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