The magnificent, robust and brassy Wurlitzer 165 will always be my
number 1 favorite American style band organ.  However, through my
longevity and years there is one American-made non-Wurlitzer band
organ that should come to mind in my opinion, and that one particular
organ is non other than the powerful and mighty Stinson Style 165
Model 87 located at Los Angeles' Griffith Park Carousel.

It was first installed in 1987 to replace the original Wurlitzer 165
that was adjacent to the 1926 Spillman carousel machine.  The voicing
and pipework of both Stinson and Wurlitzer band organs is similar to
my ears even though the Stinson scale is different than the Wurlitzer
by a few subtle structures.

As I child I often mistook this Stinson for a 165 because it's voicing
is almost 100 percent in depth to that of one as it mostly plays using
the American voicing.  For this crucial reason, this particular band
organ -- manufactured in Bellefontaine, Ohio, by the Stinson company --
has earned the appropriate honor of being crowned my favorite Stinson.

Now I do think there are many other phenomenal band organs from
Stinson which are all worth a listen, including the style 165 located
at Ontario Beach Park in Rochester, New York (unfortunately now sitting
idle in the building while cheap and crummy canned recorded music
dominates its place).  But the Stinson at Griffith Park carousel just
blew me away in terms of voicing, tuning and its striking similarity
to the Wurlitzer 165 sound.

Andrew Lardieri
Voorhees, New Jersey

 [ Owner Rosemary West tells about the organ's recent restoration at
 [ https://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/201611/2016.11.27.02.html 
 [ See the manufacturer's description at
 [ http://stinsonbandorgans.com/catalog/index.html 
 [ -- Robbie