Perhaps someone can settle a bit of a controversy I've run across in
building a set of reed trumpets for the Wurlitzer 105.  Bob Stanoszek's
plans provide two sets of shallot and tongue designs for the trumpets,
one that appears to be measurements from an actual set of Wurlitzer
pipes, and the other is a set of measurements taken from a set provided
by a well-known organ supply company.

The original Wurlitzer design uses parallel shallots with straight
tongues that vary in thickness from .012" to .016".  The organ supply
design has parallel shallots and tapered tongues that vary in thickness
from .006" to .011".

I went to a second organ supply house (not the one used in the
Stanoszek plans) and ordered reeds and shallots based on the original
Wurlitzer measurements with no reference or measurements from the first
organ supply house.  What I got was almost identical to the shallots
and tongues of the first organ supply house.  I called and talked to
their reed voicer who told me that what I got was for the Wurlitzer 105
band organ.

Here are my questions.

First, has anyone had any experience with the organ house design for
the shallots and tongues?  Any problems, issues?  Is the sound produced
faithful to the original Wurlitzer sound?  I find it unusual to see
parallel shallots with tapered tongues.  Even more interesting that
two different competitive organ houses would come up with almost the
exact same design including the parallel shallots with tapered tongues.
Could it be that this is a design from a Wurlitzer theater organ reed
stop?

Second, when I use Johan Liljencrants' reed design tool in the MMD
Archives, it is interesting that I get tongue dimensions identical to
the organ house design which have tongue thicknesses that are in some
cases half that of the original Wurlitzer design.  Or is there a
problem with the original design figures?

I will probably try a few pipes using both designs to see how they
sound, but I would like to not go down a blind alley if there are
problems with either or both of these designs.

Bob Humes