A New Standard in American Orchestrion Design

Dear Friends,  I had the pleasure of receiving a phone call from Craig
Brougher who offered to play a couple of numbers over the wire from the
Ding-A-Ling so I could at least hear it, as my ability to travel is
limited.

My first thought was that it sounds like some type of super Weber
Maesto, possibly what their Elite orchestrion might have sounded like.
The versatility of pipe rank switching, various tone colors possible
and range of expression take this instrument out of the category of
"build-up" and put it into the category of important American design
and construction.

If you ever have a chance to visit it in person treat yourself to
one of the most sophisticated and musical orchestrions in existence.
I would call it the American counter-part of the Weber Elite
Orchestrion.  Although it started based on an O-roll, Craig has taken
it far beyond the O-roll and developed its own unique language and
scale.

Cheers,

Stephen Kent Goodman

 [ Editor's note:
 [
 [ See the description of this instrument in the article by John
 [ Tuttle in 981212 MMDigest.  John wrote: "The tuning and balance, 
 [ tonal character and expression levels, range from sublime to
 [ massively powerful without sounding harsh or overly loud.  The
 [ quality of music is better than the finest German orchestrions
 [ I've ever heard."
 [
 [ The praise for this new instrument from music arrangers George
 [ Bogatko and Steve Goodman is genuine.  I hope that some day the
 [ noteurs of Europe will also have an opportunity to hear it.
 [
 [ -- Robbie