New arrival! My 'baby' comes home.

[andyg]

No, not THAT sort of baby!

My Kawai SR6 arrived this morning. Looks and sounds great, just like new. Once she's settled in, I'll hook up my Leslie 760 and see just how Hammond-y those drawbars are. It will be fun re-acquainting myself with the organ I first sketched out on a paper napkin over breakfast with the design team 30 years ago (though it did take the technology 4 more years to catch up with what I wanted on the organ!).

I may even look out for a Kawai K1m synth module and load in the sounds I created for it, as they were voiced to match the SR6's own sounds!

Recordings will appear in due course.

Andy G

[Wally Gator]

Looks complicated to me.

[Mike Bracchi]

Hi Andy,

Congratulations on getting your SR6 ...

About 18 months ago I purchased one of them myself, I was so excited about getting it home because I had previously owned, and liked, the SR5 ... what I didn't bank on was the bloody size of it ... the front door of my flat opens up into a long hall-way just a few inches wider than the door itself ... we tried every which way we could to get it in, I even considered removing a first floor living room window frame and hiring a crane - but they wanted over 800 quid for the crane hire just for the morning, so that was quickly ruled out I was totally gutted

I sold it to a guy in Guildford - I do have an open invitation to go and play it when ever I am passing his way but that wont be any-time soon though

I look forward to listening to your first performance on it which, I'm sure, will be a real pleasure to listen to

Nice one Andy ....

[andyg]

I know what you mean about the size, Mike! My patio door was supposed to have a 30" opening, especially for getting this organ back in one day. I never thought to measure it 15 years ago, but it's only 29". The double glazing company went south long ago, so there was no-one to complain to. Luckily the front door was installed to my requirements with a 30" opening and the organ came in with just a trifle to spare. Even then I had to remove the lounge door and part of the doorframe!

Wally, it's not as bad as you think. There are a lot of buttons, yes, but nothing is in a menu - there are NO menus of any kind, and the owners' manual is just 58 pages, 10 of which deal with MIDI and programmable rhythms, which most owners didn't use anyway! So, what you see (or press) is exactly what you get, and it's surprisingly easy to get around. I designed it that way!

[Pamela]

Hi Andy, That looks awesome, you must submit a song for us to hear it... Pam

[Craig]

All the best with your new baby Andy, looks a right beast of an organ

[VinceB]

It looks very good Andrew. I suppose just the same as the other babies it will still give you sleepless nights and possibly have its own teething troubles.

Hope all goes well with it

Vince

[andyg]

I hope there will be no teething problems, but I have to admit that I did lay awake last night arranging a few numbers for the new organ!

[andyg]

Just a quick update. The leslie 760 has now been wired up, one slightly intermittent note quickly cured and a stereo input socket installed for the Kawai K1m module when I find one.

The sound is glorious, but it's not quite as Hammondy as I remembered. No worries though, it's even purer and the name Gulbransen springs to mind when hearing those drawbars sing through the 760.

Best news of all - the neighbours went on holiday this morning, so I can crank up the volume and do some recordings!

[Craig]

Good news Andy, looking forward to hearing a recording from the new baby I remember the Kawai K1, the K1 II and their rack units, nice sounds in those and cheaper than the M1 and D50. The Roland U220 wasn't a bad rack unit either, although one of my all time favourite rack units was the EMU Proteus.

[Mike Bracchi]

Sounds great Andy, I'm looking forward to listening to your first shared performance on it

Mike

[keyboardplayer]

Thats a big beast andy,looks nice and well built, would love to hear the big Kawais,not many recording or videos around

KBP