Wanted small and cheap

[rainworthgord]

Does anyone know where within fairly easy reach of Mansfield I can pickup a small electronic for occasional use in a mission church? A Sunday service is held there just once a quarter, and there is a weekly Wednesday morning Communion where there is possible scope for maybe a couple of hymns. Given the limited use it would have, anything from a single manual analogue without pedals upwards would be considered, but it has to be dirt cheap because we have just splashed out on a wonderful new digital organ in the parish church. In the mission there is currently one of those awful offset manuals and popstick pedals things, which is totally unsuitable. I believe it was given to (or dumped on) the church before my time - perhaps the donor thought 'organ ... church' and who ever accepted it didn't know any better, but I refuse to play it and have been given the go-ahead to try to replace it with something more suitable. There is no point in spending much because it would not be cost-effective for the use it would have. I do keep one eye on ebay, but have yet to find the one I want at a price I want to pay and within easy distance.

[David Drinkell]

I doubt whether this is any use to you, but I know of a single manual Casson positive pipe organ going for free.  The downside is that it's in Orkney, but with the pipes off it fits into a van.

[rainworthgord]

Would love that, but not practicable, I'm afraid.

[Molto Basho]

Although it is a long way from us, our church might well be interested. I have sent an email to the poster.

[dragonser]

Hi, I would suggest ( I know that not everyone would agree ) that you looked out for a cheap home keyboard with a 5 octave manual, that had a couple of Organ sounds available.
this would at least enable some hymns to be played, and might well sound better that the Home organ with offset manuals. Some of the top of the range Home Organs actually would probably sound ok, but I know that the one you have probably isn't a top of the range model.
or course if you could find a full sized Organ that would be a much better solution.

regards  Peter B

[diapason]

The Viscount 'Cantorum' is a keyboard with proper organ voices.  I had one and used it very successfully on occasion in church.  A decent amplifier and speakers made a huge difference.  You can sometimes find Cantorums on Ebay - I bought mine there and later sold it to fund my practice organ.
N

[rainworthgord]

A Cantorum would be great but even on ebay they tend to sell for more than we would want to pay, bearing in mind the degree of use it would get.
I have only ever seen and heard one in action. My daughter and one or two others were installed as chaplains at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn a couple of years ago (incidentally she left last week to move to Scotland, and I hoped she might have smuggled it out for me ....). The service was in what is referred to there as the 'sacred space', which in reality was not very spacious, so no external amp was used although it would have been better with one. I had a play on it afterwards and, although the available tones were not in the same class as the fabulous Phoenix system just installed in the Parish Church, I was sufficiently impressed to bid for a couple on ebay but unsuccessfully. I'm probably looking at £200 maximum, given that we have just splashed out on the Phoenix, which is why I originally specified a small analogue organ, even a one manual and no pedal if necessary. But if anyone has a Cantorum for a couple of hundred I would gladly relieve them of it.
I do have Hauptwerk at home, played on a couple of cheap keyboards with auto pedal to both great and swell in the absence of a pedal board (or space for one or a wife who would let me have one ....), and it's impressive, but it's only the free version which is not authorised for a public installation. Again, the full licence would be uneconomic for the use it would get, and you have to think additionally of computers and amplifiers.
I will continue to look on good old ebay, but if anyone anywhere thinks they may have what I seek please keep me in mind.
Many thanks for the replies so far.

[diapason]

The Cantorums do seem to hold their price - I paid about £375 for mine on Ebay and sold it after a few years for the same price. Realistically, there's nothing to match them - a cheapy keyboard will always sound like a pub organ.  My only other suggestions are an older analogue organ - these are sometimes pretty cheap - or maybe a harmonium or a piano.  The Casson Positive mentioned earlier would be ideal - you don't even need electricity.  There are sometimes some one manual pipe organs on offer - on here, Ebay or the IBO redundant organs site - but they tend to be physically tall - I don't know if that's an issue.  Anyway - good luck, and keep us posted on here - it's surprising what turns up.
Nigel

[rainworthgord]

Yes, I did think about a harmonium (which took me right back to my roots of a village chapel when I was a lad some 60 years ago), but I doubt whether one of those would cope with some of the 'Kendricity' (I claim copyright on that!) that we sometimes use. I still think it's ideally a Cantorum but realistically an analogue. A pipe organ of any description would not be suitable for the building unfortunately as well as being far too costly to buy, transport and instal.