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[Scott Holtzman]

Scott,
Leslie's are a piece of cake. Amplifier, rotary horn, rotating baffle, 12" speaker and lots of schematics available. I've been inside a B3 for a minor problem and it was like being sent to circuit and wire hell. And keep in mind, these things have to be tuned and constantly adjusted. No thanks, I'll keep what little sanity I have left and stay away from organs.

Ahhh but to be the guy who tunes that instrument for a master.  I am expecting Mike Sokol to chime in here soon.   I have heard he mike know a think or two about the B3/Leslie

[Mike Sokol]

I think Mike Sokol is somewhere around Hagerstown, MD, home to the now defunct M.P. Moller pipe organ company.  The costs of hand building pipe organs, even on the scale of Moeller, was too much.

Yes I am, and the factory building is still there even though Moller has been gone for year. They tried to make a go of selling replacement parts for a few decades after Moller went out of business, but I think that's also gone as well. At least that building was leveled and it's now an empty lot advertising "will build to suit".

Pipe organs did take a lot of power, but only for the really big blower motors in the basement of the churches. I've played a few Moller organs in the area over the years for weddings and such, and it's really a kick to push down on the crescendo pedal while holding some big Pink Floyd chords (Echoes sounds GREAT on a pipe organ). There's a few churches in the area with 32' pipes which is some serious bass. Interestingly, a number of the Seventh-day Adventist churches I've installed sound systems in lately have huge and rather new real pipe organs. One time I was up in the pipe ranks of an SDA church running some cable when unbeknownst to me the organist deceided to practice and cranked up the organ. Holy crap they're loud when standing inside the pipe ranks.   

[Ivan Beaver]

One time I was up in the pipe ranks of an SDA church running some cable when unbeknownst to me the organist deceided to practice and cranked up the organ. Holy crap they're loud when standing inside the pipe ranks.

It can be quite the sonic experience walking around inside the ranks of a large pipe organ-especially one with 32' wood pipes

We were working on a Church with one of those and we had to run cables through the organ chambers, and we asked if we could stand inside during organ practice.

They let us and it was fun.

The weirdest organ I ran across was in a VERY OLD Church.  The pipe organ was no longer used, but still in place.

There were no motors for the bellows.

There was a ladder.

On Sunday, they would have a line of kids that would climb the ladder and jump onto the bellows pump.  Then get off and get back in line.

So it was a "kid powered" organ.

[Tim McCulloch]

It can be quite the sonic experience walking around inside the ranks of a large pipe organ-especially one with 32' wood pipes

We were working on a Church with one of those and we had to run cables through the organ chambers, and we asked if we could stand inside during organ practice.

They let us and it was fun.

The weirdest organ I ran across was in a VERY OLD Church.  The pipe organ was no longer used, but still in place.

There were no motors for the bellows.

There was a ladder.

On Sunday, they would have a line of kids that would climb the ladder and jump onto the bellows pump.  Then get off and get back in line.

So it was a "kid powered" organ.

Hand (or kid) winded organs were common and that is why wind lines have "reservoirs" that are basically big spring loaded bellows that act like capacitors.  They helped maintain constant pressure when the organist played lots of notes on many stops at the same time.  The bellows pumpers had to learn when to pump faster and when they could slack off a bit depending on the composition being played.  FWIW, even with modern motorized wind supplies the reservoirs are still used for the exact same reasons as in J.S. Bach's day.

There are some good videos on Youtube of pipe organ performances.  Watch some Vierne or Widor if you like your tunes big and "romantic".

As for being in the pipe chambers when the instrument is played... yeah, it's an experience.  It gave me an appreciation for the work of the pipe voicers (voicing is finished in situ) and how the venue affects the fundamental sound of the instrument.  Organ builders complain about architects and architects think organ builders and organists are crazy.  They might be....

[Craig Hauber]

Scott,

pipe organ dismantled and discarded. 

That's the real crime. 
Like old analog gear there's still value in old pipe-organ parts
There's entire online communities -like ours here- of organists and people dedicated to tinkering and restoring,  I can't find the link anymore but I once stumbled across a buy-sell forum for pipes and organ parts!

Apparently they are still considered a classical instrument and unlike a violin or french horn, an aspiring musician had a hard time owning one to play on so they always have to find time on organs around town.

Due to the popularity of keyboards , samplers and midi, they now are taking discarded parts and pieces and assembling their own in homes and garages because architects, real-estate and building contractors are no longer required parts of pipe-organ design and construction. 
(Like programmers from the past getting excited about "home computers" instead of having to line-up at the university mainframe to run their program stack of cards)
Although apparently that reference is a bit more relevant now too as they are now progressing to serious virtualization software with home-brew speaker rigs and restored organ consoles running PC's.

http://forum.hauptwerk.com/

[gordonmcgregor]

That's the real crime. 
Like old analog gear there's still value in old pipe-organ parts
There's entire online communities -like ours here- of organists and people dedicated to tinkering and restoring,  I can't find the link anymore but I once stumbled across a buy-sell forum for pipes and organ parts!

Apparently they are still considered a classical instrument and unlike a violin or french horn, an aspiring musician had a hard time owning one to play on so they always have to find time on organs around town.

Due to the popularity of keyboards , samplers and midi, they now are taking discarded parts and pieces and assembling their own in homes and garages because architects, real-estate and building contractors are no longer required parts of pipe-organ design and construction. 
(Like programmers from the past getting excited about "home computers" instead of having to line-up at the university mainframe to run their program stack of cards)
Although apparently that reference is a bit more relevant now too as they are now progressing to serious virtualization software with home-brew speaker rigs and restored organ consoles running PC's.

http://forum.hauptwerk.com/

This is the largest and may well be the newest large scale classical church pipe organ in the UK and it is an absolute beast when it's being used to its full capability, the biggest pipes are 64' in length and you feel them rather than hear them
http://mypipeorganhobby.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/liverpool-cathedral.html

[John L Nobile]

I have torn down Leslie's, I believe I possess a decent understanding about the greatest instrument ever to grace a stage.  It's not a speaker.  When I heard Mathew Fisher, Delbert McClinton, Keith Emerson and many other amazing organist that inspired me throughout the years. 

If I had infinite time, my lifestyle needs were taken care of, I can't think of anything more gratifying that learning how to maintain these classic instruments.

I have heard many Leslie emulations, mixed them and tried to reproduce the visceral experience of  a Leslie.  We can do a fairly decent job of reproducing it but it in no way compares to the sound of a an organist and guitar player who control there own dynamics, in an intimate setting (say the Blue Note in NY) with minimal reinforcement.  It's audio nirvana.

Perhaps we don't spend enough time listening to instruments Au Natural that we have accepted the inorganic, overly processed, bass heavy abominations that we put on every day. 

So swerving back on course, I would love to help you with your organ.

 

We need a "like" button.



 

[Tim McCulloch]

This is the largest and may well be the newest large scale classical church pipe organ in the UK and it is an absolute beast when it's being used to its full capability, the biggest pipes are 64' in length and you feel them rather than hear them
http://mypipeorganhobby.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/liverpool-cathedral.html

The 64ft stop in the Pedal division is a "Resultant" where the perceived pitch is built from harmonics (like the Max Bass device in audio).  In the case of the Resultant 64' stop the longest pipe (presuming it's an open stop like a diapason) is 32' and the harmonic rank would start at 21 1/3'.  The perceived pitch of the 64' Pedal low C is ~8Hz IIRC and the effect is very real as you point out.

[Stephen Kirby]

Scott,
Leslie's are a piece of cake. Amplifier, rotary horn, rotating baffle, 12" speaker and lots of schematics available. I've been inside a B3 for a minor problem and it was like being sent to circuit and wire hell. And keep in mind, these things have to be tuned and constantly adjusted. No thanks, I'll keep what little sanity I have left and stay away from organs.

Although being electro-mechanical Hammonds don't need to be tuned like electronic organs (Thomas, Allen, Wurlitzer)  with their variable inductors and the like, all these older organs share very complicated wiring.  The circuits are actually fairly simple.  They're just hard wired in repeated fashion for each stop or tone circuit.  So you have this massive rats nest of cloth wire inside that is a pain to trace and troubleshoot.  Add to that various repairs and modifications over the years and it can be an adventure getting into one.  Reminds me of getting under the dash of a Fiat.

[Scott Holtzman]

.  Reminds me of getting under the dash of a Fiat.

A walk in the park compared to chasing piles of wire in a 75 year old central office, especially in a wet cable vault.  I think I am up to the challenge.

[ProSoundWeb Community]