Celeste II stops, I would much prefer another Flute 8' option, as the flutes are limited on this organ. I would love to see an octave coupler on the Great and/or Swell. Another concern I had was that these voices might be confusing to a beginning organist who doesn't have access to a trained organist to show him/her the ropes.

My overall opinion is that this is a good organ when properly installed. It really has a beautiful sound and two different voicings to choose from: American Classic or Classic. A trained organist will probably have fun with this organ, and I feel that this organ is best suited in a building with a trained organist who can teach beginning organists how to use it to its fullest. Otherwise, all the bells and whistles will go unused. However, if you choose this organ, it's very important to make sure that your installer will adjust the volume and balance to your satisfaction, as mine did.

Rodgers

I will admit that I was never a Rodgers fan. The model that was installed in one of my former stake centers around 2000 sounded off to me. I didn't like the sound of the various stops and had a hard time finding registrations that I liked. Imagine my surprise when I fell in love with the sound in a new chapel! http://www.lds.org/cm/pdf/OrganManual_Rodgers_Model_788L_eng.pdf It was beautiful, rich, and filled the chapel. I learned later that the installer tweaked the settings for the chapel it was installed in. This is key, I think, with any of the organs, as I'm mentioning in each review.

This organ is pretty basic--it doesn't have a lot of fancy bells and whistles, but has a nice solid sound for regular hymn accompaniment. There was a lack of nuance in the reeds, but overall I was pleasantly surprised.

I'd recommend the Rodgers for most chapels, especially if your stake lacks a trained organist, but I would not recommend it for a stake center--I like more bells and whistles for stake center installations. It would work just fine if that is your decision. If you have an accomplished organist they may feel the stop selection is the most limited of the three.

Johannus

The Johannus is a newcomer to the organ world. http://www.lds.org/cm/pdf/OrganManual_Johannus_Model_WM44_eng.pdf I've actually had the opportunity to play model WM44LDS the most of these three. Initially, the installation was much too soft (a common theme, I'm learning) and I was not a fan of it in a chapel, thinking the organ was small, cheaply made and better suited for home use. After having the installer back to make some adjustments (that are now standard on their installations) it quickly became my favorite of the three. It even comes with an instructional DVD.

This is a smaller organ, but it packs a big sound when properly installed. I like the variety of stop colors, but my very favorite feature of this organ is the Octave (Swell to Swell 4') coupler. Another great feature is that unlike most organs where you push the bottom of the rocker tab to select a stop and the top to deselect it, the Johannus will select or deselect in either place.

Overall, I think the Johannus is essentially a good blend of the Allen and Rodgers. The stop list is such that with the octave coupler it has a great range of voicings to choose from, both for prelude/postlude and hymn accompaniment. As always, proper installation is key.

Although it wasn't my favorite at first, the Johannus is now my number one recommendation for all chapels. It's not too confusing for a beginning organist, but has enough bells and whistles to keep an accomplished organist happy. You can't go wrong with this little organ.

In Conclusion

What did I choose and why? For the retrofit in my old stake center we chose the Allen. It is located in the center of town and is used for many cultural events, so we wanted an organ with the most variety of stops. The Allen, with all of the second voices, fit the bill. The other building houses long-established congregations from the center of town. We felt the Rodgers best suited their more traditional needs. For my new stake center, I was waffling between the Johannus, which I love, and the Allen, with all the voices, but before I could make my recommendation our stake presidency learned that the decision for an Allen had been made before the stake split.

You really can't go wrong with any of these organs. It all comes down to personal preference and proper installation. My recommendation is to see which installer will be the most willing to work with you and choose that organ.

Good luck!