Viscount Chorale 8 User Manual

viscount

Chorale 8

User Manual

Ver. USA - 1.0

1

Viscount Chorale 8

Owner’s Manual

INDEX

1. Important notes ..................................................................................................................................3

1.1 Looking after the product ...............................................................................................................3

1.2 Notes about the manual ..................................................................................................................3

2. Controls and connection ....................................................................................................................5

2.1 The front panel ...............................................................................................................................5

2.2 The manual splitter controls ...........................................................................................................6

2.3 The side panels ...............................................................................................................................8

2.4 Pedal board controls .....................................................................................................................10

2.5 The connections underneath the manuals ......................................................................................... 11

2.6 The connections on the rear panel ...................................................................................................12

3. Main control unit ...............................................................................................................................13

3.1 Switching on and main video page ...................................................................................................13

3.2 An introduction to the instrument’s setup functions ...........................................................................15

4. Regulation the section volumes ........................................................................................................ 17

5. Organ Style ........................................................................................................................................ 17

6. Replacing voices and regulating voices volumes .............................................................................18

6.1 Regulating the voices volumes .........................................................................................................19

6.2 Replacing voices .............................................................................................................................20

7. Instrument general settings ..............................................................................................................22

7.1 Setting the tremolo ..........................................................................................................................23

7.2 Selecting the type of reverb .............................................................................................................23

7.3 Equalizers adjustment .....................................................................................................................25

7.4 Signal routing on the audio outputs ..................................................................................................26

7.5 Regulating the audio output volumes ................................................................................................ 26

7.6 General manual settings ...................................................................................................................27

7.7 Piston settings .................................................................................................................................28

7.8 Combination saving settings ............................................................................................................29

8. MIDI .................................................................................................................................................. 30

8.1 Selecting the channels .....................................................................................................................32

8.2 Program Change message transmission ...........................................................................................32

8.3 Setting the filters .............................................................................................................................33

9. Utility functions .................................................................................................................................. 34

9.1 Style copy ......................................................................................................................................34

9.2 Factory Setting ...............................................................................................................................35

9.3 Accessiong the modification functions ..............................................................................................36

10. Appendix ...........................................................................................................................................37

10.1 Demonstration songs ....................................................................................................................37

10.2 Voice Local Off ............................................................................................................................37

10.3 Upgrading the operating system ....................................................................................................38

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Owner’s Manual

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Viscount Chorale 8

Owner’s Manual

1.1 LOOKING AFTER THE PRODUCT

• Do not apply excessive force to the organ’s structures or the controls (knobs, stops, push-buttons,
etc.).

• When possible, do not place the instrument close to units which generate strong interference, such as
radios, TVs, computer videos, etc.

• Do not place the organ close to heat sources, in damp or dusty places or in the vicinity of strong
magnetic fields.

• Do not expose the instrument to direct sunlight.

• Never insert foreign bodies inside the instrument or pour liquids of any kind into it.

• For cleaning, use only a soft brush or compressed air; never use detergents, solvents or alcohol.

• Always use good quality screened cables for connection to amplification or diffusion systems. When

disconnecting cables from sockets, always take hold of the connector and not the cable itself; when
winding cables, do not knot or twist them.

• Before making the connections ensure that the other units (especially amplification and diffusion
systems) you are about to connect are switched off. This will prevent noisy or even dangerous signal
peaks.

• Connect the net cable to an earthed socket.

• Check that the voltage corresponds to the voltage shown on the serial number plate of the organ.

• If the organ is to be out of use for lengthy periods, disconnect the plug from the power socket.

1.2 NOTES ABOUT THE MANUAL

• Take good care of this manual.

• This manual is an integral part of the instrument. The descriptions and illustrations in this publication

are not binding.

• While the instrument’s essential characteristics remain the same, the manufacturer reserves the right
to make any modifications to parts, details or accessories considered appropriate to improve the
product or for requirements of a constructional or commercial nature, at any time and without
undertaking to update this publication immediately.

• All rights reserved; the reproduction of any part of this manual, in any form, without the manufacturer’s
specific written permission is forbidden.

1. IMPORTANT NOTES

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Viscount Chorale 8

Owner’s Manual

• All the trademarks referred to in this manual are the property of the respective manufacturers.

• Read all the information carefully in order to obtain the best performances from your product and waste no

time.

• The codes or numbers in square brackets ([]) indicate the names of the buttons, sliders, trimmers and
connectors on the instrument. For example, [ENTER] refers to the ENTER button.

• The illustrations and display pages are purely guideline and may differ from those actually shown on
the display.

• The instructions provided in this manual only concern the instrument's operating system version that was up to
date when the document was released. Therefore, such instructions might not describe faithfully your current
operating system release. Please, visit the website http://www.viscount.it to check for the newest manual.

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Viscount Chorale 8

Owner’s Manual

PEDAL SWELL CRESCENDO GREAT CHOIR

Contra

32’

Violone

Contra
Bass

Principal

16’

Sub

16’

Bass

Violone

Quintatone

16’

Octave

8’

Bass

8’

Flute

Choral

4’

Bass

Flute2’ 16’ 8’

Great

to

Pedal

Bourdon

16’ 8’ 8’

Gamba

8’ 8’

Prestant

4’ 4’

2
3

/

'

2

4’

Mixture

V 16’ 8’

Bourdon

8’ 8’

Unda

8’

Maris

Octave

4’ 4’

Twelfth

2
3

/

'

2

2’

Tremolo

8’ 8’ 4’

Nazard

2
3

/

'

22’

Tierce

3
5

/

'

14f.

Mixtur Tremolo

Schalmei

4’

Mixture

Bombarde

Fagotto

Trumpet

Dulcan

Swell

to

Pedal

Choir

to

Pedal

Diapason

V.Humana

Rohr
Flute

ConcertFl.

Celeste

Open
Flute

Melodia

Doublette

Flautino

2’

Fagotto

Regal

16’

Trumpet

8’

Oboe

CorAnglais

8’

Clarion4’Tremolo

Violone

Quintatone

Open

Diapason

Gemshorn

FluteTrav.

Flute
Harm.

RohrFlute

Cornet

Fifteenth

WaldFlute

Mixture
Larigot

8’

Trumpet

Honrn

Oboe

Swell

to

Great

Choir

to

Great

HohlFlute

Gedackt

Dulciana

Quintaton

Gemshorn

Flute

Piccolo

Principal

Mixture

Sifflet1’

V.Hum.8’

Swell

to

Choir

1

2.1 THE FRONT PANEL

The organ’s front panel above the three manuals contains the stop keys, arranged section by section, used
to activate the registers, and the Crescendo LED bar. Each stop key may be marked with the name of
more than one register, since the associated register may change depending on the organ style selected
with the STYLE parameter on the display (see also chap. 5).

2. CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS

2 3

1. [PEDAL] section: this section contains the pedal board register stops. The following couplers are
also provided:

o [Great to Pedal]: the stops of the Great will also play on the pedal board.
o [Swell to Pedal]: the stops of the Swell will also play on the pedal board.
o [Choir to Pedal]: the stops of the Choir will also play on the pedal board.

2. [SWELL] section: Swell stops and tremolo.

3. [CRESCENDO] LED bar: displays the steps of the Crescendo currently set with the pedal of the

same name.

4. [GREAT] section: Great stops, tremolo and couplers:

o [Swell to Great]: the stops of the Swell will also play on the Great.
o [Choir to Great]: the stops of the Choir will also play on the Great.

5. [CHOIR] section: contains the stops and tremolo of the Choir and the coupler:

o [Swell to Choir]: the stops of the Swell will also play on the Choir.

4

5

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Owner’s Manual

1. General combinations: this section contains the instrument’s general adjustable combinations.
When a combination is recalled, the light of the relative stop illuminates to confirm its activation.
The [NEXT] pistons can also be used to select combinations one by one in an upward direction and
[PREV.] for the same function in a downward direction (combination sequencers).

2. Division combinations: this organ has six adjustable division combinations for Swell (2A), Great
(2B), Choir (2C) and the pedal board (2D). When a combination is recalled, the light of the relative
piston illuminates to confirm its activation.
In division combinations, the user is only able to set the configuration of the section associated to
the selected combination.

There is also a piston marked [HR] (Handle Registers) beside the general and dedicated combinations;
also known as 0, when it is on it automatically memorises the register status. This piston’s main
function is to restore, during use of the combinations, the “hand-made” stop setup created when the
[HR] button was on. Remember that an HR setup is not modified if the stops are switched on and off
by hand when a combination on the same section is selected (i.e. with the HR off).

N.B.

The contents of the HR are not retained when the organ is switched off.

2.2 THE MANUAL SPLITTER CONTROLS

The pistons used to recall the adjustable combinations, Tutti, couplers and other accessory functions are
placed in the areas between the manuals.

HR123456

HR123456

HR123456

HR123456

HR123456

G/P

SW/P

C/P

S

SW/C

SW/G

PREV NEXT

C/G

viscount

MIDI
SW

MIDI

G

MIDI

C

MIDI

P

SWS VOL. MENU

A.P T

C

1 2A

2B 2C2D3

4A4B

4C

5

67 8

9 10

11

12

13

14

Each combination (including HR and Tutti), whether general or sectional, is able to store:

- the status (on/off) of the stops

- the status of the couplers (enabling saving, see point 7.8)

- the status of the tremolos (even with different modulation depths and speeds, if the specific

SET-UP menu function described in par. 7.8 is activated)

- the style (Organ Style)

- the MIDI controls (point 8) and the Program Changes set using the SEND PROGRAM

CHANGE function (par. 8.2)

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The All Swells to Swell pedal and Automatic Pedal can also be saved in the general memories and
HR and in the Tutti only, by activating the specific function, see par. 7.8.
For the fixing combinations procedure, see point 3.

3. [S] piston: “Set” (or fix) function used for fixing combinations. To fix a combination, simply press
the [S] piston, keep it pressed and then press the combination you wish to fix, which may be dedicated,
general or Tutti.

WARNING!

The [S] piston displays the on-off status for enabling of setting of the combinations, the Tutti and the
Crescendo setups, and access to the organ’s setup (LOCK ORGAN function, see point 9.3).
When the light in the piston is on, the functions listed above are enabled; when the light is off, the
organ’s sound setup cannot be modified, and only the parameters shown in the main screen can be
edited.

4. Pistons [P]: these pistons activate the couplings of the manuals with the pedal board, as follows:

o [SW/P] (4A): coupling of the Swell with the pedal board
o [G/P] (4B): coupling of the Great with the pedal board
o [C/P] (4C): coupling of the Choir with the pedal board

5. [NEXT] and [PREV.] stops: general combination sequencers. [NEXT] selects combinations in
ascending order, [PREV.] in descending order.

6. Great couplers: these pistons control the status of the Great couplings, as follows:

o [SW/G]: coupler of the Swell to the Great
o [C/G]: coupler of the Choir to the Great

7. [SW/C] Piston: activates coupling of the Swell to the Choir.

8. [MIDI C], [MIDI G], [MIDI P] and [MIDI SW] pistons: this section contains the pistons used to

activate the transmission of MIDI note codes on the [MIDI OUT] port (in the recess on the left
underneath the Choir) in response to the notes played on the manuals. The LED of each piston displays
the status of transmission on the manual’s MIDI channel as follows:

o Piston illuminated: note code transmission enabled
o Piston off: note code transmission disabled

N.B.

- These pistons activate or deactivate the transmission of MIDI note codes (Note On and Note

Off) only, unlike all the other MIDI messages the organ is able to process, which are always
transmitted regardless of the status of this function.

- These pistons control transmission of MIDI notes only. Reception is always enabled.

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Owner’s Manual

ORCHESTRA

POWER EXT. SPK.

MASTER VOL. REVERB VOL.

Pedal
String

Custom

Swell

Celesta

Custom

Great

Chime

Custom

Choir
Harp

Custom

1

3

2

N.B.

When the Enclosed function is activated, the volumes of all manuals are immediately set in relation
to the position of the [SWELL] swell pedal. When the Enclosed function is deactivated, the volume
of the Choir is immediately readjusted in relation to the position of the [CHOIR] swell pedal, while
those of the pedal board and Great are set in accordance with the setting in the VOLUMES function
(see chap. 4).

10. [VOL.] piston: used to display the divisional volumes of each section of the organ.

11. [A.P.] piston: this piston controls the status of the Automatic Pedal function used to play the stops of

the pedal board using the first 32 notes of Great. In this case, the organ’s pedal board is deactivated
and the stops become monophonic, with priority to the lowest note.

12. [MENU] piston: used to display the organ setup functions menu.

13. [T] piston: piston used for switching the Tutti on and off.

The voice composition of the Tutti function is programmable. To set a new configuration, switch on
the stops and couplers of your choice, press [S], keep it pressed and then press the [T] piston or the
[TUTTI] foot piston.

14. [C] piston: Cancel piston, which switches off all the stops, tremolos, couplers and pistons on any
manual divisions active, then resets the general and dedicated HRs.

9. [SWS] piston: pressing this piston activates the “All Swells to Swell pedal” function used to control
the organ’s general volume using the swell pedal [SWELL].

2.3 THE SIDE PANELS

Other organ controls such as the volume controls, reverb adjustment and the graphic display showing all
the instrument’s main setup and adjustment functions are located on the right and left of the manuals, in
easy reach of the organist.
To make use of these controls quicker and easier, all the rotary trimmers and the Orchestra voices are on
the left of the manuals, with the graphic display and the relative control buttons on the right.

LEFT PANEL

4

5

1. [ORCHESTRA] Registers: contains the
registers of the Orchestra voices for the four
sections of the organ.

2. [POWER] Switch: the switch used to switch the
organ on and off.

3. [MASTER VOL.] trimmer: regulates the
organ’s general volume.

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Owner’s Manual

4. [REVERB VOL.] trimmer: regulates the level of the reverb digital effects.

5. [EXT.SPK] Switch: on-off switch for loudspeakers (if any) connected to the outputs on the rear

panel, powered by means of the [EXT. +12V DC] socket.

WARNING!

Do not switch the organ on and off in rapid succession. After the instrument is switched off, wait at
least 10 seconds before switching it back on.

RIGHT PANEL

VALUE

-

+

FIELD

FIELD

ENTER

EXIT

VALUE

1

2

4

3

1. Display: graphic display of 128x64 pixels for display of all
the screens relating to the organ’s functions.

2. [FIELD S] and [FIELD T] buttons: buttons used to move
the cursor around within the display screens. The [FIELD S]
button moves the cursor to the field above (the one currently
selected) while [FIELD T] selects the field below.

3. [VALUE +] and [VALUE -] buttons: buttons for adjusting
parameters. [VALUE +] increases the value, [VALUE -]
decreases it.

4. [EXIT] and [ENTER] buttons: buttons for accessing or
exiting menu screens. [ENTER] is used to enter the menu or
function shown on the display or confirm any prompts from
the system. [EXIT] is used to exit the screen on the display
and return to the previous one, or abort any prompts from the
system.

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Owner’s Manual

PLENUM

REED

TUTTI

GT/PD

SW/PD

CHR/PD

SW/GT

CHR/GT

SW/CHR

CHOIR SWELL CRESCENDO

2.4 PEDAL BOARD CONTROLS

The bottom part of the organ, above the pedal board, contains the swell pedals and a number of foot
pistons for controlling the couplers, the Plenum and Reeds functions and the Tutti.

1 2 5

N.B.

The display volume controls which can be displayed by pressing the [VOL.] button allow balancing
of the sections; once you have set the levels best suited to your taste and the sound balance you
require, they will not require frequent adjustment.
The swell pedals, on the other hand, allow continuous control of the volumes, enabling you to obtain
all the dynamic effects you wish. Apart from regulating the volume, the swell pedals also simulate
the variation in timbre of the stops which would occur in the swell boxes of pipe organs.

1. Coupler pistons: these pistons activate the organ couplings described in par. 2.1 (point 1 e 2).

2. [CHOIR] Swell Pedal: swell pedal used to regulate the volume of the Choir.

3. [SWELL] Swell Pedal: this swell pedal is used to regulate the volume of the Swell.

4. [CRESCENDO] pedal: you can use this pedal to select the Crescendo steps which activate a preset series

of stops. The step currently selected is displayed by the [CRESCENDO] LED bar on the central panel (see
also point 2.1, subsection 3).
Each Crescendo step is programmable. To do this, use the [CRESCENDO] pedal to select the step you
require, switch on the voices and couplers of your choice, press [S], keep it pressed and then press the
general memories [HR] button.

5. [PLENUM] piston: piston which activates the Plenum, which will be added to the existing sound setup.

6. [REEDS] piston: piston which activates the reed registers, which will be added to the existing sound setup.

The sound compositions of the Plenum and Reed functions are programmable. To save a new configuration,
switch on the registers of your choice, press the [S] piston, keep it pressed and then press the [PLENUM]
or [REEDS] piston.

7. [TUTTI] foot piston: piston used to activate the Tutti. For a more detailed description, refer to point 13 of
section 2.2.

8. Sustain switch pedal: Sustain pedal to be used with the Orchestra voices.

3 4

8

6 7

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Owner’s Manual

2.5 THE CONNECTIONS UNDERNEATH THE MANUALS

In the left of the organ, under the surface which contains the manuals and side panels, there is a small
recess containing various connectors for connecting the organ to remote sound and MIDI devices.

THRU OUT

MIDI

IN

L(MONO)

INPUT

R L(MONO)

OUTPUT

R

HEADPHONES

1 2 3 4

1. [HEADPHONES] connector: Jack socket to which a headphone set can be connected. With headphones
connected, the organ’s internal amplification is cut off.

2. [MIDI] connectors: five-pin DIN connectors for connection of instruments with MIDI interface. The [IN]
connector allows receipt of MIDI data generated by remote MIDI sources, the [OUT] connector transmits
the MIDI messages generated by the Chorale 8, and the [THRU] connector transmits the MIDI data
exactly as received at the [IN] connector.

3. [INPUT] connectors: RCA line inputs which allow other instruments to be played using the organ’s internal
amplification. If the source is monophonic use the L(MONO) connector only.

4. [OUTPUT] connectors: RCA line outputs for the unamplified signal, for connection of optional
amplified speakers, remote amplification systems or recording systems. To use a monophonic signal,
connect to the [L/(MONO)] connector only.

N.B.

To obtain the best results from the [HEADPHONES] output, phones with impedance of at least 16

Ω

should be used.

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Viscount Chorale 8

Owner’s Manual

-

+

EXT.

+12V DC

300 mA

L(+R) R L(+R) R RL

OPTIONAL

SPEAKER OUT 8

AUX OUT 2AUX OUT 1

2.6 THE CONNECTIONS ON THE REAR PANEL

In the bottom of the rear panel there are two more pairs of line audio outputs, an optional amplified stereo
output, and the power supply socket for the connected loudspeakers.
The main difference between these outputs and the ones in the recess underneath the manuals is that the
latter contain the signal generated by the organ, while on the rear connectors, the signals of the individual
manuals and pedal board are routed to and adjusted on the individual outputs in accordance with the
relative settings on the display (for more information see points 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5).

1

1. [EXT. +12V DC] connectors: these sockets can be used to obtain the +12V DC voltage needed to supply
the VISCOUNT speakers connected to the [AUX OUT] outputs

2. [AUX OUT 1] and [AUX OUT 2] connectors: Jack line outputs carrying the organ signal in
accordance with the routing set by means of the function on display. With the Factory Settings active,
the signals are distributed as follows:

- [AUX OUT 1]: General signal

- [AUX OUT 2]: Reverb only

3. [SPEAKER OUT] connectors: amplified stereo output to which a pair of passive loudspeakers can

be connected. In Factory Setting mode, the amplified general organ signal can be obtained from these
outputs. The optional internal amplifier must be installed to allow use of these outputs. Contact your
dealer for more information.

N.B.

For installation, connection and setup of the internal amplifier refer to the installation guide in the
optional’s packaging.

2 3