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MMD > Archives > December 1999 > 1999.12.01 > 14Prev  Next


Reed Organ Pipes & Reed Stops
By John Spradley

The answer to Harvey Chao's question is: both.

The Estey concert organ originally installed in the Los Angeles
Polytechnic High School auditorium had an imitation reed made
entirely as a wood flue pipe.  I absolutely fell in love with this
Tuba Mirabilis, and it sounded in every way similar to (but nicer than)
the Tuba in my 8-rank Robert Morton theatre organ, which was originally
installed on the pike in Long Beach CA, in the Fairyland Theatre.

My metal tuba has reeds made of thin brass shim stock.  Every reed
stop in the Estey organ was a flue pipe, many folded back on themselves
to be half length.  Somewhere in my files I have a stop list if anyone
wants a copy.  I believe the organ was installed in 1922.

The Estey organ was removed some years ago while I was teaching
physics and electronics at the successor to Poly Hi, Los Angeles Trade-
Technical College.

My Robert Morton organ was dated March 1925, the same age as my Weber
Duo-Art.  Both have gone through the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, the
1971 Sylmar quake (where I live) and the 1994 Northridge quake.  Al-
though the Weber grand moved about a foot it survived unscathed.  The
theatre organ played until the 1971 earthquake and awaits restoration.

John Spradley


(Message sent Wed 1 Dec 1999, 14:44:07 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Organ, Pipes, Reed, Stops

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