Hello Everybody,  The recent discussion on the subject of "mandolin
effect" attachment gave me a happy feeling of recognition, because
I just have finished restoring this part of my Fratihymnia orchestrion.

On the register unit this effect is called Cymbal, but on the test
roll, with handwritten comments, it says Harfe, which means harp.

The strips are of doubly folded leather, glued together in a long
U-form.  In the end a small metal rod is embedded, so that when the
hammer strikes the leather strip, the end with the metal rod inside
hits the strings just above the dampers.  I also was told by a known
restorer of orchestrions that sometimes hard wooden rods are used
instead.

With this in mind I played for several days with different kinds of
materials, to find the effect I liked most.  I ended up with a small
piece of thick copper wire, clamped around a strip of artificial
chamois leather.  The copper wire, hitting the strings, generates the
most brilliance in sound.  It's indeed the sound like a cymbal or a
spinet.

I will try to send you a picture of the result I achieved. I don't have
a digital camera but do have a Hi-8 camcorder, so I have to capture a
picture, on the run, from the movie I just took.  So if the quality is
not what you expected, you know the reason.

Greetings from Holland and of course a very prosperous Year 2000 to all
of you.

Willy van der Reijden
The Netherlands

 [ Your camcorder photo is pretty good, Willy!
 [ See Willy's new 'Harfe' attachment at
 [   http://mmd.foxtail.com/Tech/
 [   http://mmd.foxtail.com/Tech/mandolin.html
 [ More photos are coming!  -- Robbie