Services
Services
With experience dating back to our founding in 1917, Reuter pipe organs are custom designed to fulfill the musical needs of churches, synagogues, auditoriums and residences throughout the country. We have also renovated and enhanced our own vintage installations and those of other builders, refurbishing mechanical components and updating tonal elements after many years of use. Renewing existing instruments with solid-state components has been a specialty.
New Organs
The Reuter Organ Company welcomes all inquiries regarding new pipe organs. Our comprehensive approach to design includes architectural consultation and engineering studies critical to successful installations in both new and existing buildings. We look forward to discussing your musical needs and developing a custom proposal for your church, concert hall, or residence. We would be honored to earn your business and build an instrument for you!
New organs come with an 11-year warranty.
Existing Organs
A well-designed pipe organ has great longevity. As the decades pass, inevitably the time will come for renovation and repair. In most cases, the task of determining the condition of the instrument and the feasibility of making improvements falls to a resident musician or a special committee. Many common questions occur early in that process. Read on for more information about our process for evaluating existing instruments and related services.
Restoration and Refurbishment
The Reuter Organ Company has a well-established reputation for successful work with existing instruments. When a client wishes to update an instrument, every effort is made to use the best parts of the current installation to advantage and without musical compromise. Chests and reservoirs may simply need new leather to return their capability to "like new" quality. Consoles can be very restorable with the addition of new keytops, stop actions, and pistons, assuming the jambs will provide enough space for the addition of any needed stops. Console panels can be replaced, and console shells can be refinished to match the original woodwork. New solid-state combination actions and switching systems will provide countless years of quiet, trouble-free service.
Sometimes, pipes can be relocated for better sound projection into a room. Existing ranks can be re-scaled with the addition or substitution of several pipes in the set to produce a fuller, richer tone in the ensemble. Some ranks of pipes may take on a new life at another pitch level by the addition of just one octave of pipes in the bottom or top of their range. The tongues and shallots that vibrate in the foot of reed pipes to produce the stops' initial tone can sometimes be changed with dramatic results and abundant cost savings over new ranks.
In some cases, existing chests, reservoirs, consoles, and pipework present too many challenges to produce a musical result in a restoration project. Old components are then retired, and new elements can be added as required. The Reuter Organ Company can update an instrument's tonal scheme with excellent results. New pipework is carefully voiced and melded into a compelling, new tonal palette — a natural evolution of renewed color and clarity based on the best resources of the original.
Moving, Storage, and Relocation
A pipe organ can be moved from its original installation site and relocated to a new space with great success. For some of our clients, the move is internal; their pipe organs are an integral part of remodeling or new building plans. Sometimes instruments are fully or partially dismantled for protection during significant construction projects — an excellent time for them to be simultaneously renovated for a complete building makeover.
The Reuter Organ Company has years of experience with all phases of relocating and storing instruments. Whether simply sealing chests, removing pipes and boxing them for on-site storage during painting and redecorating, or completely repositioning an instrument with a new design layout, each phase of a project will be planned and completed with care.
For some of our clients, an existing instrument is acquired and moved to a different location. We have successfully integrated vintage instruments into new spaces — often in another city and state. Giving new life to existing instruments is good stewardship and can represent considerable savings over the purchase of a new instrument for those with tight budgets.
Maintenance and Service
The Reuter Organ Company maintains a collegial relationship with a network of service technicians around the country. Some provide assistance for Reuter projects in their area and even serve as our regional representatives. If you are looking for someone to tune and maintain your pipe organ, please contact us
to provide you with the name of a qualified and conscientious organ technician.
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