My experience with scanning rolls is the following :

  1.  The exact place where you scan-in a round hole is not so easy to
  define, because it's round.  In a square music book, there is no
  problem with that.

  2.  You can not listen to the music, if you have to make corrections,
  you cannot hear it, and if you want to modify something, you have to
  modify many small notes.

In a completely "topographic" copy this is not really a problem, you
will say, but there is a way to have that all easier.

"Amadeus" scans in the following way :

He takes an ideal line in the middle of the track which is only 0.2 mm
large and in 0.02 mm steps, scans only that and is adjusting this line
permanently.  That avoids all paper-roll guiding problems during
scanning process.

A graduated wheel is running on the paper or cardboard, so one knows
exactly where one is in the music.

He knows (because I told him) what the instrument will read as a
single note and what the instrument will repeat.  Then he takes out
all bridging in the midi file he makes in real time.  So you can listen
to the music if you configured the midi notes right before.  If you
don't want to listen, you just give a number to the tracks, without
musical relation.

Then it is possible to correct the music if there are missing bits and
pieces or dirty or broken parts.  If you have only half of a roll, a
gifted musician will complete it.

Before punching, "Amadeus" is told the ideal bridging and he cuts all
the notes in absolutely exact pieces.

It is possible to copy the original bridging if I tell "Amadeus" not to
glue notes together, in that case you will have "mandolin" sound if
you listen to it.  The bridging and un-bridging can be done after
scanning, too, so two files can be created: one with original bridging,
the other with "ideal" bridging.

Any more questions ?  Feel free to ask; "Amadeus" ("Wolfi" for his
friends) loves talking about himself !

Robert Hopp

•---------------------------------------------------------------
Quercus Edition - Robert Hopp
Mechanical Music Workshop : organs & music by "Amadeus"
Erlenweg 16, D-84183 Niederviehbach
Tel : +49 8702 91183  Fax : +49 870291184
e-mail : Robert.Hopp@Quercus-Hopp.com
Internet : http://www.quercus-hopp.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
•
 [ Editor's Note:
 [
 [ Robert Hopp's young prodigy is a smart music copying machine,
 [ developed by Hopp to make music rolls for the organs he builds.
 [ (Is his full name "Wolfgang Amadeus Quercus-Hopp?!")  "Amadeus"
 [ is highly oriented to Midi operations, because the old music rolls
 [ being copied often need much editing, and because new musical
 [ arrangements are sent to Hopp in Midi file format.
 [
 [ Robbie