Newcomers Bob and Marcia Ebert (digest 950725) sound like they know
good organ sounds, so here's a knotty question from Jody Kravitz
[your erstwhile "Moderator"] and Mike Ames and me:

 How can we play a Midi file of nifty band organ music
into a synthesizer and get the sound of a real, live WurliTzer 165 or
92-key Ruth organ, or whatever?  We are currently using Roland Sound
Canvas synths for editing organ files, and while it's better than nothing,
it sure leaves a lot to be desired.  And I find the overblown cathedral
voices pretty boring after awhile.

 I'm told that Emu is possibly the leader in this sort of work.  Can
your Proteus 2 synth yield the intimate sounds of a 16th century tracker
organ at two-foot range?  How 'bout the intimate sound of a calliope
or band organ at the same range (i.e., what the performer, wearing ear
protection, hears)?  And I hope the reverb effects can be disabled.

Another possibility is the fancy Rogers organ, I'm told.
A knowledgeable musician friend (with good ears) attended a Rogers
organ concert a few years ago, in which the organ was set up to emulate
a large WurliTzer treater organ, with great gobs of gushing vibrato,
et cetera.  But he reported the sound very convincing, even the
percussion "toy box".

Could you Eberts and the group offer some advice?

-- Robbie Rhodes<rhodes@foxtail.com>  26 July 1995