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Wurlitzer Rank List Compiled by Al Sefl

I make no guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the information that follows.  It is still a work in progress at this time, January 10, 2002.  All I was doing for the last 40+ years was putting stuff in my notebooks about what ranks I saw at various installations.  After the rank name was the number of pipes in the rank, compass, the type of pipe, and the lowest pitch seen.  An odd listing like the Nazard appears on a Wurlitzer tubular pneumantic chapel organ and other odd listings are likewise from instruments that would not be considered part of the mass production.  Some pipes are physically the same with two names like the French Trumpet which appears to be indentical to the non-brass small scaled Trumpet rank found in the church model organs.  Here then is my rough compilation of ranks included in Wurlitzer organs of all types:


Adobe Acrobat File of Wurlitzer Rank List by Al Sefl
Click on a column heading to re-sort the list by the heading.

Rank Max Compass Pipe Type Lowest Pitch
AEOLINE 73 FLUE 8'
CELESTINA 61 STRING 8'
CELLO 73 STRING 8'
CELLO CELESTE 73 STRING 8'
CLARINET 73 REED 16'
CONCERT FLUTE (BOURDON EXT) 12 FLUE 32'
CONCERT FLUTE/BOURDON 97 FLUE 16'
COR ANGLAIS 73 REED 16'
CORNOPEAN 73 REED 8'
DIAPASON DOUBLE OPEN (WOOD) 32 FLUE 16'
DIAPASON PHONON 73 FLUE 8'
DIAPASON, HORN 85 DIAPHONE/FLUE 16'
DIAPASON, OPEN 73 DIAPHONE/FLUE 16'
DIAPASON, PRINCIPAL 73 FLUE 8'
DIAPASON, STOPPED 73 FLUE 8'
DIAPHONIC DIAPASON 85 DIAPHONE/FLUE 32'
DOPPELFLUTE 61 FLUE 8'
DULCE FLUTE 73 FLUE 8'
DULCE FLUTE CELESTE 49 FLUE 8'
DULCIANA 73 STRING 8'
ECHO FLUTE 61 FLUE 8'
ENGLISH HORN 73 REED 16'
FLUTE (WOOD) 73 FLUE 8'
FLUTE D'AMOUR 61 FLUE 8'
FRENCH HORN 73 REED 8'
GAMBA 85 STRING 16'
GAMBA CELESTE 73 STRING 8'
GEDECKT (WOOD) 73 FLUE 8'
GEMSHORN 73 FLUE 8'
GEMSHORN CELESTE 73 FLUE 8'
HARMONIC FLUTE 73 FLUE 4'
KERAULIPHONE 73 FLUE 8'
KINURA 61 REED 8'
KRUMET 61 REED 8'
LIEBLICH FLUTE (WOOD) 73 FLUE 8'
LIEBLICH GEDECKT (METAL) 73 FLUE 8'
MELODIA 61 FLUE 8'
MUSETTE 61 REED 8'
MUTED VIOL 61 STRING 8'
MUTED VIOL CELESTE 61 STRING 8'
NAZARD 49 FLUE 2-2/3'
OBOE HORN 73 REED 16'
ORCHESTRAL OBOE 61 REED 8'
PHILOMELA 73 FLUE 8'
QUINTADENA 61 FLUE 8'
QUINTADENA CELESTE 61 FLUE 8'
QUINTATEN (QUINTADENA BASS EXTENSION) 12 FLUE 16'
SALICIONAL 73 STRING 8'
SAXOPHONE, BRASS 61 REED 8'
SAXOPHONE, EARLY HOYT METAL 49 REED 8' TC
SAXOPHONE, LATE DENNISON STYLE 61 REED 8'
SOLO STRING 85 STRING 16'
SOLO STRING CELESTE 73 STRING 8'
SPITZ FLUTE (GEMSHORN) 61 FLUE 8'
SPITZ FLUTE CELESTE 61 FLUE 8'
TIBIA CLAUSA (NORMAL SCALE) 85 FLUE 16'
TIBIA CLAUSA (SOLO SCALE) 97 FLUE 16'
TIBIA PLENA 97 FLUE 16'
TROMBONE/TROMBA 73 REED 16'
TRUMPET, #2 "STYLE D" 61 REED 8'
TRUMPET, BRASS 61 REED 8'
TRUMPET, FRENCH 73 REED 16'
TRUMPET, MILITARY 73 REED 16'
TUBA DIAPHONE (EXTENSION) 12 DIAPHONE 16'
TUBA HARMONIC (TUBA PROFUNDA EXT.) 85 REED 16'
TUBA HORN (OPHICLIEDE EXT.) 85 REED 16'
TUBA MIRABILIS 85 REED 16'
TUBA MIRABILIS (BOMBARDE PEDAL EXT.) 12 REED 32'
UNDA MARIS (DULCIANA CELESTE) 61 STRING 8'
VIOL D'ORCHESTRA 85 STRING 8'
VIOL D'ORCHESTRA CELESTE 73 STRING 8'
VIOLA 73 STRING 8'
VIOLA CELESTE 73 STRING 8'
VIOLIN 85 STRING 8'
VIOLIN CELESTE TC 73 STRING 8'
VIOLINA 61 STRING 8'
VIOLINA CELESTE 49 STRING 8'
VOIX CELESTE 61 STRING 8'
VOX ANGELICA 61 STRING 8'
VOX ANGELICA CELESTE 73 STRING 8'
VOX HUMANA 61 REED 8'
VOX HUMANA (CHORUS EXT.) 12 REED 16'
VOX HUMANA (SOLO SCALE) 61 REED 8'
WALDHORN (CORNOPEAN) 73 REED 8'
WOOD DIAPHONE 32 DIAPHONE 32'

I am indebted to Ian McIver who acquainted me with the interesting diversions from standard US Wurlitzer pipework that is to be found in the UK. Specifically the French Trumpet and the late odd Dennison style non-brass Saxophones.  Also with Ian’s urging I have added the Waldhorn (nea Cornopean) found in the Radio City Music Hall.  However, I cannot recall ever seeing a Cornopean in a Wurlitzer instrument, only the earlier Hope-Jones installations.  I am also indebted to Ray Thursby for his information about the 16’ Gambas having a Celeste on some studio instruments and for jogging my memory about the Fisher Theatre Double Open Diapasons, wood from 16’.  Steve Durham asked about the Philomela in the Plummer Auditorium, Fullerton, California, and then I realized I had copied the list one off and left out the Philomela.  John Ledwon posted about his Viol d’Amour and Celeste which I had forgotten about so it is included now.  Robert Trousdale was kind enough to add the rare items in Plummer to the list, including a Cornopean, Larry Chace porvided information about the Military Trumpet, and Tom De Lay confirmed that Gemshorns were in fact listed under that name rather than Spitzflute which I first listed.  Tom also reminded me I had seen the extremely rare metal Lieblish Gedeckt in one of his contract instruments.   In summation, a list like this is not the work of one person and there will always be the oddity that pops up to prove you haven’t yet arrived at a complete, one hundred percent accurate, listing; but, stay tuned, I’ll keep compiling.

"Special thanks go to Bill Schlotter, Rudy Frey, and Kevin King for incorporating some of the rarest pipework in the world into the ATOS NorCal Chapter Organ in the Berkeley Community Theatre and certainly helped to expand my list."

As for the Mixture in the Radio City Music Hall, is it a Fournature, Zimbel, Scharff, Quint, or what? I’ll add it to the list as soon as I find out where it belongs.

 Corrections and additions welcome.
Al Sefl < ASeflPipes@aol.com >
At the age where he has to write everything down...
And then loses the paper...
©Reserved - cause this just might go into a book someday.

Adobe Acrobat File of Wurlitzer Rank List by Al Sefl

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