Tonal Consultants of Nevada is a company devoted to high quality pipe organ and
Allen Renaissance/Quantum Organ projects.
Walt Strony is the Artistic Director, supervising all tonal finishing. He
has directed tonal finishing on numerous pipe organs, the largest being the 4-60 Wurlitzer in the Aveni Music Room in Cleveland,
Ohio. His specialty is working with theatre pipe organs and historic church organs of the 20th Century.
For over twenty
years, he has been applying his pipe organ knowledge to the installation and voicing of Allen organs. He began his relationship
with the Allen Organ Company in 1988 by working at the local dealer level. It wasn't long before certain dealers nationwide
discovered his abilities and began using him to voice their high profile installations. At the same time, private customers
began calling him to help them with their voicing problems.
In the year 2001, he became an independent voicer and
now spends the time when he is not performing - voicing Allen organs across the country and around the world. To date, he
has been involved with over 500 such projects. The results have earned him the reputation of being one of America's top Allen
organ experts.
Having an understanding of both church organs and theatre organs makes him just as comfortable working
on a large Cathedral organ, as he is voicing a smaller theatre organ in an average size living room.
Some people might
wonder why a digital organ would need voicing. Shouldn't they be voiced right out of the factory?
Firstly, one must
remember that organs are not simply "voiced." They must be voiced to match the size and acoustics of the specific room into
which they speak.
This is why they almost never sound good right out of the box. By the same token, when a previously
"voiced" instrument is sold to a new owner and the organ is installed in a different room, it will sound much different -
the organ will ultimately need to be re-voiced for that room.
There are many factors that dramatically change the
sound of an organ. Size and shape of the room; flooring (carpet, tile, or wood); the furnishings (hard or padded and upholstered);
ceiling height; speaker placement (are they on the floor, in chambers or hung on the wall?) are all factors that contribute.
The fact is that every room has its own unique acoustical characteristics. Not only do rooms have differing amounts
of reverb, but they all color the sound in a different way. Some rooms are bass "heavy" - while in other rooms, it can be
difficult to develop that same bass. The treble and even mid-range can also vary from room to room.
Here are some
of the most common symptoms that people complain about when they set up a voicing appointment: certain notes or even entire
areas of the keyboard that stick out, are too soft, too bright, too fat, or have too much air "hiss". At its worst, complete
ranks can stick out, or be too soft. Or, the 32' is almost inaudible.
Some very minor voicing can be done in the console
controller. However, for many people, these controls are too broad of a brush, and cannot fix the many little details. Let's
face it, good organ sound has a lot to do with subleties!
The only way to do the job right is to use a computer and
Allen's Dove Voicing software. The whole organ should be gone through note-by-note.
The parameters Mr. Strony adjusts
include general "balance" issues, note-by-note rank "contouring", treble ascendacy vs. keeping the contour even throughout
the compass, filters, tuning issues, tremulants, and sample changes.
For those that have early Renaissance models,
he has more experience than virtually anyone installing sostenuto upgrades. It is very "efficient" to have Mr. Strony upgrade
your Allen at the same time he voices it.
If desired, Mr. Strony can also devote time to musical coaching, and/or
additional training on how to use the instrument (the console controller, MIDI, etc.)
For more information, you may
contact us at: wsorgan@waltstrony.com
Or you may call us at (702) 202-5816
Some completed Allen tonal finishing
projects:
Circle Symphony Hall, Indianapolis, Custom 4 Allen for ATOS Convention
Michael and Nancy Kaehr Q480 - La Jolla, CA
Bob Power GW-4 Allen, Camarillo, CA
Bill Worden GW-4 Allen, Laguna Niguel, CA
Bill Worden R460 Allen, Laguna Niguel, CA (yes, he has 2!)
First Christian Church, R380 Allen, Las Vegas,
NV
Stan Barton GW-319EX Allen, Tucson, AZ
Calvin Juriet, GW-4 Allen, Stuart, FL
First Presbyterian
Church, Saratoga, CA
Tom Hamilton, GW-4 Allen, Columbus, OH
Wayne and Cheryl Seppala, GW-4 Allen, El Cajon,
CA
Ron Wolf/Ed Walker, GW-4 Allen, San Diego, CA
Ron Wolf/Ed Walker TO-5, San Diego, CA
Bill Bearley,
GW-4 Allen, Valley Center, CA
Paul Kenworthy, GW-319 Allen, Minneapolis, MN
Paul Kenworthy, LL324, Minneapolis,
MN
Marshall Gurley, GW-4 Allen, San Diego, CA
Dr. Tom Harmon, GW-4 Allen, Medford, OR
First Covenant
Church, GW-4 Allen, Sacramento, CA
Jack Darr Residence, 4 manual Allen Custom, Irvine, CA
Stephen Barker,
GW319EX Allen, Tiburon, CA
James Crank, R311 Allen, Redwood City, CA
Private Residence, R311, Hemet, CA
Clint
Savage, GW319 Allen, Sacramento, CA
Pete Sweeney, R311 Allen, Visalia, CA
Pete Sweeney, GW-4, Visalia, CA
Willow Glen United Methodist Church, R370 Allen San Jose, CA
St. Patrick's Catholic Church, R450 Allen, Miami
Beach, FL
Church Of The Little Flower, R350 Allen w/pipes, Hollywood, FL
Park Residence, GW319, Pullman, Washington
Darren Ferreter, R211, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Carter Feild, GW319, Palmrya, Virginia
Frank Bindt, GW319EX,
Walnut Creek, California
Jerry Cecere, R211, Sacramento, California
Nick Grbac, R311, South San Francisco,
California
China Lake Chapel, R460, China Lake, CA
Bob Grommes, R311, Fountain Hills, Arizona
Bob
Grommes, GW4, Fountain Hills, AZ
Carl Helber, MDS TH3, Scottsdale, Arizona
Richard Hill, MDS 317, Massachusetts
Richard Hill, LL324, Massachusetts
Jeffery Korns, R311, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Ted Lovell, GW4, New Jersey
Robert Maney, MDS TH3, State College, Pennsylvania
Neal Wood, GW4, San Francisco, California
Roger
Smith, R311, Lake Arrowhead, CA
Fountain Hills Lutheran, R350, Fountain Hills, Arizona
Brian Daggett, R211,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Burl Updyke, R311, Pennsylvania
Bob Lewis, GW319EX, Villa Park, Illinois
Bob
Lewis, GW4 (he traded the 319EX in for this)
Bob Lewis, TO5, Villa Park, IL
Ralph Kohn, R311, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Paul Valtos, MDS TH3, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Richard Stephenson, C-19c,ENGLAND
Peter Rushton,
GW319, ENGLAND
First Union Church, Q400, San Juan, Puerto Rico
First Presbyterian Church, 3 man.digital with
Pipes,
Orange, CA
Polglaise Residence; GW-4, Augusta, GA
2nd Church Of Christ, Scientist, R350, Scottsdale,
AZ
Michael Petway, GW-4 Atlanta, GA
Michael Petway, TO-5, Atlanta, GA
West Valley Presbyterian.
Q345, Cupertino, CA
Christian Elliott Residence, Custom 3 Theatre, Santa Clara
Harry Garland Residence, Q321,
Los Altos Hills, CA
Stephen Alhart, GW319EX, NC
John Jones, R311, Indianapolis, IN
United Church of
Christ, Long Beach, CA Q345
Bert Braecher, Blackhawk, CO, STR4
Tom Giesler, Dunnellon, FL STR4
Craig Peterson, Sacramento, CA LL324
Methodist Church, Sacramento, CA T321Q
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