Introduction & About
I grew up dabbling on a Thomas reed organ, and later a Baldwin electric. However, I mainly focused on piano for many years, as well as several other instruments including trumpet, banjo and more recently, baritone ukulele. I'm relatively new to being bitten by "the organ bug".
It all began in early 2020 when I decided I would buy a digital piano and get back into playing a bit. I thought it would be fun to learn some organ on the digital piano as well, as that is a common alternate sound setting. I set a budget for a "middle-of-the-road" digital piano (DP) and started shopping around. I found the sound quality and feel of the DPs to be very disappointing compared to my experience playing an acoustic piano growing up. And learning they have a lifespan of only 10-20 years was disappointing as well. I try to avoid disposable products as much as possible.
While shopping for DPs, I came across a listing for an "air organ". I had never seen anything like it and was very curious what the "air" part referred to. Was it an old analog organ with some kind of miniature Leslie feature? On a whim, I went to take a look at it. It wasn't exactly a piano, but it was interesting. I was surprised to learn it used physical reeds to produce the sound.
Some of the treble keys weren't speaking well. I told the seller I wasn't sure I was up for fixing it up. I was about to walk away when the seller insisted I take it for free if I would use it and enjoy it. I took it home and was surprised that I enjoyed playing it much more than I had expected. I later learned the reeds in this organ are steel accordion reeds operating on pressure with a brighter tone than many of the American-style antique suction reed organs. All I knew at the time was it sounded was far better than the cheap entry-level keyboard I had. Plus, I was very impressed that the organ still worked well and was relatively in tune after a half century, likely with little maintenance.
I later learned it's from the late 1960s. I had fun playing around on it, but the three octaves significantly limited my repertoire. I also found the chord buttons tend to overpower the volume of the keyboard. This may improve if the reeds are cleaned. You can read more about this organ here.
I later learned it's from the late 1960s. I had fun playing around on it, but the three octaves significantly limited my repertoire. I also found the chord buttons tend to overpower the volume of the keyboard. This may improve if the reeds are cleaned. You can read more about this organ here.
At this point I abandoned my search for a DP and started looking for a larger reed organ. I did some research online and discovered there is a whole world of reed organ options that I had no clue about. I came across Rodney Jantzi's Youtube videos and was very impressed with what larger reed organs were capable of. Even more impressive was learning that reed organs over one century old can still be restored and maintained, and for less work and cost of restoring and maintaining an antique piano.
I first looked into a Bilhorn portable folding organ with four octaves that was listed near me. It's portability was appealing, but listening to videos of other Bilhorns made me wonder if I would like their sound. They seem designed primarily for volume rather than tone. I may still check a portable out someday.
I learned from the Organ Forums that some organs have more stops with more reed sounds to choose from. I had no idea about this. The reed organ I grew up with was a basic model with two rows of reeds. I learned that a sub bass can be a desirable stop to have. I started looking around and soon came across an organ with a sub bass that was less than a 10 minute drive away. I planned to shop around for a few months to find the right organ. I went to look at this one thinking it would be mainly to learn more about what to look for.
However, after looking over the organ inside and out and playing it a bit, I found I was at once enamoured with it and couldn't let it go. The case and action inside were in very good condition, in spite of not being played or maintained for at least three decades, and in spite of the organ being 130 years old. Some notes were not sounding and some stops didn't seem to do anything, but I figured I could maybe fix that. I made an offer and the movers had it at my house three days later. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I haven't seen an organ this nice listed in my City in the year since. I feel very fortunate to have found it. Or, that it found me! :-)
Here is a photo of my much loved ca. 1890 Doherty chapel organ. I was able to purchase it for less than half the cost of a used digital piano, including the cost of hiring movers. I will save the remainder of my budget for maintaining it and fixing it up in the coming years (I expect it will need a bellows recovering job soon).
I first looked into a Bilhorn portable folding organ with four octaves that was listed near me. It's portability was appealing, but listening to videos of other Bilhorns made me wonder if I would like their sound. They seem designed primarily for volume rather than tone. I may still check a portable out someday.
I learned from the Organ Forums that some organs have more stops with more reed sounds to choose from. I had no idea about this. The reed organ I grew up with was a basic model with two rows of reeds. I learned that a sub bass can be a desirable stop to have. I started looking around and soon came across an organ with a sub bass that was less than a 10 minute drive away. I planned to shop around for a few months to find the right organ. I went to look at this one thinking it would be mainly to learn more about what to look for.
However, after looking over the organ inside and out and playing it a bit, I found I was at once enamoured with it and couldn't let it go. The case and action inside were in very good condition, in spite of not being played or maintained for at least three decades, and in spite of the organ being 130 years old. Some notes were not sounding and some stops didn't seem to do anything, but I figured I could maybe fix that. I made an offer and the movers had it at my house three days later. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I haven't seen an organ this nice listed in my City in the year since. I feel very fortunate to have found it. Or, that it found me! :-)
Here is a photo of my much loved ca. 1890 Doherty chapel organ. I was able to purchase it for less than half the cost of a used digital piano, including the cost of hiring movers. I will save the remainder of my budget for maintaining it and fixing it up in the coming years (I expect it will need a bellows recovering job soon).
I came to discover the world of reed organs appeals to me on so many levels: they provide an engaging technical challenge of learning about them and working on them that is very fun; they're a reasonably affordable hobby I can do at home with and nearby to my family plus connecting me with a supportive, interesting and diverse international community of other reed organ enthusiasts; they involve satisfying hands-on, physical work that balances the mental based computer office work at the day job; they provide an opportunity to explore new musical repertoire and expand my keyboard playing skills; they're a healthy stress relieving activity to play music on them while getting some exercise at the same time; and they are a wonderful way to share music with others, both at home and beyond (stay tuned for plans), yet more engaging than other instruments when playing solo. On top of all that, I can be part of preserving history and reduce waste by investing in a keyboard instrument that is far less disposable compared with digital keyboards. And, my reed organ is lighter, smaller and more affordable to restore and maintain compared with an acoustic piano. It's a win-win-win from all sides.
I've been doing a lot of reading about reed organs since this journey started. I'm using this blog to collect and share info about the organ as I expand my knowledge and work on repairs, maintenance and eventual restoration of the organ.
You can read more about my experience with reed organs here:
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