About American Pipe Organ Service

I began my organ-related life in 1956 with the purchase of a small Wurlitzer theatre-organ which I "found" resting, unused in a downtown Baptist Church which I later moved to my parent's home where I undertook the process of completely rebuilding the instrument.

The job was completed in about 2 years with the little organ sounding and running like new! I seemed to have a "knack" with pipe organ mechanics along with my then very youthful life. I joined the local organ group who was installing the Plaza Theatre organ into the Conservatory of Music's Stover Auditorium and my organ life seemed to just blossom.

Without the proper skill and expertise, organ maintenance is not unlike the corner mechanic attempting to fine-tune a Ferrari.

By the time I graduated from college I had sought out and purchased the four manual, 22 rank organ from Loews Midland Theatre, K.C., Mo. , which I removed almost alone and moved the instrument to my home. This organ was next completely rebuilt and ultimately sold in 1973.

1992 began the new venture in all faucets of pipe organ maintenance, repair, restoration calling the company "American Pipe Organ Service Co." and located in a shop in the "Bottoms" area of the city until 1999 when a disastrous fire moved APOS to Prairie Village in 2000.

I have had the opportunity to work on many jobs from quite large to the smallest detail needing repair in various small churches around the Midwest and have worked on varying sized instruments from California to Virginia offering restorations, removals, augmentations and maintenance of routine operations of the complex wind operated pipe organs.

Some new but the majority of my work has been delving into organs up to about 80 years old. The time period right after the turn-of-the-century brought a massive change in the technical side of organ building with the addition of electrical components plus the re-birth of voicing into the more romantic tonal characterization which became so popular throughout the majority of the twentieth century.

Today pipe organs are filled with all sorts of new components which even include computers which allow for all sorts of methods which allow organists to perform in a manner far exceeding those of their earlier peers. Yes, pipe organ are steeped in tradition but we now find that organ's "tonal characteristics" have also changed once again due to the public's expectation of change being needed in the organ world.

At APOS, you can be assured of knowledge and expertise in the maintenance of organs, from the newest technologies to the oldest of installations - thousands of speaking pipes, tons of mechanical apparatus supporting a musical sound unlike anything ever enjoyed by so many for so many centuries.

Recently, a new form of organ building has evolved around electronics which attempt to mimic pipe organ sounds which has its basis in the belief they are less troublesome, cheaper and easier to maintain which is essentially true.

However, one of the reasons a pipe organ sounds different than an electronic instrument lies in one issue: pipe organ speaking pipework have inherent differences of speech which makes the pipe organ have a mixing of harmonics which are un-delivered by many new electronic instruments. Yes, electronics are relatively trouble-free but will they last for a hundred years-NO! Are they less expensive to repair, NO! Are they less expensive to buy, it depends upon the size and complexity of the instrument.

I can work for you and your individual needs, I am not in the organ building business, only the organ repair and maintenance side of this wonderful industry. Small-sized by design, I have found it best to serve fewer-better, than more-less!

Give APOS a call, we would like to get to know you for the long haul, we'll be here tomorrow. APOS is skilled in all phases of organ ownership challenges: routine maintenance, repair; moving; restoration; parts and component rebuilding; enlargement; tuning; respectful tonal blending; removals; design consulting with regard to architectural changes plus are capable of referring other reputable pipe organ firms should we be unable to answer your specific needs.

We are a service organization which is dedicated to satisfaction with pride achieved through reputable work and a "job consistently well performed". We consider each job a challenge to solve with complete and honest satisfaction to the organ owner, either a ecumenical organization or a individual hobbyist.