While the answer to that question is a matter of personal taste, below are some frequently asked questions that frame the Financial, Tonal, and Spiritual reasons why an electronic imitation may not necessarily the answer.

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                     Financial:

• Why do pipe organs cost so much more than electronic imitations?  Actually, that's not always true.  Many "high end" electronics can equal or even be more expensive than real pipes.  Nevertheless, pipe organs are no doubt a very costly investment.   Since each instrument is custom designed and built for a specific worship environment,  highly skilled artists and craftsmen are required to produce not only a functional musical instrument, but a truly unique work of art.   This level of artistry makes the process very labor intensive.   In contrast, electronics consist mainly of assembly line products such as printed circuit boards and thus have no real individual identity.

 

• Why should our church invest in a real pipe organ?  If your church is concerned with a true long-term investment, then they should invest in a real pipe organ.  The "shelf life" of electronics is rarely more than 20 - 30 years.  We should not look at the purchase of an organ as we would a disposable appliance such as a big screen TV or even the latest computer.  A real pipe organ is not an appliance or some newly innivated electronic device.  Since pipe making has remained unchanged for the 500-600 years, and since pipes never "wear out", they are for all practical purposes "forever".  Many churches in Europe have instruments on which Bach himself composed and played.  Some churches are still using instruments that predate the sailing of Columbus!  Though many of the early 20th century American instruments used playing actions that have failed the test of time, the pipes never change and can be reused in a rebuilt instrument.  The question comes down to two choices: does your church want to invest in something that has to be replaced in a relatively short span of time, or does your church want to invest in a real musical instrument that will endure for generations to come.

• Aren't electronic instruments trouble free? What about the maintenance costs of pipe organs?  First, electronics are not proven to be trouble free.  Many times when trouble starts, however, the instrument cannot even be repaired; the church merely discards it. Since Pipe organs are "living", "breathing" instruments, they,  just as any major entity, need periodic care.  Most of this care, however, merely involves scheduled tunings.  Well made instruments require very little if any major maintenance.

 

• Our church tried to sell its aging pipe organ and couldn't get any money for it.  Where is the enduring value?  Don't' fall for the "resale" fallacy.  The value of the instrument is mainly in the ranks of pipes.  Because pipe organs are highly customized for a specific environment, the organ as a whole is not usually that valuable to anyone. Your church needs to find a a builder who is willing to reuse the bulk of the existing pipe work in a new instrument.  Along with the pipe work, your existing instrument may have a usable console shell, blower, reservoirs, casework, etc.  Why replace what you already have? The appreciated equity in all of these items will pay enormous dividends in the cost of a thoughtfully planned rebuilding project.  The worst case scenario is when a church has a real pipe organ, gets rid of it, and buys an electronic.  Then, when the electronic fails, they have to start from nothing.  Use the valuable equity in the existing pipe organ; chances are that the pipes alone are worth more than a typical electronic.

 

• Our church has an aging electronic.  Are any parts usable or valuable in a future project?  An unfortunate symptom of our contemporary "throw-away" culture, a used electronic has  virtually no reusable or valuable parts.
• 
  Someone in our church wants to donate an electronic organ.  What should we do?  This is a very common situation that will eventually present the church with a real problem.  While it is difficult to refuse a generous gift, the problem is that, when the electronic instrument becomes dysfunctional, the church gets involved with disposing of an item with "sentimental" value.  If the donor is financially unable to give the church a complete real pipe organ, the solution to the problem is to encourage the donor give a part of the pipe organ such as the console, an enchamade trumpet, or some other significant part of the instrument.

Tonal:

• Can new developments in digital technology faithfully reproduce real pipe sound?  Yes and no.  The exact "fingerprint" or harmonic wave form of an individual pipe has  successfully been reproduced digitally for quite a few years.  The failure of electronic imitations lies not in the reproduction of individual harmonic patterns, but rather in the totality of all of the sounds combined.  Producing sound through speakers as opposed to pipes presents several acoustical differences.  For example, when the notes of a chord such as "C" - "E" - "G" are all played together, each pipe plays independently, complete with its fundamental and its own series of harmonics. None of the individual notes are compromised by the other.  In contrast, the electronic instrument may reproduce one sound faithfully, but when the combination is forced through the same set of speakers, the individuality of each note of the chord is lost.  When this effect is multiplied by the addition of more stops, the electronic instrument fails even more because the speakers must reproduce combinations of notes and stops at the expense of the individuality of both.  The result is that, while the electronic can be made to equal or surpass the volume or loudness of pipes, the depth and presence of sound in the room is missing.  That's why a symphony orchestra or marching band has such a profound effect on the listener.  Each instrument is uncompromised by the others.  The totality of the sound cannot be reproduced by a sets of electronic speakers.  The laws of nature simply will not permit it.

 

• What about Hybrid Instruments (Pipe/Electronic combinations); aren't they the best of both worlds? Philosophically, they represent the "we can have it all" culture. In technical, pragmatic terms, they are an asymmetrical instrument with all that the term entails. Also, they are an admittance that electronics are not really as good as the electronic companies would have everyone believe.  If they were, why would they need any pipes at all?

Spiritual:

• Since only the "trained ear" may be able to tell the difference between pipes and electronics, why bother with pipes?  I personally believe that our churches should be graced with only the finest "real" items used for sacred worship.  Who really likes fake flickering electric candles, faux marble or stone, or plastic laminate wood work.  We would never think of merely going to a department store to buy a chalice, or altar linens.  Similarly, imitation organs cheapen the sacredness of the environment.  Let the church be a place where we can escape from the tawdry elements of a plastic throw-away culture.  Let the church be a home reflecting the best of our culture, the highest standards of craftsmanship and artistry, a place that is truly inspired and equally inspiring.
• 
  How can an inanimate object such as an organ have any spiritual bearing on worship? First, a real pipe organ is not an inanimate object anymore than we are inanimate objects.  Our bodies are made up of various chemical compounds from the earth; an organ is made primarily of earthly materials such as wood and metal.  In spiritual terms, our earthly bodies are infused with the "breath of life".  Similarly,  basic elements of wood and metal shaped into pipes receive a mere breath of air and likewise come to "life". To further the analogy, we come as individuals to church but are joined in holy unison as the Body of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Similarly, in a real pipe organ, the pipes may speak as individuals, but join together to form a glorious harmony reflective of the true glory of God.

 Random Questions:
 

• Our church is fairly small.  Wouldn't a pipe organ be too "loud"?  No.  This is because the instrument can be designed for the size and acoustics of the room.   Instruments as small as having one rank of pipes work extremely well in an intimate environment and really make an appreciable difference in warmth and quality when compared with an electronic imitation.

 

• Our organist has never played a pipe organ.  Is a pipe organ "harder to play" than an electronic?  The simple answer is no.  A pipe organ is really no different than any other keyboard instrument in terms of the universality of the keyboard.  The difference lies in that each pipe organ is a unique instrument as opposed to an assembly lined electronic.  Every organist, however, has a duty and responsibility to become familiar with the specific and unique properties of the instrument.  Additionally, one mistake that many churches make is following the whims of a specific organist.  This theory is usually phrased with "since you have to play it, you can go (to the local music store) and pick out what you want."  The reality is that organists come and go.  A real pipe organ is not some temporal and whimsical appliance to be carried in a church and plugged in,  but rather an integral and functional part of church architecture, design and tradition.

 

• What is the effect of temperature on pipe organs? The effect of temperature on pipe organs is much less dramatic than seems to be the common misconception.  Pipe organs are in total oneness and harmony with nature and the laws of physics.  Since cold air is simply heavier than warm air, the pitch drops as the temperature gets colder, and likewise the pitch rises as the temperature warms up.  This variation causes no damage to the instrument and is not really noticeable.  The tuning problem that occurs is that reed stops such as trumpets are not effected by temperature change nearly as much as flue pipes are.  Therefore the reeds appear to be "out of tune" relative to the flue work.  The tuner needs to know what temperature the church will be at the time of the worship service so that the reeds can be tuned to the flue work at that temperature.  The real enemy to organs in not temperature, but water - that is water leaking from the roof or bell tower.  Many fine instruments have been ruined due to water damage, but the metal pipes, any undamaged wood pipes, and all other undamaged parts can always be saved and reused in a new instrument.

 

• What is the best action in a pipe organ?
  Probably the most debatable of all organ building questions is the best type of playing action.  First, however, one semantic discrepancy needs to be set aside.  The two terms, "action" and "chest type" need to be discussed separately.
   
• Action: Contemporary organ builders use two types of playing action.  One is "tracker", which is a direct mechanical linkage from the key to pipe valve. Tracker action always employs the use of a "slider" chest. The other is "electric", which means that the key operates an electrical contact that in turn operates a device which will open the valve to the pipes.  This type of action may be used to operate all three types of wind chests listed below.

 

• Chest Types: The three types of winds chests commonly used are: Slider, Electro-pneumatic, and Electro-mechanical. 

 

• The slider chest is considered to be the most favorable to pipe voicing.  This is because the long pallets and deep expansion chambers offer the most gradual sudden attack of compressed air to the pipes.  Slider chests are the most rigid in terms of layout especially when tracker action is used. They are also the most durable with many examples lasting for several centuries.

 

• Electro-pneumatic is the most maintenance intensive due to the fact that perishable leather is used to open the pipe valves.  These chests however are necessary when some specialized reed stops require high pressures.

 

• Electro-mechanical chest valves, although they have been unduly criticized for voicing reasons, have proven over the years to be the most reliable and trouble free alternative to pneumatic chest types.  Electro-mechanical valves not only offer the most flexible pipe layout of any chest design, but also allow for substantially lower wind pressures to be used.  The use of lower wind pressure also minimizes the sudden attack of wind and thus allows for better voicing. The bottom line however, is that the pipe voicing must be regulated relative to the type of chest used.

Keep in mind that while the action and chest type preference debate will surely continue,  the beauty is that we have a myriad of organ builders who offer the customer all of the options possible.

If I didn't answer your question here, please E-mail me and I will try to answer your question.