Our church is currently engaged in upgrading its 1958 two-manual J.C. Hallman electronic reed organ to a digital MIDI organ, a project I am spearheading. We hired Artisan Instruments Inc. of Kenmore, WA to supply the solid state circuitry and produce the sound engine. I have been performing most of the upgrading of the console myself. Conversion will hopefully be completed in December 2018. The end result promises to be no less than spectacular in the wonderful, slightly reverberant acoustic of our sanctuary.
Here are the specifications of the upcoming, refurbished instrument:
Great
Principal 8’
Open Flute 8’
Geigen 8’
Dulciana 8’
Principal 4’
Flute 4’
Twelfth 2 2/3’
Fifteenth 2’
Mixture
Trompette en Chamade 8’
Chimes
Swell
Bass Flute 16’
Violin Diapason 8’
Stopped Flute 8’
Salicional 8’
Celeste 8’
Orch. Flute 4’
Violina 4’
Nazard 2 2/3’
Piccolo 2’
Tierce 1 3/5’
Tuba Mirabilis 16’
Festival Trumpet 8’
Oboe 8’
Vox Humana 8’
Unda Maris 8’
Cor de Nuit 8’
Schalmei 4’
Tremulant
Pedal
Resultant 32’
Subbass 16’
Bourdon 16’
Gedeckt 16’
Diapason 8’
Flute 8’
Quint 5 1/3’
Choral Bass 4’
Fagott 16’
Accessories
Gt. To Pedal coupler
Sw. to Pedal coupler
Sw. to Gt. Coupler
Zimbelstern
Here’s a photo of the console prior to conversion. The J.C. Hallman company of Kitchener/Waterloo, ON, was a farm equipment company that also built electric, wind-driven, amplified reed organs for a limited time. It also produced a handful of really quite fine pipe organs, with Germanic voicing, many of which survive today. The electric reed organs, however, were never particularly good. Following the organ building period, Hallman returned exclusively to its status as a purveyor of farm equipment – particularly, electric fences.
One has to admire the quality of the console itself. It displays the hallmarks of Mennonite craftsmanship in ample portion, and is fully AGO compliant. In fact, the console is the main reason we decided on a retrofit rather than purchasing a completely new digital instrument like an Allen or a Rodgers. An additional benefit is that, since I’ve been doing the retrofitting myself, I will be able to service the instrument in future should anything go wrong.