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MMD > Archives > March 1999 > 1999.03.10 > 05Prev  Next


Seek Chein PianoLodeon Rolls
By Mike Knudsen

I recently came across a clean, working PianoLodeon toy player piano
at a reasonable price, which followed me home despite having only two
rolls: "Whispering" and "Side By Side", the latter in its original box
with $1.00 price tag (we wish!).  My instrument is the ivory cream
color.

Could someone please post a complete list of the rolls made for this
instrument?  I think someone mentioned that there were 22 titles.  And
of course I'd be interested in buying any that any of you care to sell.

For tone quality, Mr. Chein really put the "toy" back in "toy pianos"
with the 'Lodeon!  I have a far better sounding set of chime rods out of
a junker Jaymar that just happens to be the same scale and spacing, and
some stormy night I may perform a tone transplant and put the "musical
instrument" back in "mechanical musical instruments."

Anybody want to scream before I desecrate a priceless (well, under
$200) antique?  I feel worse about trashing a fine-sounding Jaymar,
whose key action is also better.

Seriously, could the overdamped, clunky sound of the 'Lodeon be a
deliberate compensation for its lack of dampers?  (The Piano Melodico
does have dampers in the bass octave.)   Could the lousy intonation be
intended to simulate a Barcelona Faventia barrel piano?  (Just kidding;
some of these actually hold a tuning.)

Mike Knudsen


(Message sent Wed 10 Mar 1999, 19:18:17 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Chein, PianoLodeon, Rolls, Seek

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