The recent 'for sale' reference to Craigslist and the Telectric roll
player and rolls has me interested again in a few things.  Do any
complete and working Tel-Electric (65-note) system or Telektra (88-note)
player systems survive in private or public collections, i.e., with
the piano, electromagnet bank, electric generator, and roll player?

Are there any recording examples of what one sounds like in action,
and where one could find recordings?  Did Tel-Ectric ever manufacture
their own piano for the players, or were they always custom jobs used
in existing instruments from various manufacturers?  Did Tel-Ectric
ever consider expression coding on their rolls at any point in their
development, or were they always just the performance with the user
incorporating expression?

How would one go about archiving Tel-Ectric rolls, such as the 300
in the ad at Craigslist?  Seems to me that a special carriage would
be needed in order to adapt a roll scanner to accommodate these rolls.

I hope that these rare components find their way to a good home,
making someone's instrument complete again.  This player system is
one of the most interesting to me because it demonstrates that, at
a very early date, manufacturers were already trying to create the
"indestructible roll".  How many plays out of a brass roll were
possible before the metal fatigued enough to sheer apart?  Do the
canisters prevent tarnishing and corrosion enough to allow these rolls
to survive indefinitely with proper storage?

It's disheartening to learn so few rolls survived because of the need
for surplus brass and metal during both world wars.  Makes me wonder
how much we lost.  So as you can see I have many questions, but looking
through the MMD Archives did not yield too many answers.

Many thanks!
Erik York
Newberg, Oregon

 [ MMD articles about these electric systems are indexed at
 [   http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/T/telectra.html 
 [   http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/T/telectric.html 
 [   http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/T/telektra.html 
 [   http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/T/tel_ektra.html 
 [   http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/T/tel_electric.html 
 [ -- Robbie