mwl1 0 Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Pulling out the Swell to Great coupler on the organ I play provokes the top B on the Swell to emit an excess of unwanted sound, as if someone evil is holding it down. Of course, this increases with the number of stops pulled out. What gives? Here is the spec... Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cynic Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Pulling out the Swell to Great coupler on the organ I play provokes the top B on the Swell to emit an excess of unwanted sound, as if someone evil is holding it down. Of course, this increases with the number of stops pulled out. What gives? Here is the spec... It is likely that either the Swell to Great coupler has been adjusted too tight, or that the note that is sounding on the Swell is too tight*. This appears to be a mechanical action organ. I suggest you get someone to play and while they play the offending note on/off, on/off you take a torch and look within (without touching anything unnecessarily). Below the soundboard (which will be around head height, I imagine) you will see levers. at the point where these come almost to the outside edge of the chest there will be a brass or phosphor broze wire running from pullwires on the underside of the chest through a hole in the lever and this will be held in tension by a small leather nut or 'button' on the wire's threaded end. Hold the wire of the offending note firmly still with one hand and slacken the button off with the other. The note should stop sounding. At worst, you now have a tight coupler and a loose top note on the Swell. Your tuner will take it from this point when he next comes. I heard yesterday of a London tuner who charges the church £300 for a 6 hour visit. Hope your tuner comes cheaper than that! *alternatively, a mouse has left you a small souvenir on top of a piece of mechanism** or an over-enthusiastic student has dropped pencil rubbings down a small gap between the keys which has snagged on a 'drum-stick' coupler below. ** Bat droppings look like mouse droppings, but only in comic fiction do they appear on the under-surfaces.[/size] Link to post Share on other sites
David Coram 0 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I heard yesterday of a London tuner who charges the church £300 for a 6 hour visit. Hope your tuner comes cheaper than that! I'd say that wasn't actually bad at all, if you're actually getting 6 hours on site. I know of far more expensive - nearly double, in fact, for what usually amounts to less time. Link to post Share on other sites
pcnd5584 0 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I'd say that wasn't actually bad at all, if you're actually getting 6 hours on site. I know of far more expensive - nearly double, in fact, for what usually amounts to less time. Ours is cheaper - around £200.00 for a full day's tuning. Link to post Share on other sites
innate 0 Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Ours is cheaper - around £200.00 for a full day's tuning. £50 for a piano tuning seems about standard in London, and it can take less than an hour. OK, there's travel between each tuning but they probably expect to do more than 4 per day. £200-300 for a day of organ-tuning seems about right to me. Link to post Share on other sites
mwl1 0 Posted March 20, 2007 Author Share Posted March 20, 2007 My church is too cheap to get the organ tuned - they prefer to let it fall apart instead. I'm only 15, so my voice carries no weight when I nag. How can I persuade them?! Link to post Share on other sites
AJJ 0 Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 My church is too cheap to get the organ tuned - they prefer to let it fall apart instead. I'm only 15, so my voice carries no weight when I nag. How can I persuade them?! If the spec. is anything to go by........... http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N14982 .........you have something interesting from a historical point of view - you could try getting some organ 'heavyweights' on your side to persuade your people of the importance of preserving what they have. AJJ Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Newnham 0 Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 If the spec. is anything to go by........... http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N14982 .........you have something interesting from a historical point of view - you could try getting some organ 'heavyweights' on your side to persuade your people of the importance of preserving what they have. AJJ Hi You could start with the diocesan adviser (if there is one in the RC church) or the worship committee chair. Trying for a BIOS Historic Organ Certificate may be another option - but you would need to persuade someone in authority in the church I suspect. Good luck. Every Blessing Tony Link to post Share on other sites
mwl1 0 Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 The priest is in contact with some fellow from down south who has on occasion come up to Scarthingwell to look at it and then not done anything about it. I have to remind the priest on a weekly basis to get something done. So far, he hasn't. Link to post Share on other sites
ajt 0 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 The priest is in contact with some fellow from down south who has on occasion come up to Scarthingwell to look at it and then not done anything about it. I have to remind the priest on a weekly basis to get something done. So far, he hasn't. What's actually wrong with it, apart from the swell to great thing? Link to post Share on other sites
David Coram 0 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 What's actually wrong with it, apart from the swell to great thing? On paper, it looks very special indeed. Tenor C swell? Link to post Share on other sites
ajt 0 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 On paper, it looks very special indeed. Tenor C swell? I'm surprised you haven't got in the car already ... Link to post Share on other sites
Justadad 0 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 There are some pictures here http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/mwl.../Scarthingwell/? Link to post Share on other sites
David Coram 0 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 There are some pictures here http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/mwl.../Scarthingwell/? I'm surprised I haven't got in the car. Do everything in your power to protect this instrument! Preferably, get that hideous light removed and have an anglepoise behind you. Then, find out if anyone in the church has photos of it a different colour - would be surprised if white was the original finish. Action regulation is obviously needed from the line of the Swell keys. Do not get it tuned unless you absolutely have to. I can see damage to only one of the pipes in the photo and it would be an absolute tragedy if this ended up like the Limehouse organ, whose pipe tops were absolutely ripped to shreds by people trying to tune by hand. Link to post Share on other sites
mwl1 0 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 There are some pictures here http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/mwl.../Scarthingwell/? Where did you find those?! That's my photobucket site! I took those!!! I'm famous!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Justadad 0 Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 You posted them on the ABRSM site, and I remembered. Now read Mr Coram's advice several times and make sure you apply it. J Where did you find those?! That's my photobucket site! I took those!!! I'm famous!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
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