Building a Heritage™ Allen Organ by Rudy Lucente (continued) 7. After the console was fitted out with all of its controls, the next step in the final assembly was the installation of all of the sophisticated electronics, consisting of computers, amplifiers, power supplies, and other devices that go into a fine digital instrument. This entire assembly process is completed by one person to insure accuracy and quality control. At this point in the instrument's construction I again had the opportunity to see how carefully each step is performed and how important it is to Allen to adhere to the strictest standards of manufacturing excellence. Of interest to me was the fact that the sub-assemblies were all built in-house, which Allen indicates is essential in maintaining a superior level of quality in every component. The following pictures show those components ready to be installed, as well as the installation process itself, by the technician responsible:    8. Once the organ was "built," so to speak, it was yet only an electronic device awaiting the real "heart and soul" to be installed. As I was specifically interested in an English specification, Allen responded by selecting a perfectly cohesive set of digital samples that represent exactly what I had in mind. Dwight Beacham, Vice President of Engineering of the company, personally undertook the task of completing this aspect of the organ. Dwight is seen here at work considering every nuance of the instrument's final tonal design: 9. No Allen organ leaves the factory until it has gone through an extensive set of protocols known as "final test". I had the opportunity to see and play the instrument set up in a Test Room. Allen's test engineer, Bill Rybitski, put the organ through its paces for several days before being convinced that everything was in order and functioning according to Allen's stringent quality control standards. This process involves setting the organ up exactly as it would be in its final location (in this case my home), and going over every detail of fit and finish, form and function. Since Bill is also a fine organist, he and I had a wonderful time exploring the organ's tonal design and we found the instrument to be a delight to experience. Since the Test Room has an acoustic similar to my music room, it also offered me a good idea of what I could expect from the organ in my home. The following pictures show the organ in the Test Room connected to Allen's specially-designed speaker systems, using the exact number and type of speaker that is currently in my home:    Click Here to Continue