About Me

My name is Ed Alstrom, and I’m both a church organist and ‘gigging’ organist playing jazz, blues, rock, pop, whatever. So I’ve done it all and seen it all in terms of organs. I own a vintage 1960 Hammond B-3, and have played many fine pipe organs and even theater organs. I’d like to tell you about my experiences with Viscount Organs.

 I got my first VISCOUNT organ, a Legend Live with Pedalboard, in 2021. I was, like many Hammond players, looking for something that captured the vibe of it but was as transportable as possible. Everywhere I take it, people are knocked out by the sound and the realism of it. Oh sure, it’s ‘not a B3’, but it weighs 36 pounds a opposed to 400+, and it sounds great enough to convince 99% of listeners that they’re hearing the real thing. Plus, it’s more cost-effective than some of the inferior alternatives.

 I would say it’s the best investment I’ve ever made… until I discovered the Legend One. I saw it on a TV broadcast of Earth Wind and Fire in a live concert, and their keyboard player had it. I hadn’t seen or heard it. I purchased one sight unseen and without actually even trying it out. Suffice to say, if you[‘re out there doing gigs and need great basic sounds and many extras in a small and light package, you simple can’t do better for the price than the Legend One.

 Also, the church I worked at needed a solution to a couple of logistical issues. First is that the pipe organ was magnificent but was housed in a steep loft, and the older choir wasn’t comfortable getting up and down those steps during services. Also, the Sanctuary was not air-conditioned, so the Summer services had to be held in a different place, a small chapel that had only a piano

VIscount was also able to solve these dilemmas for me with the CANTORUM organ. It is, again, portable, about the same 36 pounds as the Legend Live, and could be easily relocated to wherever it was needed. It also mimics the real thing, in this case a pipe organ, very convincingly.
So, I now had a solution whereby in the Sanctuary, I could conduct the choir on pieces with pipe organ on the main floor, and play hymns using the Cantorum when needed, and then in the summer when services moved to the chapel I just relocated the Cantorum over there. I’m sure there are more than few churches that could make use of this convenience and quality in a new and reliable and great-sounding instrument.
Needless to say, I’m a big fan of Viscount, and have become a devout use, Viscount Endorsing Artist, and I am here to help you get your first/next an d right Viscount instrument!

There's more about me and my musical adventures at www.edalstrom.com.