Re: Electrified Pumpers
By Robbie Rhodes
Jon, my view ("my personal opinion") is that the pumper piano with its companion music rolls emerged as a "Home Music Entertainment System" of the pre-radio era, and that ill-considered alteration of the system degrades the entertainment. The music rolls for this system were created by artists and editors using foot-pumped pianos, just like the consumer would use, and they expected the consumer to introduce natural accents and volume variation while pumping the pedals.
The electric vacuum pump has no accents and no volume variation, and the music just becomes irritating to me. Many times at pizza & beer lounges I've heard fine old 88-note arrangements played on an "imitation nickelodeon" (a tired old pumper fitted with an electric pump), and I could only cry in my beer over the sound!
In contrast, the music arrangements for the coin-operated piano -- the "nickelodeon entertainment system" -- were created by artists and editors listening to the nickelodeon as they worked, and they employed music arranging tricks to avoid the monotony which otherwise would happen with constant pump vacuum. Indeed, nickelodeon rolls recut for 88-note systems sound okay with an electric pump, because they were intended for that environment.
I don't mind that an electric pump is added to a properly maintained foot-pumper as an aid, somewhat like adding power steering to a car, but it sure removes the kinetic pleasure of pedaling, and the dynamic joys from the sound. I wish to keep the _system_ pure!
Robbie Rhodes
|
(Message sent Sat 14 Dec 1996, 22:15:15 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
|
|
Mechanical
Music Digest™ Archives
