Long forgotten REED ORGAN...........

[tittualex]

Dear Johan ,
Please look at the image attached . the levers which are marked are the volume controls ........

Alex.

[jvhldb]

Thanks for the info. Our organ has only one lever. Since my last posting I found out it activates the bypass to the reservoir. With the bypass activated, the faster you pedal the louder the volume and visa versa, but if you pedal too slowly the sound becomes choppy. Playing through the reservoir it smoothes out the stuttering from the bellows, but you can't control the volume.

[methodistgirl]

It's an old antique pump organ. Those things are a good workout while
you are playing music on them. That's why they invented the turbo so
that you can play the pipe organ without all the work.
judy tooley

[jhnbrbr]

I believe the bellows bypass is known as "Expression", a device which gives the player the same sort of control as an accordionist has - perhaps too much! This is a feature of true harmoniums (as opposed to "American organs" (as we call them here in England)) . I have owned a couple of American organs similar to the one in Alex's photo where the LH knee lever was "full organ" ie activating all stops, while the RH one was volume control (operating shutters immediately in front of the reeds).

Interesting point about the work-out Judy - they should have pump organs in gyms!

[wljmrbill]

Thanks for bringing back a few memories. In the old days I did hook up a vaccuam cleaner to a reed organ...LOL I cheated.

[jhnbrbr]

That sucks!

[jhnbrbr]

The makers of those instruments were very ingenious at making a little go a long way. For example, you might find ten draw-knobs on an instrument with only one and a half ranks of reeds!

[jvhldb]

The makers of those instruments were very ingenious at making a little go a long way. For example, you might find ten draw-knobs on an instrument with only one and a half ranks of reeds!

Ouch!! I guess with 10 stop pulled you will have to pedal so fast your feet will only be a blur. Incedentally I still find it a strange experiance, pumping the bellows at 2000 strokes per minute while playing something SLOW. Needles to say, I gave up my gym membership since I started practising on the harmonium.

[Pierre Smit]

i still have a very distinguished reed organ in my house dating arround the late 1800's. Still in perfetct working order. It has only one manual but is a beauty in sound and a titan in reliability. It is played on a daily basis and kept running smoothly.

[dll927]

Methodist Girl -- two questions:

1) Why look at something like that in an antique store? They charge the national debt for anything that even resembles furniture.

2) Where would you find a NEW Hammond? I thought they went dinosaur long ago.

[Robert Bell]

There is a very fine Reed Organ Museum in Saltaire near Bradford in England which is open after Easter. So visit Pam and Phil Fluke's Harmonium and Reed Organ Museum in Victoria Hall. This is probably the finest collection of these instruments in the world and they also have a fine Wurlitzer Organ. Open Sunday -Thursday 11.00 - 16.00. Details: tel:01274 585601(after 18.00) mobile:0976 535980

In New Zealand there is a Music Museum on Waiheke Island in Auckland Harbour Details http://www.musical-museum.org/show.htm