Wallace Venable's posting of 24 Mar 2006 calls for a response to
clarify the issue regarding the Rollcutter Rendezvous and builders
of John Smith organs.  It is true that Rollcutter.com sells the John
Smith plans, together with a range of fabricated parts for building
John Smith organs, and that John Smith attends the Rollcutter event.
Also that many, perhaps the majority, of the attendees bring and
demonstrate organs they have built to John Smith's designs.  John's
contribution to amateur organ building worldwide has been remarkable.

However, there are a substantial number of people attending, myself
included, who bring to the event organs they have designed and built
themselves.  In fact, Peter Hood, Mr. Rollcutter himself, has built
a large MIDI fair organ to his own design and for which he is soon to
publish a set of plans.   The Rollcutter event is open to all amateurs
who have built an organ or are in the process of building one and it
is fair to say that this event is completely universal in its approach:
the seminars and sessions do not relate to any particular organ design
and a great deal of progress and innovation has been the result.

But the true product of the event is _Inspiration_.  Everyone leaves
with a feeling of renewed energy and enthusiasm for organ building,
not to mention the friendships that are created in the process.
It would be good to see this idea take root in the U.S.A.

Organically yours,
Bob Essex
Warwickshire, England