(Photograph courtesy of Art Reblitz.)

Pipework inside a Standard Reproduco Player Pipe Organ with violin pipes. All Standard Reproduco piano organs have a total of 98 pipes, whether they be for the mortuary or theatre trade. 86 of the pipes are on pipe chests located below the piano keyboard, while the largest 12 pipes are mounted externally on the back of the piano, for a grand total of 98 pipes. The Reproduco pipework as shown here is somewhat rare, in that the front rank consists of 37 metal violin pipes, rather than the more common Quintadena pipes. Behind the violin pipes, the rear row of pipes consists of (from left to right) 12 stopped wood diapasons and 37 open wooden flutes. For this instrument, with the pump and 10-tune roll frame above the keyboard, the tremolo unit for the pipework is to the far right, stuffed between the shortest pipes and the piano case. However, for Reproduco pianos that use the small diameter music rolls the tremolo unit might be mounted on either the back of the piano or attached to or inside the blower box.

(Photograph courtesy of the Stevens Mortuary, Altoona, Pennsylvania.)

Pipework inside Standard Reproduco Player Pipe Organ #282965 with Quintadena pipes. Although all Standard Reproduco models have a total of 98 pipes, the pipework composition of the front rank of metal pipes varies, to wit, this specimen has the more commonly found front rank of 37 Quintadena pipes (a capped metal flute), instead of the rarely encountered metal violins. Behind the Quintadena pipes is the usual row of (from left to right) 12 stopped wood diapasons and 37 open wood flutes. And like all Standard Reproduco models the rank of 12 large stopped wood diapason pipes are located behind the piano.

(Photograph courtesy of the Stevens Mortuary, Altoona, Pennsylvania.)

Rear external pipework for Standard Reproduco Player Pipe Organ #282965. The backside of the piano is at left, and a plastered wall at right, with the 12 large external stopped wooden diapason pipes sandwiched between the two. This Reproduco is still in its original location, where it has been pushed up snugly against a wall. And the organ has obviously not been pulled away from the wall to clean or carry out other maintenance for a very long time. This would have been the usual situation for most Reproduco organs. When new they were setup in a certain spot and never moved again, unless absolutely necessary. Apart from the instrument being heavy and clumsy to handle, moving it required the wind supply to be disconnected, which was not always an easy task (maybe easy to take apart but not easy to reconnect). So only under the worst of circumstances requiring access to the backside of the piano and/or the external pipework, or for floor and/or wall replacement would the instrument be moved. And as difficult as it might appear, the external pipework can be tuned from the top or sides of the piano case without moving the instrument, and this is how it should be done. When the external pipes are tuned with the organ pulled away from the wall they will go out of tune once pushed back up against the wall. This is because the pipework mouths will be shaded by the nearby wall, thereby changing the pitch, causing the pipework to go out of tune.

(Photograph courtesy of Richard Lokemoen.)

Interior of the Reproduco Cabinet Style Player Organ #0527, showing a front rank of 37 quintadena pipes, and behind it a row of 49 wood pipes consisting of 17 stopped diapason and to their right 32 open flute pipes. The 49 internal wood pipes plus the external 12 large stopped diapason pipes behind the furniture case represents the 61-note organ scale common in all of the Reproduco piano or non-piano-based organs. The swell shutters (painted black) at picture left are attached to the front access door, and provide some expression to the music.

(Photograph courtesy of Jim Quashnoc.)

Upper pipework in Reproduco Unified Mortuary Organ #288711. Pipework in the upper part of the organ console consists of 37 metal Viola Diapason pipes, 25 Stopped wooden diapason pipes, and 24 open wood flute pipes, the Viola being the rank in front, with the row of stopped and open wood flutes behind them. At picture rear is a set of swell shutters. This photograph was taken from the backside of the console. There are two swell shoes—one operates the top set of console swell shutters and the other operates the bottom shutters. The top shutters (operated by three pneumatics for soft, medium, and loud) only affect the metal Viola Diapason rank and a rank of open and stopped wood flutes situated in the upper section, and located behind the music roll mechanism.

(Photograph courtesy of Jim Quashnoc.)

Closeup of upper pipework in Reproduco Unified Mortuary Organ #288711. This image is similar to the above photograph, but provides a much better and more detailed view of the wooden pipework. The 24 open wood flutes are at the left, with the 25 stopped wooden diapason pipes to their right (only six of these stopped pipes are visible), with the rank divided into two staggered rows.

(Photograph courtesy of Jim Quashnoc.)

Lower pipework in Reproduco Unified Mortuary Organ #288711. The bottom or lower section of the console houses all the coupling pneumatic chests, and it too has a separate set of swell shutters for pipework, also operated by three pneumatics as are the upper set of shutters. The 61 pipes in the lower section consist of 17 stopped wooden diapason pipes (with largest four mitered—none of the stopped pipes are visible in the picture), 32 open wood flute pipes, and a 12 open metal flute pipe extension mounted on a separate chest. The 12 large stopped wood (diapason) flute pipes on the chest external to the console play with this lower rank.

(Photograph courtesy of Jim Quashnoc.)

External pipework for Reproduco Unified Mortuary Organ #288711. The external rank of 12 large stopped (diapason) flute pipes are mounted on a separate pipe chest and are arranged in two rows. These large external pipes play in conjunction with the pipework housed in the lower part of the organ console.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Pipework in Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ #283561. Unlike the Unified Mortuary Organ console, the Unified Theatre Organ console only has one set of swell shutters, with all pipework in the bottom of the console. The shutters are operated by three pneumatics for soft, medium, and loud, and are located at bottom front. In this photograph the swell shutters have been laid forward over the pedalboard to gain access to the pipework, which is partially obscured by the enclosure for the two swell shoes. The front rank of pipes holds 25 stopped wooden Tibia Clausa pipes (a large scale type of flute), and to their right are 24 shorter open wooden flutes, with the rank divided into two staggered rows. The rank behind has 37 metal Quintadena pipes, and the rear or third rank contains 12 stopped wood Tibia Clausa pipes, which are an extension of the Tibia Clausa in the front rank, for a total of 37 Tibia Clausa pipes.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Closeup of pipework in Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ #283561. This view provides more detail regarding the front wooden flute rank and clearly shows the division of the rank into two staggered rows. Only the top of two stopped Tibia Clausa pipes are visible, but the entire compass of the open wooden flute can be seen. The upper pitch range of the capped Quintadena pipes are at left.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Side-chest pipework for Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ #283561. This overall view inside the organ's side-chest can, at first glance, be deceptive. How many ranks of pipes does it contain? It might look like four, but in actuality there are only two 73-note ranks—a metal Viola Diapason at front, and at the rear a rank of metal and wooden flute pipes. In addition, the 12 large stopped wood (diapason) flute pipes mounted on an external pipe chest are located behind the side-chest in a horizontal orientation.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Top view of side-chest pipework for Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ #283561. This view from above is much more revealing, and shows the flute rank more for what it really is—a single rank divided into two staggered rows. The 24 highest pitch open flute pipes are metal, followed by 32 open wooden flute pipes, and those, in turn, followed by 17 stopped wooden flutes, for a total of 73 pipes flute type pipes.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Closeup of side-chest pipework for Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ #283561. This image shows the transition break in the type of flute pipes used. The highest pitch being open metal flutes in their own special pipe rack, and below the break are open wooden flutes. The toes of the metal pipes fit into a cupped recess bored into the chest, with the pipes held in place by their own weight. The toes of the wood flute pipes, in contrast, actually fit snugly into holes bored into the chest and are more or less held in place by the snugness of the fit.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Side-cabinet swell shutters for Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ #283561. This view shows the inside facing part of the swell shutter assembly, which are operated by three pneumatics for soft, medium, and loud, located at top center. The whole swell assembly includes not just the working shutters, but also the attached decorative wooden grillwork facade.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Side-cabinet for Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ #283561. Here the heavy swell shutters and attached wood grillwork facade have been reinstalled on the front of the side-cabinet.