reed pipe

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Music An organ pipe with a reed that vibrates and produces a tone when air is forced through it.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In organ-building, a pipe whose tone is produced by the vibration of a reed or tongue: opposed to flue-pipe. Such pipes consist of a foot or mouthpiece containing the reed, and a tubular body furnishing a column of air for sympathetic vibration. The term reed is applied to both the vibratile tongue and the mechanism immediately surrounding it. In the latter sense, a reed consists of a metal tube connecting the foot and the body of the pipe; at its lower end is an oblong opening or eschallot, over or in which. is fixed the brass tongue or reed proper. The effective length of the tongue is controlled by a movable spring or tuningwire, the head of which projects outside the pipe-foot. The pitch of the tone depends primarily upon the vibrating length of the tongue, but is modified by the length of the air-column in the body of the pipe. A reed-pipe, therefore, is tuned both on the reed and on the top of the pipe. The quality of the tone depends somewhat on the form of the tongue, but chiefly on that of the body as a whole. The force of the tone depends on the pressure of the aircurrent, on the size of the inlet to the foot, and on the exact adjustment of the tongue to the eschallot. Most reed-pipes have striking reeds, but free reeds are occasionally used. A set of reed-pipes is called a reed stop.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. a pipe of an organ furnished with a reed.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. organ pipe with a vibrating reed