Plays beautifully but has TWO diagnosed (we understand, repairable) FAULTS (one of which is intermittent), which may or may not worry you - please read this description fully.

I believe this organ offers the following options:

       1. Enjoy playing it as it is – as I have done for the past few years

       2. Repair either or both of its two known faults – I understand they are both repairable

       3. I have no experience with MIDI or Hauptwerk, but the organ has MIDI labelled sockets (see photo) and I presume this provides a basis for expanding or converting some or all of the organ to use Hauptwerk, if you have the technical knowledge (I don’t!!). I’ve been told the pistons on this model of organ are not MIDI enabled, but I presume this might be rectifiable by someone who knows what they are doing.

  

1   OVERVIEW:

This "Opus 30" organ, made by the famous Dutch firm of Johannus, has been my pride and joy but now needs to find a new loving home. In the past nine years, four (of the five?) voice cards have been replaced, so quite a lot of the electronics are relatively new.

The 38 strong speaking stop list is versatile, permitting a wide range of repertoire to be played (please see the photos for the detailed stop list). The case is particularly attractive with, I believe, real wood veneer etc, and blends well in a domestic setting.

I understand the clarinet on the Choir was re-voiced at the request of the previous owner to be as close as possible to a Tuba (although in my opinion it is not very convincing) and the associated rocker tab was also replaced to reflect this; I presume this modification can be reverted by a competent service engineer.

Key features:      

• Medium Oak Console, I believe with real oak veneer and edgings (rather than the plastic vinyl finishes common on many home organs)
• 32 note radiating pedalboard with solid wood (beech?) pedals
• Matching Bench with built-in music storage area
• Roller security door / cover with key
• Factory fitted lighting to the pedal board on either side. Additional strip lighting to pedals and toe pistons was subsequently DIY fitted (this is powered from the organ’s mains feed so only one plug has to be plugged into the wall)
• Two intonations: Romantic & Baroque
• Pitch Control
• MIDI Interface
• 4 memory banks for the user set pistons
• 6 Factory set General Pistons covering pp, p, mf, f, ff, tutti
• 8 User programmable General Pistons
• 8 User programmable Divisional Pistons for each of Swell, Great, Choir and Pedals;
• The pistons illuminate when selected
• 15 toe studs
• Couplers
• Piston buttons for additional functions such as temperament setting (Equal, Werckmeister, Meantone), Manual Bass, Cantus Firmus, Tutti, Reeds Off etc
• Reverberation from small room up to full Cathedral status
• HEADPHONE output for silent practice
• Full internal amplification with internal speakers. It is possible to have additional external speakers using an external amplifier (I have done this using a conventional HiFi amplifier and speakers). It MAY have the capacity to drive larger Johannus specific speakers directly if required, but I cannot confirm this.
• Transposer (6-steps)
• Three Expression Pedals:

o   Great + Pedal

o   Swell + Choir

o   General Crescendo

 

The full stop specification can be seen from the photographs. I understand the Opus has been one of Johannus’ most successful organs over the years; I imagine you can get technical details from the internet.

 

CONDITION / FAULTS

In most respects I believe the organ to be in good condition, both cosmetically and functionally, with a comprehensive specification for a serious home practice instrument or for regular church use. However, I am aware of two faults, which may (or may not) worry you, though I understand they are repairable if you wish:

1.  While the factory pre-set general pistons work fine, there is an intermittent fault whereby the organ sometimes/often 'forgets' the settings of the user settable divisional and general pistons when the organ is turned off (if this happens, they need to be programmed again when the organ is turned back on). 

2.  The five 'unusual' tabs on the Choir (Chimes, Harpsichord, Strings, Gospel, Tremulo) light up, BUT DO NOT WORK. This has not been a problem for me, as I never wanted to use them.

I have not had these faults repaired and have been content to play the organ as it is.

I’ve also never used some of the other settings/functions, e.g. MIDI, so cannot comment on them.

There are a couple of small marks on the console, plus one more pronounced scratch on the left hand end panel about 6” long, but it is parallel to the grain in the wood (and barely noticeable in some lighting conditions). There is a long but shallow scratch diagonally on the bench towards one end that is not very noticeable (please see photographs). The roller shutter is lockable, with key. Overall, I would describe the console as really rather elegant and in generally remarkably good overall condition.

Please inspect the photographs as these form part of the description.

I’ve described it to the best of my knowledge but obviously cannot offer any guarantee. The organ is offered for sale AS SEEN, WITH ALL FAULTS. Given this is a used electrical item, that we are not the first owner, and the DIY additional strip lighting to the pedalboard, we would always recommend it be tested by a qualified electrician.

 

LOGISTICS:

The organ MUST BE COLLECTED BY SUNDAY 23 JUNE.

The organ is located in Churchdown, just east of Gloucester.  I strongly encourage serious bidders to come and try the organ before buying, to appreciate its sound, capabilities and condition fully.

The organ is in a downstairs living room, with ready access parking immediately beside the house.  It is heavy; it will need two or more strong people and a van or trailer to transport it. We have moved it through domestic internal doorways without particular difficulty (but it is quite a tight fit!).

Approximate dimensions:

Height: 122cm + removable music rack

Width: 139cm

Max depth (without Pedal Board): 73.6cm

Depth (with Pedal Board): 120cm

 

Thank you for looking and good luck!

 

 

 

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On 23-May-24 at 23:17:15 BST, seller added the following information:

There is some fading (possibly due to sun?) to the finish on the wood at the back of the pedalboard (i.e. the end away from the console, behind the bench). This is visible in the second and third photographs. <