Greetings
Welcome to CombsOrgan.com
Download
a printable .pdf brochure of our products and services.
(733K)
Thank you for visiting the new website of Combs Organ Specialists,
a small group of very dedicated organ craftsman and technicians.
We do Rodgers Instruments sales
and service, pipe organ tuning and
maintenance, custom digital / pipe interface organs, pipe
organ rebuilding and additions, re-leathering, custom organ
facade construction, build windchests,
organist training and workshops, and church music consultation.
*Quick Tip - We encourage
you to click on some of the tabs below this box for a quick
overview of what we do, what you can find at this website,
and how to navigate the site easily.
Using our New Website
Finding Your Way Around
There are several ways to move from
page to page at this site:
Accordion Box - The boxes that expand and
contract, including the one this section is contained by
are called "Accordion Boxes". The 6 different boxes contain
general information and links which will lead you to anything
you want to know. You will find these available towards
the top of every page.
Navigation Bar - You will find a conventional
"Navigation Bar", or set of one word links, at the very
top of each page on the site.
Content Links - Within the text of an article or
headline, you will find links that will take you to more
information.
*Quick Tip - If you click
on most of the smaller images, a larger version will be
shown.
Site Content
Once you are comfortable getting
around the site, what types of things will you find here?
Products and Services - Read an overview
of what we do.
Contact Us - Use one of any methods provided:
Mailing Address, Directions to our Shop and Showroom, Phone
Numbers, Email Addresses, one of two contact
forms for sales inquiries or service / tuning requests.
Installations - Many pages of pictures
and detailed information about upcoming, ongoing, and completed
projects.
Testimonials - one of the new focuses of
our website is to include as much feedback from our clients
as possible. We will be adding more and more messages from
the organists, ministers, and others that we work with as
they come in. If you have worked with us and would like
to drop us a line to give us your thoughts, please
do!
Our Products and Services
What We Do
Download
a printable .pdf brochure of our products and services.
(733K)
Rodgers Sales and Service - We are an authorized
dealer for Rodgers Instruments of Hillsboro, Oregon. We
serve most of the state of Kansas, excluding the eastern
edge. Mike Combs started his work with Rodgers as a salesperson
for Mid-America Piano, the Rodgers Dealer at the time, nearly
20 years ago. In 2000, Combs Organ Specialists became the
Rodgers dealership for this area.
For more information about our Rodgers Installations, links
to Rodgers, etc., visit our Rodgers
page.
Pipe Organ Tuning and Service
- C.O.S. contracts with over 100 churches in Kansas, Oklahoma,
and Texas for the regular tuning and service of their pipe
organs. For information regarding pricing, frequently asked
tuning questions, etc., visit our pipes
page.
Custom Woodworking - By looking at the
pictures on the page below, it should be apparent that we
take a great deal of pride in how our installations look,
in addition to how they sound. This past year, our master
carpenter, Dan Miller, came board as a full-time employee.
He has been working for us, on a per-project basis, for
years. Our business has grown to the point where we now
keep him busy building custom casework, windchests, and
church furnishings, 5 days a week. Visit our wood
page for more information.
Pipe Organ Additions and
Rebuilding - Reasons for needing to rebuild an
organ can vary. Old pipe organs can have problems with their
electrical relay and switching systems causing dead notes,
problems with combination actions, etc. They can also have
leather that has decayed - causing dead notes, ciphers (notes
that always play), wind leaks and air noise, etc. Rebuilding
might also be needed to add new stops to an organ. We can
help in any of these situations. See our rebuilding page
to read more.
Organist Training and Workshops
- Much of our organist training happens every time we are
at a church. Whether the visit is a scheduled tuning, sales
meeting, or we are just dropping by to say "hello",
organ talk invariably comes up. Each conversation is an
opportunity for us to teach about the inner workings of
the organ and learn from the organists we work with as well.
More extensive, formal training happens when we install
a new or newly rebuilt organ. Each organist is given ample,
hands-on instruction regarding the operation of a new system.
In addition, we plan and present workshops periodically
to cover more general organ related topics such as registration,
and the organ's place in contemporary worship services.
*Quick Tip - Join our Mailing
List to stay informed of workshops near you. Also, if you
would like to host a workshop at your church, please contact
us. We'd love to come.
Contact Us
At Your Service
Phone Numbers -
Sales Inquiries: (316)-283-6588 Tuning & Service Requests:
(316)-281-4855
Addresses - Mailing
Address: 410 E. 6th St., Newton, KS. 67114 Shop
/ Showroom: Map
of 304 N Main St Newton, KS 67114-3417, US (open by
appointment only)
Email - Mike Combs:
mikecombs@combsorgan.com
Jeff Combs: jcombs@combsorgan.com
Contact Form - Submit
a quick sales inquiry or tuning / service request using
our contact form
Email Newsletter
Stay Informed
We will begin sending 1 emailed newsletter
per month as part of our website update. Join our list to
find out about dedications, concerts, workshops, and more.
*Quick Tip - If you have an event
scheduled, please let us know so we can help you publicize
it.
Upcoming Events
The Latest
Happy New Year! Welcome 2010! - We are starting off the New Year with several new projects. For the next few weeks, we will be working on a new Rodgers / Pipe Combination organ at St. John's Lutheran Church, Ellinwood, Kansas.
*Quick
Tip - Make sure you join our mailing list to hear about
dedications, concerts, new installations and more!
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Sacred
Heart Cathedral Undertakes Major Organ Betterment Project.
The Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina, Kansas is a very active Catholic
church located in the downtown area of the city. The present building
was completed in the early 1950's and can seat nearly 1,000 people.
The vast interior of terrazzo and concrete is a beautiful kaleidoscope
of light when the sun streams into the modern room through the many
floor to ceiling stained glass windows. The reverberant acoustical
setting has one of the longer decays in the entire region that has
actually been decreased during the past few years.
Music of all kinds is a joy to perform and is very exciting to listen
to. A well designed audio system that includes delay circuits enhances
the spoken word so that even in the back of the long nave people
can understand nearly every word.
A pipe organ has been part of this spectacular setting since the
building was finished. The 1926 pipe organ built by George Kilgen
and Son Opus 3655 was moved from the original Cathedral and re-installed
by the Kilgen Organ Company in the new building in 1952. It was
given a new Opus number of 7571 and contained 17 ranks of pipe work.
A new three manual console was installed behind the high altar and
the original two manual console was placed in the side chapel. Both
consoles could play the entire pipe organ in some fashion.
In 1975, the organ was cleaned and some tonal revisions were done.
By the mid 1980's the organ was having serious mechanical problems,
and in 1987, the Larson Pipe Organ Company of Marquette, Kansas
replaced the original Kilgen chest action with direct electric action
valves and magnets. Both consoles were re-built and tonal additions
and modifications were done.
By the early 1990's, the organ once again began to show signs of
mechanical problems. When the parish priest fell from a high ladder
trying to stop a pipe that was ciphering, it became obvious that
the organ needed some major work.
Combs Organ Specialists began meeting with the priest in the summer
of 2001. David Rankin, working with the organists and a newly formed
organ committee, soon discovered that there were many issues surrounding
the organ at Sacred Heart and some concerns had nothing to do with
the mechanical condition of the organ. Tonal issues began to surface
and more "up-to-date" sounds for the school mass were
added to the wish list. Some people even wished that the organ could
again sound like it did when first installed in 1952. A variety
of proposals were presented by David and discussed at length.
After a day-long organ tour in early summer 2002, the idea of a
major re-building and enhancement project using new Rodgers consoles
began to take shape. Discussions continued concerning whether to
re-build the existing consoles or to replace them with Rodgers digital
consoles.
At no time did the idea of discarding the existing pipe work ever
enter into the discussions other than to have many people say how
important the pipe organ was to them.
The project was moving forward although slowly when the Cathedral
was struck by lightning. Damage was limited to various pieces of
electronic equipment in the Cathedral including the insides of both
organ consoles, but the pipe organ was not playable. The musicians
struggled with a small keyboard for several weekends. Combs Organ
Specialists brought a Rodgers 751 in as a loaner, and the first
time it was used, many people thought the pipe organ had been repaired!
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