Bing Gibbs wrote:

> Other than the fact that maybe it's rare, is there any advantage
> to having a foot pumper reproducing player?

I have a foot pumped Ampico as well as an electric Ampico grand.  I find
the foot pumped Ampico (The Marque Ampico) to be a lot of fun because
there are many times that I want to pump through a roll on my own, put
in expression, sing along or whatever.  The Marque Ampico provides the
same personal interaction as a standard player piano in this regard.

There were several versions of the expression mechanisms, most based
on the Ampico A expression (although Terry Smythe has one that is quite
different) and with varying degrees of success in their ability to
"reproduce".  As an Ampico, mine works fairly well but is not the
machine of choice for reproducing all the subtleties of expression.

The downside, if there is one, is that it is a bit more complicated to
restore than a straight player piano but is not worth much, if any, more
when done.  Personally, I would go for it if the piano and player are in
reasonable restorable condition.  Just don't expect perfect reproducing
effects from it.  Just my opinion.

Bob Conant¶
Endicott, NY