Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site teddy.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!petrus!bellcore!decvax!genrad!panda!teddy!rdp
From: rdp@teddy.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Random stuff...
Message-ID: <1238@teddy.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 3-Sep-85 09:15:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: teddy.1238
Posted: Tue Sep  3 09:15:40 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Sep-85 01:01:54 EDT
References: <253@decwrl.UUCP>
Reply-To: rdp@teddy.UUCP (Richard D. Pierce)
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
Lines: 40
Summary: 

In article <253@decwrl.UUCP> francini@argus.DEC (This Space Available for Rent or Lease) writes:
>
>Funny... when I got married two years ago, in a big church with a large 
>pipe organ, I couldn't hear myself THINK over the organ when the organist 
>was playing in earnest (during the procession and recession).  
>
>I would be curious to know what the conditions of the organ measurement you 
>did were.  Was it a during a public performance or was it a special session 
>with not more than you, the organist, and the measuring equipment present?
>Also, what size was the organ?  Obviously, bigger organs are going to sound 
>louder.  Maybe I'm suffering from a misconception brought on by too many 
>Catholic masses, but I always thought that the Pipe Organ is by far the 
>loudest non-amplified instrument.  (Now, before I get flamed, this is a 
>subjective opinion.  Maybe there are others that emit a higher SPL, but the 
>organ is the most commanding instrument in my mind.)
>
>John J. Francini
>

Yes, I should have been more specific. There do exist large organs which,
with injudicious registration, are capable of irritatingly loud noises
(almost a prejudice, but not quite). I have measured the SPL of large
organs (The large Fisk organ in Harvard Memorial Chapel, the Frobenius
instrument in the Congregational Church in Cambridge, the (to me) huge
Welte organ in the Church of the Covenant in Boston, etc. ). In all
cases where the organist had made proper registration selections (ie.
not pulling every stop simply for effect), the sound pressure seldom
exceeded 85 db SPL in the closest audience seating. I am very sure,
however, that a sizable majority of organists simply do not know how
to register accordingly. The net result of pulling all stops does not
substantially increase SPL, interestingly enough. Several reasons are
behind this, not the least of which is the fact that doing this causes
the organ to, quite literally, run out of air, which causes a reduction
in acoustic output per pipe and mistuning. Very complex non-harmonic
junk is generated and the net result is something which, while not having
huge amounts of acoustic power, SOUNDS very loud, and quite irritating.

Sorry for the confusion

Dick Pierce