Hi all.  I have just converted a Hupfeld 72-note upright to play
standard 88-note rolls.  This Dutch player is a superb pumper, mainly
because there are no suction distribution pipes anywhere in the system.
Everything is screwed and gasketed wood.  However, this type of player
has just about everything the opposite way around to usual.

All of the heavy components are below the keybed; only the spoolbox,
wind motor, and connecting lead tubes are above.  It plays rolls from
bottom to top.  The tracker bar is split 36-5-36, and of course the
pin-end rolls are spaced accordingly.

Having worked out the note connections I replaced the trackerbar with
a spare standard 88-note one and retubed the top connections.  All of
this was fine but the next problem was the bottom-to-top playing mode.
I had to replace the left hand roll spring guide to fit normal rolls.

There are two problems with reversing the roll paper, and I speak from
experience at Looe Jazz Festival last weekend!  Firstly, the paper is
naturally reluctant to adopt a new profile having been rolled up over
many years in the natural way.  This can and does manifest itself on
certain rolls where thicker paper tends to lift away from the
trackerbar, resulting in the player activating unwanted notes.

Secondly, word rolls are useless for their purpose as the printing is
now on the "back" of the roll, and unreadable during playing.  I have
now resolved this by turning the whole of the roll drive mechanism and
wind motor *upside down*, and switching the take-up spool to the
bottom.

It was also necessary to construct a new play/reroll linkage and to
shorten the ladder chain.  It looks odd but it now plays normally.  If
anyone wants a picture of the resulting arrangement I shall be glad to
send one.

Roger Waring