Pipes are the most prominent feature of an organ. The stunning beauty of well-designed pipe façade has moved many a viewer and can add an uplifting element to any architecture.  Reproducing the acoustical properties and rich harmonic sounds of real pipes is the goal to which Cornel Zimmer organs aspire, and achieve.  Pipes, whether speaking or not, provide sympathetic resonance, thereby enhancing the tonal character of the entire instrument.  The “scaling” or dimensions of each stop must be perfect in relation to other organ stops to achieve the desired tonal effect. 

Unlike many of today’s organ builders, Cornel Zimmer maintains a pipe shop and voicing facilities in our factory. A majority of our pipes are made right here in our factory by Tom Linder, a 35 year veteran pipe maker.  This not only allows us to build custom scales and styles such as those with extended feet, but also custom voicing to meet or client’s preferences – ranging from European Classic to the American Classic of Skinner tradition. Tom utilizes a variety of metal from lead to copper to various alloys of tin. We believe that a hefty metal thickness is essential not only to make a pipe speak better but also to ensure its longevity.  We can create pipes in a stunning array of finishes, from gleaming polished copper and zinc to intricate flamed marble patinas. Examples of Tommy’s craft can be seen throughout many organs we have built.  Take a look at the flamed copper pipes in our Opus 54, the embossed pipes of Opus 73, the polished pipes in Opus 31.  At. St. Mark’s in Philadelphia (Opus 58) the church requested that we match the pipes in our Grand Chouer Division exactly to the pre-Aeolian Skinner façade pipes in the front of the church.  He reproduced the “old American zinc” look in a three-part process that worked so well that several people in the organ building industry have asked for his procedure on this project.

We prefer to build our pipes here at the factory because it allows for more quality control on site.  In addition, we have found that it can be very expensive in shipping and customs costs to order pipes from overseas, a cost that we do not like to have to pass along to our clients.   However, if we do find it necessary, we purchase our pipes through highly select pipe makers including A. R. Schopp and Sons of Ohio or Luc Ladurantaye of Canada.  We purchase our reeds from A.R. Schopp, one of the finest reed pipe builders in the world.