Regarding John Page's observations on tubular pneumatic organ actions,
I didn't realize there were variations on the designs. When I played
a tubular pneumatic action I did notice a delay that was bothersome
even though there was little distance between the console and the pipes,
but then this was not compared to electro-pneumatic action.
It was replaced with a tracker action organ. When we removed the old
organ there were two types of tubing, one type lead in good condition,
and a shiny type metallic tube. The tubing was sold as scrap for $600.
My reading about tubular pneumatic action found 'the light touch was
greatly appreciated, but playing a triplet was impossible'. So perhaps
some installations were not successful.
My friend Dave Zeffert (deceased) replaced the tubing in his Super
Reproduco. This model has pipes in the console and also in a detached
cabinet. The cabinet had about 20 feet of tubing connected to the
console. It was impossible to play using both keyboards because of
the delay at the cabinet pipes and the quick response in the console
pipes. For the rhythm and beat, which division would the organist
listen to? A better organist would probably have the beat in his head
and disregard the delays.
Are there any organists left who play on tubular pneumatic actions?
In fact, are there any such organs still in existence?
Bill Chapman, in La Quinta, Calif.
|