Opus 6

The "Touring UltraLite"

Opus 6 represents an under-served corner of the VPO market by providing a no frills but no compromise, AGO-spec console, without all the extra weight and bulk of a traditional organ.

Opus 6 was commissioned by a student looking for a practice instrument that was three manual, AGO-spec*, and modular in such a way that would make it easy to transport.  The custom three manual keycheeks were planed and machined from a solid slab of 2" thick white oak for superior quality and strength.  The piston rails, also machined from white oak, are embedded into the key cheeks for optimum strength and resiliency to flexing, with additional support provided by my piston rail mounting tabs.  The music rack is machined from cast acrylic, with a music ledge and supports machined from from white oak.

To keep the project as affordable as possible, I decided against building a pedalboard from scratch.  Originally built by Holtkamp, this pedalboard was the perfect compliment to the instrument as it was also made from white oak, and sported gorgeous dove-tailed joinery.  The pedalboard was completely stripped down, rebuilt, regulated, and refinished to like-new condition.
 

Due to the portable nature of the instrument, I chose to use a special expression pedal design which contains no moving parts - aside from the actual swell shoe - but instead uses hall-effect sensors.  The use of potentiometers and actuators would have proven to be too fragile for a portable instrument.  The solid aluminum swell shoes are supported by cast metal supports.

10 toe-studs and 17 custom-engraved pistons are also fitted.  The bench is made from a solid oak top, with oak 2x4 support bracing finished in high-gloss tung oil, and black powder-coated steel legs.

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The Op. 6 style console can be customized to fit a variety of options - from touch screens to cup holders - I've been asked for it all.  Contact me for more information.