The Viscount International company of today is the rich culmination of over two centuries of one family’s dedication toward musical excellence. The Viscount name was registered in 1969 by Marcello Galanti, but the company was established in the late 19th century by his forefather Antonio Galanti. Since 1969, the company’s primary focus has been on classical organs and digital pianos.

The Viscount organ is unique among all other digital organs because of their recent technical innovation when it comes to the production of pipe sound. Many manufacturers of digital instruments have, for quite some time, employed use of the samples (recordings) of real pipes in their instruments, often to great effect, when coupled with other technologies to give them the ability to “live and breathe” in a dynamic manner just as real pipes would. Up until recently, this was the technology that had been use by Viscount for many years.

In 2010, however, a shift occurred into a new and experimental realm of tonal production, one not previously delved into before — physical modeling. Whereas sample-based tone production relies on recordings of each and every pipe, offering an incredibly realistic and authentic sound, an instrument using physical modeling uses no recordings whatsoever.

An instrument with physical modeling, instead, relies on algorithms to approximate the sound of a pipe, making billions of calculations per second to do so. It is, in effect, creating the sound of a pipe in real time, and with many other calculations going on at the same time, allowing that pipe to be affected in an extremely accurate and therefore lifelike manner. Things like variations in the wind supply, subtle tuning fluctuations, and a host of other intrinsic occurrences are factored in to the raw sound to create an incredibly realistic sound that is also far more dynamic than sampled sound ever could be.

The Viscount Organ Lineup

The Viscount organ lineup is made up of three groups of instruments, the UNICO, the CL, and the CLV series.

The CL / CLV Series

The CL and CLV series are the ideal instruments for small to medium size churches and institutional applications, and are also the perfect instruments for home practice needs. The main difference between the CL and CLV designation is that the CL series have real-wood cases, whereas the CLV are imitation wood cases offered at an attractive price point. All of these instruments feature Viscount’s unique PHYSIS physical modeling system of tone production.

The UNICO Series

The UNICO series are the prestigious and capable instruments suited to medium to large size churches, concert halls, and institutional applications. All UNICO instruments feature Viscount’s unique PHYSIS physical modeling system of tone production. Due to the unique nature of physical modeling and its non-reliance on the data storage of individual recordings of pipes, the number of alternate stops available on these instruments easily outnumbers any other digital organ available.