Hello.  Boy, has solenoid pianos taken a beating lately!  I'm afraid
that this debate will never be resolved.  But I will throw this in for
whatever it is worth.

Pneumatic systems have stood the test of time.  There was a time, in
the first part of this century, that pneumatic systems were crude and
poorly constructed (the first push-up era).  In the 'teens and
twenties, the pneumatic systems reached its peak.

A solenoid system demands exact regulation, just like its pneumatic
counterpart.  I still have the idea that the performance of these units
can be improved; however, are you willing to pay the price?

Frankly, I think these units have got a lot of undeserved press.
Market conditions dictate how much development goes into these units.
I would pay $1500 more for a more expressive system; the public at
large probably would not.

We are attempting to compare solenoid pianos with the old pneumatic
systems.  The company who created the Ampico used every resource they
had to develop the system.  Automatically played pianos were in demand
-- when the demand dropped, they were forced to stop making the Ampico.
The makers of the solenoid systems can not pour that much percentage of
their income into development, _at least not yet_.

So, really, it boils down to simple dollars and cents, and what is new
and often misunderstood.  I recall reading somewhere that the old
tuners of the player piano era had the same misgivings about the old
pneumatic systems as rebuilders have of the solenoid system today.

A pneumatic has more power fully open; the transfer of energy is
fairly even throughout it's range.  A solenoid is the weakest at
it's "open" (down) position; a solenoid reaches it's maximum power
when the plunger is _even_ with the electromagnetic field, which is
usually all the way up.

If the solenoid is allowed to move a scant 1/32-inch _before_ it
contacts they key, the piano will perform much better due to the
solenoid being able to develop a little more power before contact.

The primary problem with solenoids is, after a key strikes, there is
some residue of magnetism still in the solenoid that makes the key a
little sluggish to return.  Some sort of feedback loop here would help
greatly.

Best Regards
Andy & Chris Taylor - "The Lone Arranger"
Tempola Music Rolls - "Taylor Made" Just For You
http://home.swbell.net/tempola/index.htm