I agree with Friedrich Brunzema's comments on design criteria of a house
organ, which parallel those I posted last week. And the story of the
Hinners with added mixture that needed covering is very instructive! For
those of us whose primary use of our house instrument is for practice
(as opposed to playing for other listeners sitting on the other side of
the room), you don't want something blasting you in the face or ears all
the time. A trick that Gerhard Klop (Dutch builder) uses for his house
organs is to turn the mouths of the facade pipes (4') so that they face
inward into the case. This gives the player a much better sense of
blend, and doesn't compromise the sound for other listeners in the
"normal" small room. By the way, the other feature of his house organs
is that he uses only wooden pipes. Gives a nice, gentle tone.