The Console
The Console represents the last portion of the mechanical rebuilding of the organ. The console is frequently thought of as “the organ” when it is actually the control center. As outlined elsewhere in these pages, we make every effort to be good stewards of existing materials and this practice extends to the console too.
When the existing console is of sound construction and is of ample size to accommodate the finished rebuilt organ, it will be retained. In other situations, only the exterior case may be retained while all internal mechanisms are replaced. If the present keyboards and drawknobs are of ivory of ample thickness, they can be resurfaced and restored to like-new condition. We have a good supply of vintage Skinner, Æolian-Skinner, Möller, Schantz and Reuter drawknobs with ivory heads and ebony shafts to match virtually any existing era. We do not however retain injected plastic drawknobs or coupler tablets used by these firms from the 1960’s onward.
When the console interior is to be renewed, all old materials are removed and disposed of. While custom interior woods and finishes are available, solid Honduran Mahogany finished in a deep wine-color and hand polished to a high luster is the company standard. Keyboards are made by P&S Supply of Suffolk, England and are covered with 8-cut bone with milled edges on all the naturals. Sharps are of solid African Ebony. Our standard keycheeks and key slips are of solid Honduran Mahogany finished to match the console interior. Again, other custom woods and finishes are possible. New drawknobs and coupler tablets are made of hand-turned Ebony with solid bone heads. Where tilting tablets are provided, they are handmade of Tiger or Bird’s Eye Maple. All are computer engraved and hand polished to a satin luster to avoid glare from console lighting. Our standard Music Racks are of heavy tempered glass to allow clear sight lines between the choir and/or conductor and the organist. We offer an open latice music rack as an option. The Music Rack light is of brushed brass. The rebuilt console will conform to the standards adopted by The American Guild of Organists (AGO).
The Pedalboard is measured to see that it conforms to AGO standards. It can be rebuilt with new Hardrock Maple naturals and solid Ebony sharps and thoroughly rebushed to provide ultra-quiet service for decades to come. If the pedalboard is not AGO standard, it will be replaced outright.
We use only hardware (drawknob and coupler tablet solenoids as well as expression shoes and Skinner-style toe studs) provided by Harris Precision Products— a company known for elegance both in feel and look of their finished products. LED indicators are set into the stop/coupler rail above the top manual and do not protrude past the surface. Green is the standard power indicator; Red is the standard indicator for the Full Organ/Tutti indicator(s). Four Blue LED indicators are provided to show the exact position of the Crescendo Pedal. We also provide four additional Blue LED indicators for each expression shoe to show the exact position of the corresponding shoe.
The comfort of the Organist is the primary focus. This allows your organist to focus their attention on the music rather than the mechanical aspect of the instrument. This completes the Mechanical Rebuilding of the organ. We can now turn our attention to tonal matters. œ
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