Westerville, OH
3/54 Muller
2014
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From start to finish
Click on the photo to see a larger image
Pipe organ installations are no simple task. From the initial sketch on paper to the tuning and tonal finishing of the instrument in its ultimate home, they require an incredible amount of time and effort to complete. While some of the technology around the pipe organ has improved, there's still a significant amount of work done by hand. The following highlights a few of the stops along the journey of this pipe organ.
When St. Paul parish decided to build a new church, the money needed for a pipe organ was not available. However the parish knew that at some point one would be installed. Therefore it built into the design of the building several preparations for the organ. These included structural beams for a rail division in the loft, a pipe to serve as the wind supply for the rail division, electric preparations and probably as important as anything, extra mass in the walls around the loft to ensure that sound from the organ is reflected into the room rather than absorbed by the walls and ceiling.
Here are some photos of the loft space prior to the organ's installation.
Back at Muller Organ Company's shop, the staff was busy crafting the woodwork for the case, air reservoirs and wind chests. Most of the pipes were built by A.R. Schopps of Alliance, OH but using specifications provided by Muller. Here are some photos of various parts of the organ at the shop.
 | There's probably enough wood in the organ to build a small house! This stack of wood will eventually become the main organ case. |
 | On the other side of the main shop room we see pieces of the facade which have been cut and routed. |
 | Along with the organ's case, Muller also built many of the wind chests for the pipes. This photo shows the top of the wind chests upside down. Everything you see on the chests is installed by hand. When installed, these will be flipped over and become the top of the chest. The pipes will then sit on top of the chest. |
 | Here's a good look at some of the chests prior to being assembled. This photo shows the chests laying on their sides. Each of the holes is for a pipe and is above what is shown in the photo above. These are for larger pipes as there is a decent amount of space between each hole. |
 | In this photo we see some of the pipes from the 16' Bourdon rank (center) as well as some of the air lines on the right. The stoppers in the top of the pipe are used for tuning. |
 | Most of the pipes for the organ were built by A.R. Schopps of Alliance, OH to Muller's specifications. It is common for smaller organ builders to source some components from organ supply houses. Here we see some of the reed pipes in a box ready to be shipped to the church for installation. |
Normally an organ builder will fully assemble the organ in its shop before erecting in its final destination. Because the Positive Division is on the front of the loft, this was assembled and installed first.
 | The Positive Division was the first part of the organ to be installed. Here we see it without the main organ case in back. |
 | Here's a closer look at the Positive Division. With its 14 ranks it is larger than most small pipe organs and has enough resources to lead the congregation in hymns. The design of the division went through several revisions before arriving at what we see today. |
 | A few pieces of the main organ case have arrived. On the far right is the computer system which controls everything. Then we see the bottom of the pipes from the 16' Open Wood rank. The rectangular boxes have smaller sized pipes. On the left is the wind supply pipe for the Positive Division. |
 | Here's a view of the other side of the pipes and other equipment. The round gray device is a small temporary blower supplying the wind for the Positive Division pipes. It is connected to a regulator bellows on the right. |
Next we see the main organ being built. The two chambers are on the top level with the air lines, wind chests, blower and other organ equipment on the bottom level. Only the bass pipes along the back wall have been installed at this point.
 | The organ gets closer to completion as assembly of the main case is underway. The facade is missing allowing a view of the expression shutters for each chamber. |
 | The Muller team has completely taken over the space in the loft staging pieces of the organ case on the levels formerly occupied by the choir chairs. Note the large wood pipes installed against the back wall. |
 | On the bottom level we can see some of the organ's wind components. The boxes with what look like black stripes are air reservoirs which provide wind for the pipes. The reservoirs expand and contract as more or less air is drawn by the pipes. The gray pipes are wind lines between the blower and the reservoirs. |
 | Here's a view from the right side of the case (left side of the church). A worker is securing a piece of wood which will help brace the outer shell of the organ case. Pipes from the Pedal Division will eventually be installed on the platforms on the right. |
Assembled and tuned, the organ is ready to provide music to accompany the congregation for Mass and other religious services. It also will become the focal point for those who wish to perform recitals on the instrument.
