Pipes and blocks on a Basson comissioned by an American client.

​How craftsmanship contributes to the sound of a reed stop

A French horn reed stop made in the Shires Organ Pipes workshop.A French Horn stop
A reed pipe comprises a brass tongue which vibrates against a tubular shallot. A wooden wedge holds the reed and shallot in place and the assembly hangs from the underside of the block into the tapered pipe boot. A phosphor bronze wire, inserted though the boot, holds the reed against the shallot. A tuning knife is used to move the wire to change the length of the tongue, thereby regulating the pipe's pitch.

A resonator meets the upper opening of the shallot and extends above the boot. Wind entering the boot travels over the reed, causing it to vibrate against the shallot to produce sound. The air then passes into the resonator, which focuses and refines the sound wave.

The tonal characteristics of reeds are determined by several factors, not least the interaction between shallot and tongue. A voicer will take care in shaping the tongue's curve, as this controls how it beats against the shallot. The shape of the shallot, whether cylindrical or tapered, greatly affects the timbre, as does the shape of the 'cut' and the closed-end. The type of block in which the reed assembly sits can also affect the sound.

Scaling is important in determining the final tone colour, though it is not as important as in flue pipe construction. Reed pipe resonators simply reinforce certain partials of the sound wave, the air column inside the resonator is not the primary vibrator. But the shape of the resonator is important: an inverted-conical resonator, typical in a trumpet rank, produces more harmonics than a cylindrical resonator, such as a clarinet.

From creating the boot to shaping the tongue, to fashioning the resonator, the complex process of crafting a reed is carried out by hand by our skilled team at Shires Organ Pipes. Our craftsmen are experienced in making reeds pipes of any type and size, so please speak to us to see how we can help with your particular project.
Newly cast reed blocks ready to receive the shallots
Reed blocks cast in our workshop
A trumpet stop made from zinc in our Leeds workshop.
Flared en chamade trumpet resonators in zinc by Shires
A finished reed pipe made by one of our team in Leeds.
Boot, shallot, tongue and spring

The glorious look and sound of polished organ pipes mounted en chamade

Of all the organ pipes, reeds mounted horizontally – en chamade – create perhaps the greatest visual and sonic impact in a building. This double trumpet was made by the Shires team with half length resonators in the bottom octave. The resonators are fashioned from zinc with tin ends on pipes 1 to 24 and remainder are entirely zinc. All pipes were polished and lacquered before delivery. The ends of the resonators were flared by hand, picture bottom right, in our workshop. Incidentally, 'chamade' was a trumpet call designed to be heard across the battlefield in the enemy camp, just before a charge – so the stop is aptly named.

Nothing run of the mill about this reed – it's a pepper pot oboe

Hot stop: An Oboe 8' made with a high proportion of tin. Note the pepper pot method employed, which was interesting for us to make. French construction from middle c.

This trumpet shall sound in Chelsea

The reed blocks and shallots of an 8' Great trumpet in our workshop destined for the new organ in Chelsea Old Church, London, being built by William Drake Ltd.

Shining example of a Flugel Horn reed stop

A Flugel Horn reed stop, left, and its components newly made in our Leeds workshop for an American customer




​VIDEO: The casting of a reed block:
​Please click to see the process carried out in our workshop.