Building a Heritage™ Allen Organ by Rudy Lucente There are few things more exciting to an organist than the ability to be involved in the design and installation of a new instrument, except, perhaps, when that new instrument is their very own. After many years of not having an instrument at home, the opportunity presented itself for me to finally acquire a fine organ, and my choice of builder was Allen Organ Company. My timing couldn't have been better, as the company had recently launched its Heritage™ Series of custom organs. In selecting such a Heritage instrument, I had the opportunity to be involved in every aspect of the design of the organ. Since, as the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words," the following photographs will help tell my story. 1. The organ's construction begins with the console sides. The option to have custom Gothic-style side panels required the special craftsmanship of Allen's woodshop, as shown in the following picture: 2. Constructing the console was accomplished using old-world highly-skilled techniques, resulting in a solidly-built, carefully-fitted console shell, as seen here: 3. With each piece hand-fitted, forming a true one-of-a-kind console, this impressive instrument began to take shape well before the finishing process, as shown here: Click Here to Continue