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Customer Testimonials
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 I am writing in praise of Johannus Organs, and of Jim Raycroft. First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara has a Johannus 2001 Rembrandt 3000 in the Good Shepherd Chapel. It is a fine installation which, in 10 years, has required little maintenance.
When we have needed the occasional tweak, Jim has been prompt and professional in his response. Even from over 100 miles away, he enthusiastically honors Johannus' warranties. He is professional, affable and honest.
We also have a 5-manual Casavant/Johannus hybrid organ in our sanctuary. Johannus' outstanding tonal sampling is a real addition to our 56 ranks of pipes. In short, I do not hesitate to recommend Johannus to any institution, especially from Jim Raycroft's LA store. All are welcome to stop by to hear and/or play our instruments.
Nelson C. Huber
Director of Music and Organist
First Presbyterian Church, Santa Barbara, CA
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 I did an incredible amount of research when deciding on an organ that would be installed into my home's living room. Fortunately for me, my research led me to the Johannus company website and, as a result, to Jim Raycroft.
Unlike other companies I have dealt with, Jim told me "try out the competition; you'll come back to Johannus." He was right. After Jim answered literally dozens of questions and helped me to arrive at what organ was best for me, I placed my order for my Sweelinck 37 organ, and it was delivered and installed by Jim in June of 2007. Aside from some initial tweaks, the organ has performed flawlessly and has not required any repairs or maintenance.
Johannus clearly understands the sound of the pipe organ, and their organs' ability to reproduce that sound is unparalleled. I had a wonderful experience with Johannus and with Jim Raycroft, and I gladly recommend him to any future customer.
Scott J. Davis
Private Customer
Clovis, CA
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I decided to purchase a Johannus Symphonica 47 in October of 2010 after many years of research. The American-made organs have always been overpriced and never had a truly "pipe" sound. I learned about Johannus Organs simply because of boredom while searching the web. Stumbling across the Johannus website, I discovered what seemed to be a fantastic instrument. I saw there was a Johannus distributor in Los Angeles and went to that website where I was able to request more information about the organs.
The Symphonica was delivered in early December and has been a delight ever since. It was installed in my small living room which, at best, can be described as "dead" with carpet, drapes, and low ceilings. The Symphonica has made myhouse sound like St. Paul's Cathedral, London! Every detail described in the website is totally true.
I sincerely want to thank Mr. Jim Raycroft who is the Southern California dealer for Johannus Organs, for all his help in guiding me toward this instrument. I am very pleased with my new "toy" and will recommand anyone searching for an organ that has both a great pipe organ sound and feels and looks good too, to seriously look into a Johannus Organ.
Dave Jewhurst
Private Customer
Las Vegas, NV
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 It is with great pleasure that I recommend to you Mr. Jim Raycroft of Johannus LA. As the West Coast representative of the Johannus digital organ company in Holland, Mr. Raycroft has enabled me to obtain three Johannus organs over the past 12 or so years. The first one, an Opus 10, was shown in an issue of the American Organist at an incredibly reasonable price. I procrastinated thinking it was too good to be true, but finally contacted Mr. Raycroft during the closing days of the sale to see what would come of it. Fortunately, I was not too late to take advantage of their offer. The organ arrived in perfect condition from Holland to Hawaii, and Mr. Raycroft arrived to install the instrument in my house.
The second organ, an Opus 37, was for the Epiphany Episcopal Church in Kaimuki where I am one of their two organists. This church had only a 4-rank Moeller pipe organ at the time, but it was not sufficient in size or power for the liturgical use of the church. There was no additional space for more pipes, so a digital organ was a logical alternative. The four ranks of Moeller pipes were retained and incorporated into the Opus 37 resulting in a hybrid pipe and digital organ with a new console incorporating MIDI capabilities. Mr. Raycroft again arrived to personally install the organ into the church.
The third organ was another Opus 37 being offered by Johannus in their stimulus sale which I was able to take advantage of. My original Opus 10 went to the home of our other Epiphany organist, and the new Opus 37 is now in my residence. Mr. Raycroft arrived for the third time to unpack the organ and install it in my house.
Mr. Raycroft is a congenial and dynamic person of honesty, integrity, and reliability. He has an excellent knowledge of the technical features, capabilities, and musical aspects of the Johannus digital organs, and keeps in constant contact with the factory in Holland for updates. In addition, he is a professional musician of considerable talent and favored our congregation at Epiphany with his superb renditions of solo art songs.
The high quality of sampled digital sound and excellent workmanship in Johannus organs together with Mr. Raycroft's invaluable assistance in installing these superb organs from Holland are to be highly recommended. Thank you, Jim, for making my dreams come true!
Donald Matsumori
Organist and Private Customer
Epiphany Episcopal Church, Kaimuki, HI
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I have the highest praise for Jim and Eileen Raycroft of Johannus L.A.
I had become Pastor to a combined Episcopal and Lutheran congregation in Price, UT, in 1998. Two years later we were in the process of planning for a new church building. As a former organist-choirmaster, I hoped we could provide a place within the Worship Space for a small pipe organ, as most of the “electronic organs” I had played upon over the years just would not cut it, I was afraid. In the mail came a postcard from Johannus LA, originally sent to me in Berkeley, CA, then forwarded to my church in Nevada who had sent it on to me in Utah - it took months to arrive. It announced a demonstration organ was available at a greatly reduced price - a two-manual Johannus Rembrandt 200. I knew nothing about Johannus, so I immediately phoned a colleague from San Diego, CA, who had built the pipe organ in her church, to see what she knew. “Never played one, but have heard good things about their construction and sound,” she replied.
The architects, Board, and organist thought that this “digital” would be much less expensive than a pipe, and encouraged me to find out more. I phoned Jim Raycroft, and, amazingly, the instrument was still available. I told him it would be at least a year and a half until construction began, and that we were meeting for Worship in a classroom of the now-closed Roman Catholic school until we moved into our very own building. “No problem,” said Jim. “I could bring the organ out to you in Utah and set it up in that classroom, then, when you moved, come back and install it in the Worship Space at no additional cost.” I found this hard to believe, but I presented the possibility of us buying this organ to the Congregation and the Board put its acquisition on their agenda. Both the most “economically conservative” Lutheran and Episcopal Board Members immediately called for the question, and it passed, unanimously!
I phoned Jim, and we had an organ! He drove it out from LA and installed it in our classroom. Everyone was delighted and impressed with the organ and Jim's service, to say the least. Then, when the new building was ready, and right before its Dedication, Jim came back again and moved and installed the organ again, and not only that, Eileen graciously consented to play for the Service as both Episcopal and Lutheran Bishops blessed the place and everything in it, including the Johannus. Everyone involved commented on the great Johannus sound and the fantastic relationship and service we experienced with the Raycrofts. I also enjoyed playing our Johannus, and found that my friend in San Diego was indeed correct: the construction of the instrument is solid and the sounds are very good – an easy and fun instrument on which to play music from every period and style.
I have since retired in Salida, Colorado. A while back, this San Diego friend phoned to ask if I had seen that Johannus was having a half-price sale. She knew I had always dreamed of some day having my very own three-manual home organ. I phoned Jim, but couldn't quite get around spending “that much money” on myself. Jim encouraged me to think and pray about it, saving me from the “typical sales pitch” I expected to hear. On the very last day of the sale, I awoke to a thought whirling around in my head, “if you don’t do it now, you never will.” I immediately phoned Jim, and now I have my very own Johannus Opus 37 sitting in my home! Jim met the instrument at my front door when it was delivered from the factory and immediately installed it, then returned to LA to head off to install another one. If you’re ever in Salida, Colorado, I’d love to show my Opus 37 to you, or, better yet, you could have your very own fantastic Johannus Organ in YOUR home! Needless to say, I am a fan of Johannus Organ,Johannus LA and Jim and Eileen Raycroft. It is a pleasure to count them as friends.
Mr. Courtney A. Shucker II
Organist and Private Customer
Salida, CO
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