Our Technical Contributors are the lifeblood of EMEAPP. These experts are closely involved with EMEAPP’s mission of restoration and preservation.
Al Goff
Al Goff began working on Hammond Organs in the late 1960’s with his dad, Harold Goff, who was a Hammond technician from 1940 until 1984. He was also recognized by Hammond Organ Company as the factory’s first “Senior Hammond Organ Service Technician” with 25-years service in 1965. After Harold’s death in 1984, Al continued providing Hammond and Leslie Dealer sales, installation, and service and established GOFF Professional to focus on custom, mail-order parts, rentals, and to provide technical tour support for touring bands and musicians worldwide.
Al was fortunate to work with many of the finest Hammond organists during the past 50 years in Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Rock, Alternative and other music styles. He was the first to MIDI a Hammond B-3 which was recorded on Blue’s organist Jimmy McGriff’s album “You Ought to Think About Me” released in July 1990. As the Hammond technician for many major bands, Al rebuilt both of Keith Emerson’s Hammond C-3’s and Leslie speakers including Keith’s “Tarkus” Hammond and two Leslie 122’s speakers which were acquired by EMEAPP in 2018.
Gene Stopp
Gene Stopp has been building analog synthesizers as a hobby since high school. When the Yamaha DX7 was introduced in the early 80’s, he was able to acquire a considerable collection of vintage keyboard instruments at rock-bottom prices. Analog synthesizer restoration (along with Hammond Organs, Clavinets, Mellotrons, and other classics) became a passion.
He was lucky enough to meet Will Alexander, who offered him the chance to help restore Keith Emerson’s massive Moog Modular system before the ELP Black Moon tour in 1992.
He became the caretaker of the giant Emerson Moog Modular synthesizer in 2011, restoring it in his garage and then moving it into the house, where Keith recorded several tracks.
Gene is currently employed by Moog Music as part of the product design team. He was responsible for the release of the Emerson Moog replica systems, the re-release of the iconic Moog 900-series Modular systems, and as part of the team that re-released the Minimoog Model D.
George Alessandro
George’s interest in vintage vacuum tube guitar amps is how a hobby became a passion, grew into an obsession, and ultimately became his profession. His 30 year journey has been steeped in the technology and design of amplification that has created some amazing music.
Growing up in the 80s, George’s interest in vacuum tubes as a hobby was not the norm. With the right mentors as guitar teachers, Stevie Ray Vaughan hitting the music scene and having met Fred Chassey, he reached vacuum tube nirvana at a young age, and continued servicing and building guitar amplifiers throughout his college years. At the crossroads of medical school, he chose to launch his own amplification company, Hound Dog Corp.
Now called Alessandro High-End Products, George has serviced and restored countless amps and has always felt that it was his calling to return old amps to their former glory. He says that being an advisor to EMEAPP is an honor he looks to live up to.
Jim Scott
An avid enthusiast of musical electronics, Jim Scott began working with synthesizer design and manufacture in 1969 at R. A. Moog of Trumansburg, NY. At the time he joined Robert Moog’s company, a new “portable Moog” project was in its infancy. Scott became project manager for production of the instrument, leading to the first introduction of the legendary Minimoog – the most successful and influential synthesizer its time. Following this, Scott was the prime creator of the Micromoog, another hugely successful synthesizer for the company, and still respected today for its many positive attributes. After Moog Music on a variety of successful projects, Jim moved on to other fields in music and electronics, returning with Bob Moog and Tom Rhea to co-create the Crumar Spirit, an incredibly rare instrument that is still considered one of the greatest monosynth designs of all time.
Ray Klos
Ray Klos has a broad history that includes electronics, racing, antique and musical instrument restoration and years as a guitarist and bassist. During Ray’s 34 year career, he also worked for the Bell System Telephone Laboratories in various positions in electrical engineering, management, sales and marketing, including four years with two Japanese technology companies.
Ray also has a history with real estate investing and restoration, but his light really shines as the combo organ-whisperer, helping to keep the EMEAPP collection alive and well. And we appreciate that.
“Texas” Steve Korchak
A Senior R&D Biochemist and Project Scientist by profession for a fortune 100 Diagnostics Pharma company. Also worked with two pair of noble prize winners in R&D at the University of Texas HSCD. Operated the computerized laser stimulated fluorescence activated analytical flow cytometry facility to help detect leukemia cells in the blood and on various other research projects. Worked with NMR – Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in chemistry research to identify synthesized DNA base analogs. I enjoy all things scientific.
Throughout all of this maintained a strong interest in listening to music, electronic music, playing and programming analog and digital synthesizers. Owned many vintage analog and digital synthesizers throughout the years. Always curious and never bored. Vintage Moog, Arp, Oberheim, Sequential are still my favorites. The day I heard my first Moog modular, Arp 2500 and Minimoog, I was hooked for life.
Tim Warneck
Tim Warneck is a musician and an engineer from Pennsylvania who understands nuances of the analog sound at a fundamental level few other technicians can match. Tim currently runs Retrolinear, a company specializing in the restoration of vintage keyboard instruments, custom engineering and consulting work, and the manufacture and production of a number of electronic products and replacement parts for upgrading and restoring vintage keyboards.
Prior to becoming a world-renowned musical instrument repair technician, Tim studied Electrical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon, earning BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering, and he nearly finished a music degree as well. He was subsequently employed for many years as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) designer, designing custom chips for the automotive, medical, and consumer markets. Several of the circuits Tim worked on in industry are currently in and will be in the next generation of digital CT scanning and Xray equipment- the analog readout circuitry, switched cap processors, and ADCs on the front ends that in Tim’s words “basically count the electrons captured on the X ray detectors (flat panels, CCDs, etc.)”.
Vintage electronic keyboards have been his passion from an early age, starting with an Emerson portable record player and “a bunch of 45s,” and he got the vintage keyboard bug in 7th grade when his piano teacher at the time loaned him her “Wendy Carlos by Request” LP. He also studied cello (ironically with Shana Sear-Gaskill, Walter Sear’s daughter), piano, and sang and performed in many bands, orchestras, choirs, and quartets, and he currently plays in two rock bands.
Tim has a very sensitive ear as far as sound quality goes (nuances, sonic artifacts, timbre, etc.) and often found himself asking lots of questions and playing recordings over the phone to people asking them “What is that instrument?” He eventually discovered the Fender Rhodes, and then acquired a beat up Hammond B3 and Leslie 122, and then synthesizers. Eventually, his madness for vintage instruments led him to leave the ASIC industry to chase his dream full time.
Steve Masucci
Steve Masucci is an enigma. His years of rebuilding and reworking ultra-rare synthesizers and unique keyboard instruments make Steve the go-to for challenging projects. His knowledge of electronic music and the pioneers who created it runs deep.
Steve was recruited by another EMEAPP advisory board member, Wally ‘Gotye’ De Backer, to rebuild a forerunner of the synthesizer, the Ondioline, created in the 1940s by musician Goerges Jenny. This instrument is so rare that Steve had to recreate many of the components by hand. Steve is also a working musician, playing guitar and bass in his long-time band, The Lost Patrol.