Hello Robbie and Jody,  Let me first introduce myself to you.  I am
a retired professional organist and pianist, and mechanical music
was my forte for 50+ years of public service in the piano industry.
I currently own a Sony/Marantz Pianocorder, which I have made several
upgrades to, in order to improve it's performance levels.

Pianocorder was introduced in 1978, and was the _first_ all digital,
solenoid operated player piano, that opened the door to our current
group of manufacturers, from Yamaha's Disklavier to Steinway's Spirio.
Where we have come from in the last 40 years, to me is rather
impressive, regarding player piano performance.

You mentioned quantizing in your reply to Ann Donoghue's post of the
same message subject.  Piano music, is an art, just like the works of
famous painters.  And just like art, music's beauty is in the _ears_
of the beholder as art is to the _eyes_ of the beholder.  Both are
human representations, just as piano rolls are to the pianos they are
performed on.

I just want to add, that you have a "marriage" of sorts when it comes
to player pianos.  First, is the piano itself.  If a piano is not
properly maintained (tuned, repaired, and regulated properly), no piano,
regardless of manufacture will sound good.

Then you have the human element, the artist who does the performance.
Like the article stated, when you age, you lose some of your flexibility
as to playing.  I no longer perform, as my advanced joint arthritis has
crippled my ability to a great extent.

Finally, you have the musical "file"; with player pianos and organs,
it can be paper rolls, cardboard books or MIDI digital files.  The
marriage is putting all three elements together.

I am now getting into arranging, using MIDI files and several
commercial programs to create my own arrangements.  How does a live
performance compare to mechanical performance?  It depends solely on
the second element I mentioned, the human factor.  I am including two
videos.  I think there _are_ some performances that show player pianos
can be faithful reproductions of a performance.

I have enclosed a video of Tom Brier introducing his new composition,
"Over The Top," at the 2010 West Coast Ragtime Festival.  The comparison
video is Ron O'Dell's Pianodisc MIDI file that he edited from another
MIDI file that was sent to him.  Human interface makes the ultimate
difference.  To my ears, the mechanical piano is a very faithful
rendition of Tom's composition, simply because Ron corrected some
errors he found in the original MIDI file.

"Over The Top" Live Performance:  https://youtu.be/qgGfzqKjRWU 
"Over The Top" Player Performance: https://youtu.be/evas8jw3KNc 

Thank you,
Robert McFeeters

P.S.: Robbie, a few years ago, you and Joyce Brite produced a piano
roll of Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, based on a 100+ piece marimba
orchestra.  Is that roll still available and is there a digital file
of that performance?  I would be interested in purchasing either if
available.  Thank you.

 [ The original piano roll, "Brasillian Maple Leaf," was created in the
 [ 1970s with a knife, the old-fashioned way, long before I was using
 [ a computer.  Recent recut copies of the piano roll are available
 [ from Joyce at http://www.mmdigest.com/Exchange/rollpage.htm 
 [ -- Robbie