Buying A Pipe Organ For My Home

[Herb]

Hi, I have a question for anyone that might know. I want to buy a 4 rank Durst pipe organ for my home. It must be essenbled and tuned. Would it cost too much money to keep it maintained, as far as releathering, cleaned etc., even though it only has 4 ranks ? It currently was working before it was dismantled, and the company I am buying it from cannot asure that it will work because I will put it together. I'm buying it for $7,200 uninstalled.........Herb

[teddy]

Hello Herb and welcome to the forum. You will find all the knowledge and help you could wish for on this very friendly site

teddy

[Krummhorn]

Hi Herb

Welcome to our forum community

Congratulations on being able to have an organ like this in your home ... a dream of many organists like myself, for sure.

Unless you are a very knowledgeable person about how to assemble all the working parts of a pipe organ, I would strongly advise you have a qualified technician do the initial installation. Your local A.G.O. chapter would be able to provide you with names of such people, or perhaps one of its members has done this before.

Is this similar to the organ where the pipes are in a separate case?

For the installation location, I would recommend a spot free of drafts from heating or air-conditioning ducts and/or air returns ... you want a fairly stable temperature range of around 6 degrees (F) from your normal set-point.

As for tuning, this can be learned ... takes a couple of basic tools (a weighty butter knife will suffice nicely) for tuning. As for cleaning, the standard rule around any pipe organ is to "let sleeping dust lie!" The more you clean, and thus stir up the dust bunnies, the more problems you're going to have with maintenance. In a stable environment, tuning should only be required twice a year at most ... maybe even some touch up tunings once a year.

Do you have pictures you can share of this organ.

[marval]

Hello Herb

Welcome to this great place, I hope you are able to get it working.


Margaret

[Herb]

Thanks for the quick reply!!!! Yes, the Durst pipe organ at R.A. Daffer IS the organ I will purchase, pipes are enclosed in a eight foot high by six foot wide wooden box. I will go there soon to check out the condition, and how costly it will be to install, if I can't install it. Thanks again for your reply. Feel free to reply back........Herb

[Herb]

Thankyou for welcoming me !! I am a Church Organist and Choir director for St. Adalbert Church in Staten Island, NY. .........Herb

[uggsmacys]

That's good, I must take some lessons, we still have a lot to learn

[wljmrbill]

What an interesting project. I wsh you all the luck. I knwo you will enjoy this instrument for years to come..Take care

[JONESEY]

truely a dream of many organists to have such an instrument at home. Hope all goes well with the project

[jgirv]

...and I'm 22 miles away in Bridgewater, NJ.... church in New Providence, though. Welcome!

[uggsmacys]

That's good, you can learn about, hoping to continue to see such a good thing

[AllanP]

I have a 6 rank pipe organ which I installed myself in 2 separate locations. I used an electronic tuner to tune the organ which worked pretty well except for the very high pitched pipes. The 3rd installeation was done by an expert organ builder who also does the tuning. He was able to get the high pitched pipes working much better than I was able to do. I have 2 reed ranks which never worked really well. He has gotten both reeds sounding great. Tuning is pretty stable with touch ups done once or twice a year. The organ is installed in a temperature controlled chamber which has its own heating to maintain a constant temperature of 73 degrees F. Maintenance is not too much of a problem. The instrument is 83 years old, electro-pneumatic action, using much of the original leather. Playing often seems to keep the leather from becoming brittle and tearing. A moderate humiidity level seems to help a lot, not too wet and not too dry. If a period of high humidity happens (rare here inside) one can smell the leather rotting when the air is on and the organ is playing. Be sure that the blower intake gets clean air that is at the same temperature as the pipe (chamber).

The shutters are closed when the wind is off which tends to keep everything pretty clean. There is nothing better than having your own pipe organ to play whenever desired.

Allan

[Herb]

Thanks for the tips, Allan P.!! My Pipe Organ will be coming in a week or so. Hope I have enough room to fit everything in.

[methodistgirl]

Wow! I'd do well to get a guitar in my little place. You must
live in a large house.
judy tooley

[greatcyber]

Lucky dog, you. Maybe it's every pipe organist's dream hence the popularity of software driven VPO/VTPO. I love my VPO and had the real estate market in FL treated us better when we sold our dream was to buy an abandoned church that still had a pipe organ and live a fantasy. But alas~it was not meant to be.