Organ matters - Organs matter!

Some time ago I acquired an octave of treble pipes, claimed to be from a Schulze Cello rank.  Does anyone have a record of typical Schulze scaling to compare?  If it is likely that they are, I might try to use them in the practice instrument that is (very) slowly taking shape here, otherwise they are likely to remain in the dusty box they've been in for a while.

Simon.

I have a few spare copies of 'The Organ', in my attempts to make up a complete run.  As ever, they have a selection of interesting articles, including 'The Organs of Spain & Portugal',  Schulze's organ at Armley,  Cavaille Coll & his project for St Peter's, Rome and many others. 

Any interest?  Donations towards my son's music lessons much appreciated!

No 117 Jul 1950
No 119 Jan 1951
No 139 Jan 1956
No 140 Apr 1956
No 141 Jul 1956
No 143 Jan 1957

All VGC, with only a little dust marking to the edges.

Simon.

Wanted:

Original stop tabs in unusual colours or shapes.  Those for percussions or from Fitton & Haley especially welcome!  Rocker tablets from Hope-Jones also of interest.

Young budding organist (with leanings towards theatre organ music) wishes to learn more about minor organ builders and organ restoration.  Some parts will be used in making a practice organ.

As some of you may be aware, I am interested in the hybrid instruments of the 1920s which were installed in cinemas but showed close relation to their church-organ origins.  Many are described as 'Orchestral' organs, and show an curious mix of innovation and conservatism.

I recently acquired some early stop tabs (courtesy of David Pinnegar, of this parish) referring to departments 'Grand', 'Orchestral' and 'Pedal'.  They appear to match the stops for Fitton & Haley orchestral organs, but have detail differences to those on the Ikley Essoldo organ.  Did any other organ builders use this terminology?

Should anyone have any percussion tabs in a lurid green colour or reeds (especially Vox Humana) in a transparent yellow, please let me know.  I seem to have about half a set of tabs for an early organ and guess somewhere, the remainder is lurking.

Regards,  Simon.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but couldn't see a better category.

I have a small (3 stop & coupler) relay in a plywood box.  It has the address 'Resonant Works, Linton Lane, Epson, Surrey', stamped on the inside.  Any suggestions on who this was?

Regards,  Simon.

For me, the February half term is the worst period of the year.  The weather is too cold for the kids to go out and there is little organised 'fun' in low season with many attractions closed for refurbishment.  Can anyone help out by suggesting any daytime concerts or recitals (ideally in easily accessible central London) worth a visit to break up the coming week?

Simon.

Can anyone advise of the style of draw stop knobs or stop tabs used on Fitton & Hayley (later Binns, Fitton & Hayley) organs?  I am interested in the few instruments they built for cinemas.  I believe some parts from at least a couple (Colwyn Bay & Scarborough are still in existence, but without much idea what original parts would look like, I am sure to overlook much in my searches.

The only image I have been able to find is a drawn catalogue illustration of a console which shows little which might be specific to this builder.

Regards,  Simon.

I have couple of Hope-Jones unit chests I hope to work into my project, and wondered if anyone could shed any light on their origins.  They are assumed to be ex-Opus 70, St Pauls Burton on Trent.  One is a very narrow scale, the other more like a flute.  I was under the impression most ranks on this organ were on multi-rank slider chests, but does anyone know which were on extended unit chests?  These have 80 and 68 pipe holes respectively and they still have their original H-J magnets, with wooden caps.
Any information would be very much appreciated.

Simon

As some of you know, I'm in the early stages of building a modest extension organ for my son.  Having found a suitable console, I'm now looking for parts to restore it.  At this stage I'm only looking for Compton parts, as these will be easiest to combine with what is already there.

I'm currently short of:

One swell pedal (complete)
One set of swell pedal contacts (I have the woodwork, but no electrical bits)
Two toe pistons
Various red (reed) stop tabs (unavailable new, it would appear)
Brass division markers

But would be interested in anything else that might be suitable for a late 1920s or early 1930s Compton console.  It's currently in a bit of a state having had much of it's original material replaced by 1970s plastic (some of which in turn is life expired), but hopefully can be made both usable & attractive over the next few months.

Thanks in advance,

Simon.

I'm in the early stages of building a small extension organ for use at home.  I'm planning on using Compton console parts and direct action pallet magents for the chests.  What I am missing from the jigsaw is an economic relay system or equivalent solid state system.  New prices are too horrendous to consider, but I wondered if anyone had something suitable gathering dust?  The ideal would be an 1920s Compton relay stack, but anything that might do the job would be fine. 

Simon.