A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company
First United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
5-Manual, 93-ranks
About A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company
Our intention as a pipe organ builder, rebuilder, and
maintenance service company, is to provide the highest
quality of service available to our customers. Our firm
currently provides service and support to over 190
churches, institutions, and homes. We are a family
owned and operated business, with sucession plans
in place to assure the continuation of service to our
customers long into the future.
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company was established
in 1973 in the Atlanta suburbs of Lithonia, Georgia.
Our Lithonia facilities are conveniently located just 20
miles east of downtown Atlanta, a major transportation
hub, which allows our firm to be responsive to a diverse
geographic area.
Members of the Schlueter family oversee and actively
participate in organ building and rebuilding, in addition
to our gifted team of organ builders and support
personnel. Key members of our firm have worked on,
or have been associated with, many significant and
milestone instruments in the United States.
Our staff is comprised of over 30 staff members who
maintain professional memberships with the following
organizations:
• American Institute of Organbuilders (AIO)
• International Society of Organbuilders (ISO)
• Organ Historical Society (OHS)
• American Guild of Organists (AGO)
• American Theater Organ Society (ATOS)
• Music Box Society
“Our firm looks to
build eclectic instruments
that have warmth
not at the expense
of clarity,
and clarity
not at the expense
of warmth”
Arthur E. Schlueter, lll
To provide the highest quality, our firm manufactures
all of the major components and assemblies used in the
building of instruments, organ additions, consoles, and
organ cases. The instruments built by our company will
have a lifespan beyond our own and this guides our
emphasis on quality and long-term durability.
Our firm has invested in the future with the
implementation of computer assisted design (CAD)
and computer numeric controlled (CNC) machines. This
technology allows
the visualization of
the instrument and its
components prior to
building, with accuracy
measured in the
thousandths of an inch.
The ability to maintain
these tolerances is
unparalleled in
organ building
history. We
build slider,
electropneumatic,
and electromechanical
chest actions.
Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC)
machining of offset chest actions.
Our instruments
are designed
to allow ease of service, maintenance, and tuning. The
work of our firm is warranted for ten years, parts and
labor.
In addition to building new instruments, our firm is
a major rebuilder of instruments. We have rebuilt
numerous instruments which were originally built by
companies long since passed, and many by firms
currently in business. The same quality and ethic used
in organ building is employed in organ rebuilding.
Traditional materials and methods assure the intent of
the original builder is maintained.
Our firm can be sensitive to preserving an instrument
as originally installed without alteration. We are also
available to consult on changes that can expand the
tonal capabilities of the organ. Where additions are
installed, these are scaled and voiced to provide a
cohesive blend with the existing instrument.
New slider chests being tested.
Console column being turned by hand in our woodshop.
We offer you the security of working with a fully
insured, financially secure corporation. Our range of
services include:
• Consultation
• New pipe organs
• Pipe organs rebuilt
• Additions to pipe organs
• New consoles and control systems
• Pipe organs serviced and maintained
Also ask us about grill cloth replacement, midi sound
modules and sequencers, carillons, digital organs and
keyboards, organ audio systems and speakers, and
zimblesterns.
Finished console column with hand carved detail.
New Organs
The basis of the relationship between a church and the
organ builder must be trust, because the church is stepping forward in faith when they commission an organ to
be built, or even rebuilt. We welcome your organ committee to come tour our facility to see for themselves the
scope and quality of our manufacturing abilities.
Visual Design
One of the earliest
steps in the process
of building an organ
is to create a visual
design for the instrument. We endeavor
to create a design in
cooperation with the
church that harmonizes
with and complements
the architecture of the sanctuary or room where it is to
be located. The wood, the finish, as well as the overall
design concept are typically chosen to create the illusion that the organ has always been an integral part of
the building. A color rendering of the visual concept is
developed to help everyone to visualize the design of
the proposed organ.
Computer Aided Design
Once the visual design has been approved, it will be
recreated in the Computer Aided Design (CAD) system.
The scope of this process includes not only the facade
of the organ, which is generally captured in the preliminary drawings, but
also the full physical
dimensions and layout for every part of
the organ. The output
from this process will
be the detailed technical drawings for
the facade casework,
pipes, pipe supports,
windchests, reservoirs and winding system, the console shell, the interior
windchests, pipes, pipe supports, plus the swell boxes
and shutters, all framing, supports and braces. There is
an enormous amount of work required to build a pipe
organ. For instance, a truckload of lumber has to be unloaded and milled to exact dimensions before it is used.
The parts being cut out by the CNC machine have to be
precisely assembled into working organ sub-assemblies
and components.
Tonal Design
Our tonal philosophy is an adaptation, expansion
and refinement of the American-Classic tonal ideal
with a prime emphasis on choral and congregational
accompaniment. Our firm looks to build eclectic
instruments that have warmth not at the expense of
clarity and clarity not at the expense of warmth. Strong
consideration is given to the organ function within the
worship setting and specific needs such as psalmody.
Our specifications are developed in consideration of the
clients’ desires and needs. Pipe samples are set in the
room prior to building instruments. This assures the proper
timbre, speech quality
and tonal direction
of the instrument in
the room. As good
pipe organ building
practice requires,
our instruments are
tonally finished upon
installation in the
church.
Casework
The casework, facade and console are the visual
representation of the organ to the congregation. As
such, we put forth much creative effort to design and
produce artistically beautiful wood products, designed
specifically for each
individual church, to
match their architecture.
Handworked in our own
woodworking shop, they
are finished to match the
existing wood furnishings
of the church.
Windchests
In our shop we build slider, electro-pneumatic and
electro-mechanical windchests. All of our new windchests
are custom built for each church and laid out for
optimal tonal advantage. The windchests are made
of select materials
and straightgrained woods. The
corners are tongue
and grooved, and
the entire chest
reinforced by ribs,
which form supports
for the toe boards.
The toe board
borings are spaced to allow for proper pipe speech.
Additionally, the toe board holes are smooth chamfered
to form a tight seal with the toes of the organ pipes. The
chest and related framework are finished with a clear
lacquer to aid in controlling moisture absorption.
The slider primary valves are assembled out of fiber
disks covered with leather that has been punched to the
correct size. These valve disks are then installed onto
a threaded valve wire and held in the correct position
with leather “burrs” which thread onto the wire. Each
valve must be checked for the exact position of the
valve on the wire.
The windchests are
assembled from the parts
machined by the CNC
router. Leather is cut by
hand and applied to
the edges which are not
permanently fastened to
another surface, such as
the bottom rails, where the
removable bottom boards attach. Slider actions are
comprised of magnets, valves and pneumatics to control
the flow of air through a given note.
The magnets are wired to a cable that will eventually
plug into the main relay, which receives the control
information from the console and “relays” it to all of the
appropriate windchests to control the activation of stops
and individual notes as they are played.
Reservoirs
The reservoirs are assembled with twill tape and leather at the hinging edges of the ribs, and leather corners
to seal it all together. The curtain valves which control
the airflow are individually made and installed in each
reservoir. After construction, the leather is taped for
protection and the reservoir is finished with a
sealing spray. Holes are
cut into each reservoir to
accommodate the windlines coming into the reservoir from the main blower
reservoir, and going out of
the reservoir to the windchest which it supplies.
Pipework
Wooden pipes are constructed in our shop. The
wood for each pipe is handcut and fitted. The pipes
assembled by our organ
technicians are pre-voiced
by one of our pipe voicers.
Each pipe, whether wood
or metal, is individually
“racked in,” being inserted
into its proper position in the pipe rack on the appropriate windchest to test the fit in the rack hole. The proper
fit is to have just enough margin so the pipe is able to
spin freely within the hole, not bound by the rack, but
not too loose. Variations
are adjusted by rasping the hole to make
it slightly larger, or by
felting the hole to take up
the excess, so that each
pipe is perfectly supported by the pipe rack
without binding.
New A. E. Schlueter Consoles
Our consoles are constructed of the finest materials and
built to conform to the American Guild of Organists
(AGO) standards. Prior to console construction, we
submit the design with interior drawknobs, tablets,
couplers, pistons, and other controls for client approval.
Our consoles include features such as:
• Time honored mortise and tenon frame construction
for strength
• Solid console base for rigidity and strength
• Laminated, solid wood table to support keyboard
and drawknob terraces
• Removable access panels for servicing of console
workings
• Custom layout of console controls
• Client choice of woods and finishes for console
interior and exterior
• Ebony/rare wood division dividers
• Multiple memory levels for combination action
• Solid-state console keying and coupler system
• Optional MIDI controls with record/playback
sequencer output capability
• Console wired to comply with the International
Electric Code (Article 650)
• High quality toe pistons on ergonomically curved
solid wood terraces
• Reversible controls duplicated on pistons and toe
pistons or toe spoons
• Pedal light and music rack lights which automatically
power-up with organ
• Music rack adjustable on two (2) axes
• Adjustable organ bench available as option
• High grade keyboard surfaces with toggle trackertouch springs
• Rock maple pedal naturals for long wear
• Adjustable pedal springs
• Silver contacts and silver wipes for key contacts
• Electro-magnetic
drawknob and tilting
tablet units with
sealed contacts
• Indicator lights
• Weight adjustable,
balanced expression
and crescendo
pedals
• Keyed power switch
with extra keys
• AC power service
provided on console
• Option for consoles
to be moveable
The variations in console
design are endless. We
build many traditionally
designed drawknob consoles. We also build consoles
into the organ case when space doesn’t allow for a
detached console. In this case the drawknobs may be
laid out vertically, or arranged in a terraced manner.
We also offer a new low-profile console based on
the terraced drawknob layout. Every console pictured
on this page was designed and constructed in our
own woodworking shop in our Lithonia, Georgia
(USA) facility, utilizing the talents of our experienced
woodworking staff.
Rebuilds and Additions
In addition to building new organs, our firm is a major
rebuilder of existing organs. We have rebuilt numerous
instruments by companies long since passed, and many
by firms currently
in business. The
same quality and
ethics used in our
organ-building is
employed in our
organ rebuilding.
Traditional
materials are
encouraged,
and if desired
our firm can be
sensitive to preserving an instrument as it was originally
installed, without alteration. We are also willing to
consult on changes to expand the tonal capabilities of
an organ. When additions are installed, they are scaled
and voiced to provide a cohesive blend with the existing
instrument.
Many instruments have been built with stops or entire
divisions “prepared for.” Very often it is desired to add
to the tonal palette of an existing instrument to increase
its flexibility and sonority. It is very important that
additions be designed in keeping with the instrument’s
tonal design and with a keen understanding of, and
appreciation for, the builder’s intentions. We work with
you to design additions that are properly scaled and
voiced to provide a cohesive blend with the instrument.
This will ensure
the success of the
additions without
creating tonal
anachronisms.
Often the organ
console can
be rebuilt and
because of the
enhancements
inherent in
current technology, the overall functionality of the organ
may be enhanced by this process. A console rebuilt by
our firm will have as many of the features of our new
consoles as is possible, based on the physical constraints
of the console shell. The solid state components used
also offer access to high-tech options such as a midi
interface. Smaller cables connect the console to the
organ after a rebuild, and the console can even be
made to be moveable, connecting into one or more
alternate junction boxes. The organ relays are usually
upgraded at the same time as a console rebuild (as
required by electrical codes), which results in safer
wiring meeting current electrical standards, and more
flexible and programmable configurations offered by
the new solid state components.
We also offer ongoing maintenance and tuning. We
currently service over 190 organ installations, including
the following organ brands:
• Moller
• Austin
• E. M. Skinner
• Aeolian Skinner
• Casavant
• Pilcher
• Shantz
• Schlicker
• Reuter
• Holtkamp
• George Kiilgen & Son
• Wicks
• and many others built by respected American
organbuilders.
First Presbyterian Church
Savannah, Georgia
New 3-manual, 47-rank pipe organ
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
Washington, D.C.
New 3-manual, 62-rank pipe organ
Episcopal Church of the Advent
Madison, Georgia
New 2-manual, 15-rank pipe organ
First United Methodist Church
Atlanta, Georgia
New 5-manual, 93-rank pipe organ
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church
Atlanta, Georgia
New 3-manual, 45-rank pipe organ
Bethel United Methodist Church
Charleston, South Carolina
New 3-manual, 51-rank pipe organ
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
New Orleans, Louisiana
New 4-manual, 83-rank pipe organ
St Andrews Episcopal Church
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
New 2-manual, 23-rank pipe organ
Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church
Jacksonville, Florida
New 3-manual, 60-rank pipe organ
Midway Presbyterian Church
Powder Springs, Georgia
New 3-manual, 55-rank pipe organ
Chester Presbyterian Church
Chester, Virginia
New 2-manual, 31-rank pipe organ
First Baptist Church
New Orleans, Louisiana
4-Manual, 72-rank rebuild & additions
Stella Maris Catholic Church
Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina
New 2-manual, 23-rank pipe organ
Newberry ARP Church
Newberry, South Carolina
2-Manual, 15-rank rebuild
Rylander Theatre
Americus, Georgia
3-Manual, 11 ranks rebuild
St. John’s Episcopal Church
Savannah, Georgia
4-Manual, 74-rank new case & additions
Lumpkin United Methodist Church
Lumpkin, Georgia
New 2-manual, 10-rank pipe organ
Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Peachtree City, Georgia
New 2-manual, 27-rank pipe organ
Customer Recommendations
“NYAPC’s leaders and congregants have appreciated your firm’s strong commitment to building a fine instrument uniquely suitable for our needs, our building and
our interest in preserving the best of the historic organ. Our consultant attested to
the high quality of your construction and the tuning/voicing process and pointed
out specific examples when showing several of us interior details of the construction. We applaud the efforts of your company to build an exemplary instrument in
difficult circumstances that required close interrelationships with our church officers
and congregation. We thank God for your work.”
– New York Avenue Presbyterian Church • Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
“I want to thank you and your firm for the tremendous pipe organ you
designed and built for our congregation. Throughout the process—from
planning stages to completion—I have been impressed how you and your
staff regard your work as a ministry. The fine wood cabinetry and pipes
are exquisite. You spared no expense or effort and cut no corners. It is
a splendid instrument that will inspire and lift our praises to God. I can
already notice that our singing is stronger!”
– First Presbyterian Church • Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A.
“There are many things about my life as pastor...that give me great joy. Ranking
among the top five would have to be hearing the glorious sounds of our new pipe
organ. You personally went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that the
organ is not only a fine musical instrument that easily leads the assembled faithful
in united voice, but also serves extremely well in concerts and recitals. Your careful
thought and hard work has resulted in something that far exceeds my expectations,
and I cannot thank you enough for that.”
– Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church • Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
“I close this letter with the highest commendations and the deepest gratitude for
a job extremely well done. I recommend your services to anyone who might need
them. The before and after story of your work will always be legendary on our
campus. Thank you for walking with us through this ordeal and leaving us making
music to the glory of God even more beautiful on the other side.”
– New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary • New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organs: You have done
a job far finer than we ever dreamed. Bethel Church, Charleston, South
Carolina loves you all from the tops to the bottoms of our hearts. You have
revolutionized our worship, our fellowship, and our belief in the goodness
of God’s people. The bottom line is this: A.E. Schlueter pipe organs and the
people who build them. That is as good as church music can get!”
– Bethel United Methodist Church • Charleston, S.C., U.S.A.
“I am writing with great joy and appreciation from all of us at Louisburg
United Methodist Church over the outstanding service we received in the
restoration of our 1906 Pipe Organ. We have found your service not only
among the best to expect within your craft, but also far more gracious and
courteous than we could have ever expected. The way and manner you
have brought music back to life in our church is having a profound and
wonderful affect on the church and community.”
– Louisburg United Methodist Church • Louisburg, N.C., U.S.A.
“Our Schlueter Organ with Antiphonal and Trompette en Chamade is magnificent. The
company performed exceptionally well during the design, manufacture and installation process. They met every deadline and budget requirement exactly on schedule.
And, most importantly, The Messiah, with the Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and
the new A.E. Schlueter Pipe Organ, was performed before a packed house and to
thunderous applause on the night of December 23, 2009, exactly on schedule. I can
recommend the Schlueter Pipe Organ Company without reservation. They are consummate artisans and professionals of the highest order. They and their people exceeded our expectations and they have our deepest gratitude for a job well done.”
– Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church • Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A.
Please Note:
We have on file many, many letters of thanks and testimonials for the work we have done to build, rebuild, or add
to existing pipe organs – too many to list here. Due to the limited space, we could only include a few short excerpts
from a sampling of those letters. We are happy to provide complete copies of referral letters upon request, and
routinely include several with the submission of any proposal. You may also visit our website www.pipe-organ.com
for more complete information than space allows here.
Soli deo Gloria
“Building Instruments that have
Warmth, not at the Expense of Clarity, and
Clarity, not at the Expense of Warmth, and
Serving God in our Efforts”
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company