Portative organ kit

Description

The first portative organs date back to Medieval times. The name comes from the Latin portare, meaning “to carry”, and were traditionally strapped to the performer’s body, allowing them to pump the organ with the left hand while playing the keys with the right.This organ is an evolution of the design, which allows the organist to play with both hands while letting the electric blower do the hard work!

This organ offers a 32-note (2½ octave) compass and two ranks of pipes: a 4’ Stopped Flute, and a 2’ Principal. This makes it a usefully playable musical instrument in various settings – sacred and secular – from monophonic Medieval repertoire, through the harmony of hymns and psalms, and even including contemporary music with its distinctive 8-bit sound!

It’s hard to capture the sound of an organ in a video, but this short demonstrates the Stopped Flute stop. The Principal is louder than the Stopped Flute and should be able to support singing with a small congregation. The Stopped Flute is better suited to instrumental performances.

This kit includes everything you need to build a fully playable organ, including over 500 3D-printed parts, over 100 off-the-shelf parts such as springs, consumables such as glue and foam tape, and a full set of illustrated instructions.

For modern convenience, this organ is supplied with an acoustically dampened electric blower box which attaches to the rear of the windchest. This allows the organist to play with both hands without requiring an assistant to pump, or having to use a foot pump.

This kit aims to provide not just a specialist musical instrument at an affordable price, but an enjoyable project to assemble, and an educational opportunity to see and understand how the inside of a pipe organ works. Assembly requires extensive use of superglue and a scalpel, so the kit is intended for teenagers and adults. However, there are many tasks that would be suitable for children under adult supervision.

Each 3D-printed portative organ is custom printed to order as some components can be printed in a variety of colours. Therefore, there is a lead time of approximately 2-3 weeks for the manufacture of each organ kit. Select your chosen colours from the menu when ordering. If you have any queries about custom colours, please use the contact form below to enquire. We will do our best to satisfy your colour choices. Likewise, if you wish to have stop pulls in a different language, this can be accommodated.

Discounts are available for schools and charities. Please use the contact form below to enquire.

Dimensions

• Width:  53cm to the tip of the stop pull
• Height: 70cm to the tip of the flute stopper
• Depth (without blower attached): 33cm
• Depth (with blower attached):  55cm
• Weight: approx 9kg

Acknowledgements

• This organ was designed by Chris Wilkinson in Canada 🇨🇦
• This organ air blower system was designed by Martin Králik in Slovakia 🇸🇰
• This kit was 3D printed & prepared by Jonathan Gazeley in the UK 🇬🇧

Environmental statement

This organ kit is printed almost entirely from a material called PLA (polylactic acid) which is a plant-based, biodegradable thermoplastic. It is derived from renewable resources like corn starch or sugar cane – not from crude oil. PLA may be composted in a commercial composting facility.

The 3D printer that printed this organ kit is powered entirely by solar energy during daylight hours.

Enquiries