Great Stalacpipe Organ

Console of the organ, an electrically actuated lithophone

The Great Stalacpipe Organ is an electrically actuated lithophone located in Luray Caverns, Virginia, USA. Covering 3.5 acres of the cavern, it is considered the world's largest instrument by Guinness World Records.[1]

It is operated by a custom console that produces the tapping of ancient stalactites of varying sizes with solenoid-actuated rubber mallets in order to produce tones. The instrument's name was derived from the resemblance of the selected thirty-seven naturally formed stalactites to the pipework of a traditional pipe organ along with its custom organ-style keyboard console. It was designed and implemented in 1956 over three years by Leland W. Sprinkle inside the Luray Caverns near Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, USA.[2]

  1. ^ "How Mother Nature and a Pentagon mathematician created the world's largest instrument". PBS NewsHour. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  2. ^ Madden, Blake (23 June 2016). "Inside The Great Stalacpipe Organ: The World's Largest Musical Instrument". Sonic Scoop. Retrieved 7 March 2024.