Hi All,

About the only thing one can honestly say about pedal pumping
rates is that; even in a best case scenario the rate varies from
mechanism to mechanism.

As Craig Brougher pointed out, a unit can be too tight, making
it difficult to obtain good pumping expression.

And as Andy Taylor pointed out, using an aggressive roll with
lots of perforations will give you a good sense of whether or
not the unit is in good shape.

But here we have two very different conditions. One is single
note expression, the other is capacity. That's why the QRS test
roll performs both tests (and more).

The phrase I've developed over years of rebuilding to explain
how the player piano should operate is this:

Pumping the player piano should be like taking a gentle walk
on Sunday. It shouldn't be an aerobic workout.

Musically,

John A. Tuttle