[ John received this typical letter and shares his reply with MMD.
 [ His reasoning is accurate and his words are direct.  There's a
 [ saying about pleasure boats: "A hole in the water into which one
 [ pours money."   Might be true about player pianos, too...
 [ -- Robbie

At 04:12 PM 1/15/99 -0800, natalia@tdl.com wrote:

> I have a beautiful oak player piano that is not working. It will not
> rewind the roll once it is finished playing. It has some other major
> problems, but I do not want to spend a fortune in repairs.  At this
> point, all I want to be able to do is play the many piano rolls that
> I have. I live in California, near Oakland. If you have any
> information that might help it would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,  Player pianos are 'money pits'.  They require constant maintenance
and must be rebuilt about every thirty years.

What constitutes a 'fortune' is subjective.  The average cost of
restoring a player action is $3000 to $4000.  Unfortunately, the
fair-market value of a restored unit is about 1/2 the cost of
restoration.

One might reasonably ask: Why restore?  The answer: you love the music,
or you have a strong sentimental attachment to the instrument.

Considering that new units are available for less than $7000, offering
a complete rebuild for $10,000+ seems ridiculous; yet every year, at
least three people request such service.  Personally, I equate player
pianos to boats: They're luxury items, and their maintenance and repair
is priced accordingly.

For a technician in your area, please view:

    http://www.player-care.com/playtech.html

Once there, scroll through the listing until you arrive at the state
in which you live.  Choose the technician closest to your location.

Musically,

John A. Tuttle