A few years ago, a church contracted with a Virtual Organ assembler, Martin Digital Organs, to purchase an organ based on PC tone generation and Hauptwerk software.  The instrument was never delivered and the church suffered a significant loss.

Purchasing an instrument from a small assembler is risky.  While a builder’s concern should be for musicality, reliability and long-term support, these undercapitalized companies often use funds collected for one customer to pay other bills.  This type of financing typically ends badly for customers.

While the church never received the organ, the builder delivered the instrument’s speaker cabinets, pictured below.  The low-quality demonstrated in these photographs speak for themselves.

A church should not risk purchasing an organ from a garage-type organization.  Often this type of decision occurs as the result of a person within the church pushing an agenda that is not in the best interest of the congregation.