The Mighty Kurzweil lives!

[poltr1]

Years ago, I had the idea of stacking a few Kurzweil K2000 keyboards, adding an AGO pedalboard, MIDIfying the pedalboard, and adding some Kurzweil rackmounted equipment and a computer. It would be called "The Mighty Kurzweil", paying homage to the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theatre organs of old.

Of course, what stopped me from realizing the dream was available time, money, and the space to put it.

Well, it's been realized. By one of the most influential people in electronic music -- Wendy Carlos, and a team of talented engineers from several different companies. Check out her WurliTzer II unit orchestra, also called "Wurly II". Here's a picture.

Comments

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Ed has his computer degree from Yale and has worked as a software engineer for over 20 years now. But he also studied music very seriously and he is the "music minister" at St. Stephen's Episcopal so I guess that makes it a real "vocation" eh? (I sure know we count on those weekly paychecks! :-)

Apparently there is a prejudice amongst professional organists that *most* Catholic churches do not have nice organs. They tend to have what is disdainfully looked down upon in the trade as "toasters" (meaning electronic organs). Having said that I am pretty sure I've heard Ed say good things about Allens. In fact, I think he almost got a job programming for Allen which would have been the perfect merging of his two loves. But alas, it did not pan out.

Do check out the organstops.org site, if nothing else it is worth checking out "vox cetacea" which is Ed's invention. :-)