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MMD > Archives > September 2016 > 2016.09.15 > 03Prev  Next


Piano Rolls by Standard Music Roll Co.
By Steve Bentley

Although Frank Himpsl mentions this company in the MMD Archives,
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/MMMedia/std.html ] I would
like to give comments on this company.  The only roll I have
is marked:

  "Perfection" 87051
  Good-Bye Broadway Hello France
  Saxo - One Step
  Baskette (composer)
  Played by Alvin Gardner

The "hand playing" had to be done 'twice' to record, as there
are counter melodies in the higher octaves and the melody around
the middle of the piano uses a lot of tremolo, which sounds good.
By whatever method was employed, the roll is excellent and the
good tune enhances this.

The single notes are just one perforation and are slightly less
in diameter than normal.  Where the note is long sustained, the
perforations form the chain, with around 1/64th-inch of paper
in between the holes.

Many people like to have tunes played 'fast' and the single
perforations of this roll will barely play or will not sound at all.
When playing the roll at a nice 'concert' speed, my Pistonola piano
coupled with the valves designed and made by Doyle Lane plays very
good.

I can make the perforations longer where possible but then 'the
collectors' would say "You can't do that!"  But it would make up for
the deficiencies of that music roll company's "perforating system".

Steve Bentley

 [ The double-valve player actions with primary valves usually play
 [ single perfs better than the single-valve systems, but by the 1920s
 [ most firms did away with the primary valves (to save money) and
 [ so 1920s rolls generally avoided isolated single perforations in
 [ the music roll.  -- Robbie


(Message sent Thu 15 Sep 2016, 19:02:57 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  Co, Music, Piano, Roll, Rolls, Standard

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