A customer has brought in real nice art case Kranich & Bach art case
piano with a Welte Licensee action.  I've been getting catalogs from
Keystone Rolls for a few years now and they have always had a section for
Welte rolls.  This is only the 3rd Welte I've run across in my 22 years
of rebuilding, compared to the dozens of Ampicos and Duo-Arts that have
come through.

As Murphy's Law applies, now that I *need* Welte rolls, I see in
Keystone's recent catalog that they have dropped them completely.  Since
no rolls came with this piano and I only have a half dozen old rolls and
one test roll, I am wondering if anyone else out there is recutting them
or has any recuts for sale.

The other possibility is to convert this to Ampico.  I have the parts to
do it and all it would not be to difficult.  I'm quite sure this would
work as a few years ago I restored a very late Haines baby grand that had
been converted or maybe put together from surplus parts at the factory.
It had the same stack (standard), and drawer as the previous Weltes I had
worked on, but the expression devices were Ampico "A".

My customer is hot on the idea of conversion as there is a wider variety
of Ampico roll available and neither of us see the sense of restoring it
as a Welte if no rolls can be obtained.  Any information or feedback
would be appreciated.  Thank you

Brian Thornton, Short Mtn. Music Works
109 N. Cannon St., Woodbury, TN 37190
615-563-5814
http://www.mindspring.com/~goatboy/smmw.htm