"Trueman"
48 Keyless Reed Organ

General Information

The organ is a 48 keyless organ built using an old harmonium reed chest. It is operated by punched card music. This organ comes with a limited library of about 40 tunes but this is being added to on an ongoing basis as the organ is taken out. Due to the amount of music the organ is more suited to one day events. Especially as it is also hand-turned. If you require a specific piece of music then this can be arranged before the event but it does take 6-8 weeks for new music to be cut. The organ is suitable for small to medium sized events, and especially where the public can have a go at winding the organ. (Please remember that there is no volume control on mechanical organs - however this organ does have a set of swell shutters which regulate the noise whilst it is playing).

The organ is housed in a 6'-0" long x 4'-0" wide road trailer and is light enough to be pulled by a car. As such it is also suitable for small garden events where the trailer can be handled manually to the playing position. 

The organ front opens up fully during play although it can be played partially closed in wet weather. The organ usually stands in front of the motorhome canopy when out for full days or weekend events. Chairs can be provided to go in front of the organ but due to it's size I do not take the covered seating area out with this organ unless specially requested. If this is requested it comes with up to 12 seats which are clipped together in rows for safety. For evening events the seating area is lit by rope lights around the top. The total space required for this arrangement is 20'-0" x 20'-0" for the organ (excluding the 3m x 3m seating area) although the organ can stand on it's own if space is limited. The power supply for the lighting is either mains electric (½Kw) or my own generator. This organ can be used without electric if the lights are not required.

Specification    (Check pipe numbers)

The organ is based around a 48 harmonium reed chest.
The operating system is 48 keyless punched card music.
The wind is provided by two hand cranked bellows which fill a reservoir situated above them.
The pneumatic motors are set in a primary wind chest with secondary motors operating small bellows which are linked by connecting rods to the keys covering each reed. 
To give more variety the organ also has a small, side drum, bass drum and cymbal, which are all wind operated and situated at the front of the organ so they can be seen playing.
Set at the top of the front panel are the swell shutters which are operated by bellows (One to open & one to close). These are activated using keys 47 & 48 on the punched card music. 
The organ can also play standard 46 keyless punched card music but the swell shutters are not operated whilst this music is being played.

History

The organ was built by Mr. Peter Trueman of Derby in 1987. It was the first organ he ever built and was the only one of this type and size ever built. It was purchased by Mr. Roy Shaw of Pilsley in 1989 and spent the next 15 years in his private collection. In October 2004 I purchased the organ from Roy when he closed his museum. The organ hadn't been played for three years prior to this and needed overhauling. This work was partially done by myself and partially done by Mr. Nick Williams, who checked over the pneumatics and action and re-set the bleed screws to balance the bellow action with the return springs on the keys. Details of the renovation work undertaken are on the renovation page. Whilst the organ was out of it's trailer this was also re-painted and decorative panels made to enhance the organ. It's original features have not been altered and the organ, bellows etc.. and front are all original. The only addition was to add some shelving to the trailer to store the music.
The organ made it's first appearance in public at the F.O.P.S. North West Group Weekend in September 2005. It is hoped that it will attend many more events during the coming seasons.

When Bought

Operating System

Renovated Organ