The Estey Organ Company was located in Brattleboro, Vermont and was the other of the two major American reed organ companies during the 19th and first quarter of the 20th century. As it's name implies, the single manual Artist Model Z was intended for discriminating players for a home setting. The keyboard compass is five octaves, F to F, and it weighs roughly 400 pounds with a large bellows. There are two knee levers. The left knee pedal (standard to many high end reed organs) functions like a crescendo pedal on a pipe organ. In the case of the reed organ, the left pedal when pushed to the left gradually allows all the reeds in one note to play, instead of just the reed(s) that may have been selected by pulling the stop knob. The right knee pedals opens oblong boxes covering the reeds (in similar fashion to the little portable Mason & Hamlin described above), plus a set of louvered shutters affixed to the back of the instrument. The right pedal does not allow more reeds to play; rather, it allows whatever notes are playing to become louder as the internal boxes covering the reeds and the louvers open to let the sound out. With this knee pedal even very subtle crescendo and decrescendo can be achieved (this swell function was also typical to many high-end reed organs).

Estey reed organs were designed for practicality and reliability. This is not to say that the Estey was a less sophisticated instrument or that Mason & Hamlin was not reliable, but rather that the design thrust of the two companies was different. Estey also had a different tonal ideal than Mason & Hamlin. As one restorer has said, the Mason & Hamlin sound is the reed organ sound "on testosterone".

The reeds for the Model Z were designed for an instrument geared to a home setting. They are quiet but extremely refined. The stop list from left to right is: Bass Coupler, Sub Bass 16', Clarinet 16', Oboe 8', Vox Jubilante 8', Diapason 8', Flute 4', harp Aeolienne 4', Tremolo, harp Aeolienne 4', Flute 4', Diapason 8', Vox Jubilante 8', Oboe 8', Clarinet 16', Treble coupler. There is a split point on the keyboard between middle C and the B below it. All stops related to the notes B and below commence from the Bass coupler and go to Tremolo. The stops thereafter on the right apply to middle C and above.

To date, no repertoire specifically intended for the Model Z has been found, but music that would have typically been performed on it includes not only simple material such as hymns, ballads and dance music, but also adaptations of symphonic and instrumental music such as Mendelssohn symphonies, Beethoven string quartets, movements from Handel oratorios, etc. that were commonly published for the reed organ during the 19th century. The Model Z can easily be used to play some music intended for the pipe organ as well as the not inconsiderable body of harmonium music being written during the 19th C. by European (Franck, Rossini, Liszt, etc.) composers.