Hi Jim Canavan and everybody.  Jim asks about playing
Metrostyle-Themodist rolls on his player (they are Themodist-Metrostyle
rolls in the UK by the way).  Well, knowing absolutely nothing about
Jim's player isn't going to stop me giving an opinion!  I'll just
assume that:

1) it doesn't have thin horizontal slots at the extreme ends of the
   tracker bar, for detecting the snakebite holes.

2) the Bass Slider Jim mentions is connected to a split hammer rest
   rail that enables one to put the soft pedal on in the Bass but not
   in the Treble and that there is a similar Treble Slider for the
   Treble side.  My Gulbransen has this arrangement.

If this doesn't describe somebody else's piano Jim, then what you are
doing sounds right, but don't forget to watch carefully where the
snakebite holes actually are.  If they are predominantly on the Bass
side of the roll, you will need to engage the Treble lever instead.

I find it takes quite a few playings of a new roll to learn it
properly.

Speaking of pedalling rolls, why am I still at work?  I've just learned
that my grandson is staying overnight with friends, my son flew to New
South Wales today to do some radioastronomy, so only my wife is at
home.  I've only got about one foot left of repair work to do on a
Chopin etude (this is the first roll to be tried out on my new roll
repair rig) so I should be able to play it tonight.

If Beryl decides to visit a girlfriend the house will be rocking!  I'm
off home.

John Phillips.