Hi, everybody. It seems that Terry has been acting as the clearing
house. Good. I'm Jim Weisenborne. My primary interest (aside from
reproducing pianos - Welte, AMPICO and Duo-Art) is reproducing pipe
organs. I collect rolls for various systems: Aeolian, Austin, Estey,
Moller, Skinner, Welte, Kimball.

I just had the pleasure this past Saturday of joining the New YOrk City
and New Jersey Chapters of ATOS (American Theater Organ Society) for a
trip down to Atlantic City where we had the rare opportunity to see the
two world-famous pipe organs: the Kimball Ballroom organ (with a Kimball
player) and the monster auditorium organ, the giant Midmer-Losh, 7
manual, 300+ rank instrument. The Midmer-Losh organ chambers are not to
be believed. Some of the 16' wooden pipes have mouth openings large
enough to put a micro-wave in. And talk about a sonic spectacular. We
all sat down in front of the stage, off to the right nearly under the
giant shutter door openings. When the organist hit the first big chords
-- well, we were unprepared! It was like having a tidal wave of sound
come washing over you. I fully expected to see all of the folding chairs
and their occupants wash to the back of the back of the auditorium. Can
you believe that the loud reed stops are on 100" of wind pressure!!!
Most of the loud theater organ or church organs never got beyond 25" at
the most. The console is so big that the organist literally sits in it.
It is built into a booth, the back of which you can remove and actually
walk into. It's like a little apartment. There are so many stop tabs
on the organ that I wonder how anybody can play the thing, let alone see
the writing on the tabs if he wears bi-or tri-focals. The Kimball
Ballroom organ was a real treat. It was in tune and very orchestral in
its voicing. It is the last remaining Kimball (aside from my own 3/22
residence organ) that has its player unit intact with rolls. Talk about
scarce as hen's teeth!!!

But seeing and hear the large 64' and 32' bass pipes was a real treat.
And just think, I learned all about this trip via a casual remark made on
the Internet!

I hope that this mailing list will be helpful in swapping rolls,
exchanging technical information, and giving advice. For example, has
anyone out there ordered pneumatic cloth from Australia and had pin
holes appear? Two restorers of player pianos have telephone me recently
with a warning and are in a quandry now about just where to purchase
decent pneumatic cloth.

Next question. Has anyone ordered the duo-art rolls from California that
were played by Peter Minton?  How is the playing and the expression
coding?

Has anyone rebuilt a Welte licensee vorsetzer?