Hello all,

I spoke on the phone with Agnes yesterday about the organ and what I mentioned about the space where the organ currently sits. She suggested an alternative to selling it, which would be to move it in the alcove where the current sound equipment sits (or perhaps on the side of the alcove, or somewhere closer to the piano). If it were closer to the other instrument, we could use it more regularly.

She also mentioned that there are a group of people that complement her whenever she plays it, and speak highly of organ music when they hear it.

And finally, she drew attention to some distinct differences between the organ and a keyboard's organ sound. Because there are multiple keyboards on an organ, you can change each keyboard's (and the footboard's) sound. An organist would not feel like they could replicate the effect of an organ on an electronic piano.

I also searched for electric conn organs online. I don't know if our organ is vintage and collectable, which might make the price higher (as much as $10,000), but several organs that were better than ours (bigger keyboards and footboards and more stopes) were on sale on eBay and Craigslist for $100.

For perspective, replacing the organ with a new electronic organ (instead of used) would cost $3,000-8,000 as best as I can tell online. Of course, not being an organist, I'm probably not the best to think of what to replace it with (My criteria, Agnes, was looking at new organs with more stops, 3 octave footboard, and at least two consoles).

The inexpensive-ness of our organ might be an argument to keep it, if it would fit somewhere. And, if it were in a different space, both Agnes and I would be more inclined to use it. I'm comfortable with any decision regarding the instrument.

Best,
Brian