Austin Organs is the only remaining Great Name from the Grand Period of American organ building. Companies like M.P. MÖller, Aeolian-Skinner, Kimball and a host of others have closed their doors and passed from living to legend. By good management of a good product, and by moderation in all things, Austin has survived the vicissitudes of economic hardship and perhaps of greater significance: stylistic change, to emerge with the experience that comes from over a century of works of all kinds, styles and sizes, from grand concert organs to small chapel instruments.

Organ builders inevitably assert that their work is of the highest standard, that their product is the finest available, and that the sound of their instrument is clean, clear and distinctive, and free from harshness, stridency, or any unpleasantness. At Austin, we go an extra step to say that our instruments endure, that service-folk will happily attest to the reliability and ease of servicing, and that our organs, even from the 1890's, are supported by new or equivalent replacement parts from the factory.

Austin Organs are known for avoidance of the extreme. Never was an Austin too "chiffy" and even our organs from the 1920's have a clear, singing quality to the Diapasons that lends them to easy renovation and tonal modernization. Our Flutes have always had a lithe quality - articulate, bright, yet with rich fundamental warmth. For decades, Austin had voicers who did nothing else, but voice string pipes: Viole, Salicional, Dulciana, and of course one of our signature voices: the Nitsua! String tone can be lush, and full or edgy and full of sizzle. Reeds are built in the Austin Factory to our scales and materials, as developed through the generations. From the gentle Vox Humana, to the bright Trompette-en-Chamade, our Reed stops are known for stability of pitch and tone to excitement and color. The needs of the instrument demand creativity and a trained ear. 

The American Classic tonal design concept is that an organ should be able to play music of nearly any period without severe limitations imposed by instruments built in a particular national school of tonal design. This is an idealistic approach, of course, but with this concept as a goal, we are encouraged to keep our designs versatile and eclectic. The balance is absolutely key. We take particular pride in building organs with singing, warm choruses, all the voices which have to be combined and carefully voiced so that they form a cohesive ensemble. It is an approach that works very well, and we feel an Austin organ is the best stewardship for an organ committee.

The Austin Organ will endure.