Pipe Organs

Jim built pipe organs as Olympic Organ Builders in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle in partnership with Glenn D White, Jr. They were active from 1967 through 1970. (Glenn used that name to import organs from Germany during the 1970s and before 1967 with David Dahl.)

Jim also designed a small portable pipe organ that was later offered as a kit.

While in the Peace Corps 1965, Jim refurbished and tuned a pipe organ at Eyo Ita's West African People's Institute, Calabar, Nigeria. He also tuned and repaired other organs in the area.

After Peace Corps Ludden studied pipe organ building in Germany with Detlef Kleuker Orgelbau one of which he installed in Berlin Heiligensee Dorfkirche until the church was recently restored. His letters from that time are in the blog, starting here.

The organ on the right was Jim's 'masterpiece' -- the work produced to demonstrate that he is a master organ builder.

While working in Germany he built this organ, which he installed in Chatham Hall girls school.

In Seattle, he built several practice organs for Universities.