This morning, I had a look at a Marlowe (Chicago) player piano, serial
#7700.  First impression is a low-end instrument.  The tracker bar has
the standard 88 square ports, and a single horizontally elongated
sustain port, suggesting it may have been equipped with a transposer
which is no longer there.  No theme or soft ports.  A patent date within
the otherwise unmarked spool box suggests the piano was built on or after
1919.  The lower foot pump action is very simple with 2 exhausters and
single full width reservoir across the top, otherwise lots of empty
space.

This is my first exposure to a Marlowe.  Both my Michel and Pierce Piano
Atlas provide very little data.  According to the PPC catalog, it may be
equipped with a Simplex action, but the tracker bar does not have the
trapezoid ports.  Can Simplex actions sometimes have conventional square
hole tracker bars?  I was unable to remove the upper mechanism, so was
unable to verify if the action is a 3-tier unit valve system.

What is the probability this is a Simplex action?  Any risk it might have
unpleasant surprises such as a Shultz action?

I have no interest in this piano for myself.  A friend found it and has
asked for my advice, which in this case seems to be quite limited.

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe                   smythe@mts.net
55 Rowand Avenue               smythe@freenet.mb.ca
Winnipeg, MB, Canada  R3J 2N6  (204) 832-3982 (voice/fax)
http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb.ca/~smythe