2004-10-30/2019-10-11 - Note from the Organ Database Builders editor Stephen Hall, July 24, 2017. - Minshall-Estey Organs was a joint venture by Burton Minshall of Ontario Canada, and the Estey Organ Co. of Brattleboro, Vermont. Minshall was an electronics expert who had designed electronic organs sold as kits for hobbyists to assemble. When he started building completed instruments for sale, he sought the help of a manufacturer to build the consoles while he supplied the electrical components. Estey, located near the Canadian border, and seeking a replacement product for its declining sales of reed organs, seemed a perfect fit. The new company produced electronic organs based on Minshall's designs until 1954 when Minshall severed his ties with the company. Minshall continued on his own in Canada for another year, then sold all his shares of his company when he became ill. Minshall passed away in 1957, at age 49. Estey continued to manufacture electronic instruments for another six years under the Estey name with German electronics engineer Harald Bode as their new electronics expert. The company ceased all manufacturing activities in 1960. Fletcher Music Centers, Clearwater Florida, purchased the Estey Organ company name in 1989, and continued to operate selling electronic instruments through the 1990s, but these instruments were by other manufacturers. Sources: Simon Crab, 120 Years of Electronic Music (Oxford, 2016) http://120years.net/minshall-organs-burton-minshall-canadausa-1946/ David H. Fox, "J. Estey & Co." A Guide to North American Organbuilders (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society, 1997), Rhea, Tom (May 2004), "Harald Bode", Video History Project, Experimental Television Center, archived from the original on 2011-07-19.
2015-10-04/2019-10-11 - From the OHS PC Database, derived from A Guide to North America Organ Builders, by David H. Fox (Organ Historical Society, 1991). — see Estey Organ Co.
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