Introduction – Precisionsound Gothenburg Reed Organ User Manual
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© Copyright Precisionsound 2013
Introduction
Sweden and Reed Organs
As a part of an extensive keyboard manufacturing industry, organ factories in Sweden may have
numbered as many as three hundred between the years 1850 and 1950. Almost every little city had
their own factory or workshop. The instruments were widely distributed, and they were used in
churches and in classrooms for group singing. The reed organs were made in various sizes, from small
chamber or portable instruments, to large organs with bass pedals and a multitude of registers.
They were made in various types, but their common denominator is the use of reeds (like in accordions
and harmonicas) to produce the sound, either by suction air (the most common type) or by compressed
air. Depending on the type, the playing technique is different – suction air organs tend to have a softer
sound and a slower attack, compared to the compressed air instruments. There are pros and cons with
both!
New times demanded new instruments. During the 1950s, electronic organs were made on a larger
scale, and in a few decades most of Sweden’s acoustic keyboard factories died out. Many of the old
instruments are now lost, and sadly many people consider them to be rubbish. But there are also
counteracting trends – some people are starting to use the organs again (not least in folk music), and
associations are striving to preserve the instruments, the heritage, and the knowledge.
About the Gothenburg Reed Organ
The Gothenburg Reed Organ is a midsize chamber organ with suction air made by “Göteborgs
Orgelfabrik”. It was designed by G.Langegård, probably in the 1940s.
For those of you who love the sound of Precisionsound’s Langegard Pump Organ, we’re now taking a big
step forward. We went back to the same instrument but re-recorded it. The Gothenburg Reed Organ
consists of new samples – of every single register of the organ. This means extended possibilities to
create the voice character you’re looking for.
The Gothenburg Reed Organ is a truly virtual recreation of the Langegard, with flexibility beyond the
original instrument, and over four hundred samples. You can mix the registers together by volume, not
just by switching them on/off, and you can also fine-tune the registers against each other for a big
sound. You can vary the volume with an LFO, adjust the stereo image, and more.