From goffmac747@aol.com Wed Feb 27 08:01:28 2008
Subject:Re: Organ Ignorance in Big Box Stores
Well said.
Yes keyboard depts are always empty and quiet. Makes it great for us
keyboard players as then you're the only one in there and everything is
turned on... For some strange reason why is it that keyboardists never
go to GC en masse? I can't think of one GC I have ever been in, where
there was some one other than you in that dept.. Even at the Hollywierd
store.
When I sold Lowerys the big ticket item was the one finger
accompaniment model. We were selling those to people that just went to
the mall to buy a pair of socks. If you think about it, it made the
organ less intimidating.
Organs have always been a piano with jet liner controls. I think this
is what scares many people in the first place. It's just like pedal
steel guitars and players. You don't know where they come from but they
are there. Look at all those strings, pedals and knee levers..and it
has a volume pedal too.... steel bar and five finger picks?....how sick
do you have to be to play that you say? Maybe it's true, organists are
all phantoms of the opera. Too weird and eccentric. Lurch played the
organ in the family...But perhaps Lurch was the normal one...
Opey would have freaked if Paw played organ instead of popping out the
'ole acoustic.
Stigmas, stereo types. Mad scientist personalities. TV emulating real
life? Or the other way around? Were organ players given a bad rep by
TV?
The other factor? Cost.
And the piece de resistance, organs remind some people of church and
funerals...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19w9itiWk7k
-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Wahler
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 2:31 am
Subject: Re: [CWSG] Organ Ignorance in Big Box Stores
Hi All,
Looking at it from the mainstream perspective:
- Keyboard players are a small percentage of musicians as a whole, way
below guitarists.
- Organists are a small percentage of keyboard players, far below
piano and synth players.
- As stages and compensation has shrunk, keyboard players are looking
for all-in-one solutions, rather than "best of breed" products.
Given all that, is it any surprise that few MI stores carry drawbar
organs?
While Tom T may have overstated the Nord-is-a-synth case, I understand
where he's coming from. An Electro is a digital keyboard that emulates
the Hammond Organ, among other things. So is a Motif 6. To the
members of this list, the differences are night and day, but try to
convey that to a novice, in two sentences or less. Yeah, the Electro
is a much more accurate, versatile organ emulator -- but the Motif does
WAY better brass. You can't win that argument in the 5 minutes MAXIMUM
that you'll have the attention of a prospective keyboard buyer in a big
MI store. To many buyers, if it doesn't have strings and hammers, then
it's a "synth." Thus, a VK-8 is a "funny synth with a weird control
surface." ;-)
Walk into your average keyboard department, and you'll find that 95% or
more of the people fit into three categories:
1. The guy/girl who has taken serious music lessons, probably on
piano. She/he runs through the various patches on the keyboard,
playing the same song on each of them -- usually some complex Bach or
jazz piece that shows off the chops.
2. The total novice player, who tends to mostly run through the "cool
sounds" banks. He/she might not even BE a keyboard player, perhaps a
producer, guitarist, or drummer looking to expand their sonic palette.
Keyboards that do a little of everything, including arguably
non-musical sounds, are a big attraction.
3. The bored sales staff, who wish they could move to the guitar
dept., where the REAL sales are happening! ;-)
----------
And finally, while bands like the Foos might tour with a 'B player,
it's more of an icing on the cake thing than an integral part of the
sound. Quick, name me three Foo Fighters songs that would sound
ridiculous without the Hammond Organ part? If Rami Jaffee had come
down with a sudden case of flu and missed the gig, would more than 1-2%
of the audience even notice?
Hammond Organ has always had a PR problem in the rock world. Even in
the heyday of ELP, Yes, etc. very few people new what that instrument
up on the stage was. And let's not even start with "that spinney thing
in the old furniture cabinet" (my teen-years drummer's exact words).
Regards,
-BW
-