From las8323@rs175174.ks.boeing.com Thu Jul 19 07:07:37 2001
Subject:Re: black keys

Doug,
Larry (the kid-ding guy) here.
Some 'reverse key' comments'

> Actually, there's a cancel key (C - turns off all), nine presets
> (C#-A), and two for drawbars (A# and B). I never really understood the
> value of the "cancel" key, since pressing another preset unlocks the
> one that is down, and the organ won't sound if there aren't any down.
>

Umm ... 2 reasons i can think of right away
1) makes the organ look nicer when no one is playing -- very big in
the livingroom crowd -- pre-empts those "is that key broken?" questions.
2) ever get a stuck contact? Cancel becomes a handy feature.

> On models with B-3-style percussion (B-3, C-3, A-100, RT-3, D-100),
> only the B drawbar set on the upper manual (second set from the left)
> is used for the percussion. When percussion is on, the 1' drawbar is
> disabled (changing that to the 1-1/3 drawbar is a fairly easy mod, and
> some spinets used the 1-1/3 drawbar instead of 1'). As I understand
> it, Trek II percussion disables the 1' drawbar full-time.

Depending where you decide to solder the connections:
EITHER set of d/b can be the 'percussive' setting
ANY of the d/b can be the disabled drawbar.
I've often wondered why no one has developed a comparator circuit
based on signal presence for percussion triggering. These 'disabling'
methods are based on old style electronics -- though the purists will
hack if they were to hear percussion AND the 1' tone :-)

>
> Relevance to clones: I've never seen a clone with this type of presets
> (I know, it's a stretch).

This would be a cinch to do on a clone. Further, as a midi patch change
device, it could read several keys latched at once. Thus increasing
the programs from 9+2d/b to something like 140 using chords as
patch changes. The elex are, as usual, cheap enough. The spring bar
latching hardware, as usual, ain't.

It'd also have a very limited market. That extra octave would be more
desirable as just more keys (73note vs. 61note) on the controller.

Larry