It was with interest that I read that Marc Elbasani wants to build a
new band organ.  In recent years in America, a number of people have
tried to build a band organ but only a few have been successful!
I will not dwell on the failures, of which there are many, because
I do not want nasty mail.

You see, some people who have built failures are not knowledgeable
enough about band organ design to know that their work is defective,
or just will not accept the fact that they built a band organ that does
not sound good!  In a way they are arrogant in their ignorance!  As
with anything, it pays to keep an open mind and study as much as one
can get on the topic.

Hobbyists who have successfully built a band organ have spent many
hours studying band organ design and have compared numerous band organ
scales.  They have listened to many band organs via recordings, col-
lections, and band organ rallies.  They have paid a premium for out-of-
print books on the topic, such as "Treasures of Mechanical Music" and
"The Fairground Organ.   They have had many discussions with the re-
builders and owners of band organs.

They know why a French organ sounds different from a German organ, as
well as why a Dutch street organ has a characteristic sound all its
own.  They realize that even though two organs share the same scale,
one may be higher pitched than the other organ.  For example, a Wurli-
tzer 157 is higher pitched than a Wurlitzer 165 [yet it plays the same
music roll].  All this knowledge takes a bit of time to acquire.  It is
worth taking the time and spending the money to get the information.

Mr. Ken Smith of Columbus, Ohio, comes to mind as an example of a
hobbyist who has spent many years studying band organ design as well as
the pipework and musical scales of the various organ makers.  Mr. Smith
built two fabulous organs; an 89-key G4 scale Waldkirch-style Gavioli,
and a 63-key Ruth.  Both organs are well balanced and voiced.  They are
a pleasure to listen to.  Mr. Smith is a great resource.

Another good sounding new organ is the one built by Mr. John Prtljaga
of Barberton, Ohio.  Mr. Prtljaga first built a 146 style Wurlitzer,
and later built a great sounding organ that plays style 165 rolls.
Mr. Prtljaga spent a lot of time talking to Mr. Ken Smith and others.
He is currently expanding his second organ to 8 basses and is adding
more pipes to the melody and counter melody sections.

A fourth nice-sounding new organ playing 165 rolls is the one built
by Ed Schmidt of McFarland, Kansas, which is now owned by Mr. Rick
McDowell.  This organ appears regularly at Heart of America AMICA
Chapter band organ rallies.

Other hobbyists have meticulously copied an existing organ.  An ex-
ample is Steve Lanick's new 105 Wurlitzer.  Mr. Lanick, a cabinet
maker, meticulously copied an original 105 right down to the correct
drum hardware.  Also John Stanoszek of Ohio wrote a book on how to build
a Wurlitzer 105.  This book is good for anyone contemplating building
an organ because it discusses a lot of basics such as reed voicing.

Most band organ activity in America is in the Midwest, primarily in
Indiana and Ohio.  I would like to recommend that, before he builds an
organ or buys pipes, Mr. Elbasani attend the MBSI Mid-Am Chapter band
organ rally in July as well as the American Band Organ Association
(ABOA) rally which is usually held a week before or a week after the
Mid Am rally.

At these rallies he would get to see many different organs as well as
meet many band organ enthusiasts such as Ken Smith, Steve Lanick, and
John Prtljaga.  At such rallies one can get many questions answered and
hopefully avoid some costly mistakes.

Regarding the Tilden Park band organ -- it is important to determine
whether the band organ is of French or German origin or whether it is
a French-German organ such as a Waldkirch-built Limonaire or Gavioli.
There is quite a tonal difference between band organs built in Paris
and those built in Waldkirch.

Even Waldkirch-built organs vary in design.  For example, if the Tilden
organ is a Gebruder Bruder Elite Orchester Apollo model with Wurlitzer
165 style pipework, then it would be more orchestral in nature, like the
French organs, and it wouldn't have the typical German mixture ranks.

Also, did the B.A.B. Organ Company modify the pipework of the organ
to play the 66-key B.A.B. rolls?  At least two surviving Gaviolis,
which play 66-key rolls, have had their pipe layout changed by B.A.B.
to play the 66-key roll.  Maybe photos of the organ could be posted on
MMD; especially photos of the Tilden organ interior with the facade
off, showing close-ups of the pipes.

Tim Trager
Trager@idt.net

 [ Editor's note:
 [
 [ Tim, I'm pleased that you readily share your years of knowledge with
 [ MMD.  I had imagined a gloomy response for Marc, something like "You
 [ need twenty years of rebuilding experience before you can even think
 [ about building a new organ!"  I've met folks like this and, although
 [ they may be recognized as the best, it's still mighty discouraging
 [ to an eager young fellow.  Thanks for your words of encouragement!
 [
 [ I really want to fix up a good technical resource at the MMD Tech
 [ pages.  Matthew Caulfield is right now helping me edit a web page
 [ which can collect contributed data about the Wurlitzer style 165,
 [ "America's Own Carousel Organ".  Someday the list of W165 rolls may
 [ appear.  We certainly would appreciate the classic Doyle Lane data
 [ about Wurlitzer pipe design, and some more photographs of the
 [ facades.  If MMDers can help, please write to Matthew or me.
 [
 [ -- Robbie