Sound Research Pedmux Provides MIDI Solutions For The Lonesome Organist
Jeremy Jacobsen, aka The Lonesome Organist, has been performing for years with his one-man-band setup that includes, variously and mostly simultaneously: organ, drums, guitar, accordion, steel drum and tap shoes. We are probably leaving some things out, too. He performs as a band and for theater groups such as Chicago's puppet spectacle theater Red Moon, and currently also serves as organist and choir director at a small Unitarian church. Recently, we were lucky enough to hang out with Jeremy in his basement studio.
We decided to give The Lonesome Organist some company, and in return, he showed us the Sound Research Pedmux. The Pedmux pedal encoder allows transmission of MIDI data into his pipe organ from his pedal board.
Check out this video for a demonstration from the Lonesome Organist and see how woodshedding on an organ, despite its isolating effects, can make you a wizard on the organ.
Jeremy currently has four releases on Thrill Jockey Records.
[THE LONESOME ORGANIST PLAYING HIS PIPE ORGAN WITH THE SOUND RESEARCH PEDMUX
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: So, like this is an old pedalboard from Roosevelt University and is actually hooked up to this pipe organ right here, which has this -- this is a wind chest, and the pedals are -- I -- There’s this company that makes -- and I can’t remember their name -- I bought it -- I ordered it from the catalog, unfortunately. The Pedmux. Anyway, they make these MIDI contacts that will allow you to plug in wire, contact wires so, and convert your old pipe organ into having transmitting MIDI data.
GRETCHEN HASSE: That’s pretty amazing.
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: So, that’s pretty cool. Yeah.
GRETCHEN HASSE: It seems like just --
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: So, and --
GRETCHEN HASSE: So how -- Can you point out how that -- I mean [OVERLAPPING]?
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: Yeah, so that’s all been --
GRETCHEN HASSE: [OVERLAPPING] basically right?
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: Right. The best place to look at this --
GRETCHEN HASSE: [LAUGHING] Can you hold? [LAUGHING]
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: No, this is terrible.
GRETCHEN HASSE: [LAUGHING]
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: But you could actually get back here. You could see that’s the unit this company is offering, of which I can’t remember the name. I put in all those contacts to the individual keys down there.
When I put the contacts from the keys and splice it into this box that you can buy, and it converts it into MIDI data, so Pedmux or whatever.
[THE LONESOME ORGANIST PLAYING HIS PIPE ORGAN WITH THE SOUND RESEARCH PEDMUX
You have to buy this particular -- I mean [INDISCERNIBLE] there is this circuit board that you can buy that it will do this.
GRETCHEN HASSE: And then you just like go through from the pedals specifically to this keyboard.
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: No, and then it goes into this. I bought -- This is another piece of gear I suppose. Here we go.
GRETCHEN HASSE: Uh huh.
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: This is what we need.
GRETCHEN HASSE: [LAUGHING]
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: This is, and it’s actually relatively new, and I did buy it. So, I mean it’s a couple of years old, but it’s a USB MIDI interface that has four MIDI ins and four MIDI outs, so I can actually get -- It’s good so if I had more keyboards, I could, you know, put them in different MIDI channels.
GRETCHEN HASSE: Mmm hmm.
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: So, I have the pedals in one MIDI channel...,
GRETCHEN HASSE: Right.
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: ...the great and the swell into another MIDI channel or so to speak, you know.
GRETCHEN HASSE: And what’s the benefit, I mean having this, you know, thing worked up as opposed to, I don't know, maybe having a good synthesizer?
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: Because for the pedals. I mean because you need -- There’s physically parts for pedal for, you know, the repertoire, so you need to be able to play the pedals, and that doesn’t happen without rather expensive solutions from, I think Hammond makes a rather expensive MIDI pedalboard...
GRETCHEN HASSE: Mmm hmm.
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: ...like thousands of dollars. This, the solution cost me all but a hundred dollars to, you know, because this I got the pedalboard for free.
GRETCHEN HASSE: Mmm hmm.
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: So, and then this unit, the Pedmux unit, it was roughly a hundred dollars, so I mean that it was a great solution for me for, you know, practicing.
[THE LONESOME ORGANIST PLAYING HIS PIPE ORGAN WITH THE SOUND RESEARCH PEDMUX
And then the advantage of course to do it this is to have the separate MIDI channels is of course you can get different sound on each keyboard that you could rapidly change, so I have -- I can put like here I have a...
[THE LONESOME ORGANIST PLAYING HIS PIPE ORGAN WITH THE SOUND RESEARCH PEDMUX
...a trumpet sound, which is that low thing, and up here I have a mixture sound...
[THE LONESOME ORGANIST PLAYING HIS PIPE ORGAN WITH THE SOUND RESEARCH PEDMUX
...like a principal with chorus, and so I have, you know, because you can really tell here when the pedal come in and something like -- Let me play just a second a bit. Where am I at?
[THE LONESOME ORGANIST PLAYING HIS PIPE ORGAN WITH THE SOUND RESEARCH PEDMUX
You really hear that pedal.
GRETCHEN HASSE: Yeah. I mean really.
[THE LONESOME ORGANIST PLAYING HIS PIPE ORGAN WITH THE SOUND RESEARCH PEDMUX
THE LONESOME ORGANIST: Etc., etc., etc.
GRETCHEN HASSE: That’s really nice. It’s very cool.
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