Organ Console Pricing

[Ben Madison]

Back sometime this year the family decided to go to this place called Black Dog Salvage and to my surprise they had a 1917 Moller 2M looks like 9+ Rnk console with the pedal board sitting next to it with a set of pipes on the other end of the section.

they want something in the upper hundreds for the console

However the console itself tells a different story.
1. Major Repairs needed to the action.
2. Keys need to be cleaned and refurbished.
3. Lead tubing (I think) needs to be tossed and replaced with safer stuff.
4. New Leather.
5. Swell Pedal.
6. Stop Action needs to be cleaned.
7. pedal board restoration.

My question is what price should be paid for the console, pedal board,and set of pipes.

[toodles]

I priced a console from Klann back in the 1980's, to include console, pedalboard, bench, keycheeks but no keyboards nor stop controls. It was about $8,000. New keyboards from OSI are over $2,000 per manual.

The cost of new organ equipment is very high, and any evaluation of used equipment ought to take that into account.

[Ben Madison]

Im confused can you clarify?

[samibe]

Ben, are you doing the work yourself or planning on paying someone else to fix it up?

To me, "upper hundreds" sounds about right for a 2M+P 9Rk pipe organ that needs significant work (especially if it comes with a blower, regulator and chests). You might be able to negotiate the price down to mid-hundreds due to the work that needs to be done (though, it is probably priced where it is because it needs so much done). Free if it is lacking the background equipement.

I think what toodles was trying to point out is that if you have to replace anything with something new from a organ supplier, it is going to cost a lot (thousands of dollars altogether). If you're doing the work, plan on at least $2k (assuming it comes with everything needed to work) and hundreds of hours or work. If you're planning on paying a builder to do the restoration and installation, $20k sounds like a steal.

[toodles]

I am saying that organ parts are expensive and that hundreds of dollars for a used organ console is pretty reasonable, especially if it is in reasonably good condition.

[Ben Madison]

They were offering the console i cant remeber if the price included the pedalboard and the rank of pipes that was with the console.

None of the other ranks were their, no wind related equipment. I looked up at the blog and it said that they had it since 2013.

I took tne oginal specification and added an additional ranks i might post what i came up with if i had managed to secure the console with the pedal board.

If i had gotten the console that day, the stop tabs would been replaced with drawstops but the spec would brought audsley into play

[tbeck]

He mentioned lead tubing. This sounds like a tubular pneumatic action. Depending on the use the OP has for this console, it might not be worth it at no cost.