[ In MMD 000601 Miguel said that he seeks a 65/88-note
 [ spool box for his player piano.  I wrote to him:
 [
 [> I fear that the 65/88-note spoolbox is very rare ...
 [> Maybe you can preserve the old Steck piano solely for playing
 [> 65-note rolls, and get another piano for 88-note rolls.
 [> Folks like us never have too many pianos!

Ola Robbie!  Thank you for your advice.

This 65-note Aeolian Steck piano I have is from 1911, and it was
stored for 50 years in an English barn.  I purchased it from a
Portuguese antique dealer.

I did a lot of the research and MMD helped a lot in the rebuilding
of this player piano.  I put my personal touch into it, because I play
the piano too.  With its Langer action it sounds not like a ordinary
American piano but a German piano, which for those who play piano are
by far the best.

All this research and this piano are responsible for my way of living
now; I was an interior architect and now I'm a player action rebuilder,
and I'm very happy doing it!

But there is this dilemma:  It is impossible for me to have two pianos
in my place.  I worked so many hours in this player that I have a
special love for it and, compared with some actions I have worked on,
no comparison is possible.

Above all, I have hundreds of 88-note rolls against a few 65-note
rolls, which are not easy to find here, and in UK or USA good
collections are also difficult to find.  So in this particular case
I think that changing the spoolbox may be a good solution, without
giving up the 65-note function.

Best wishes

Miguel de Mattos
Lisbon, Portugal

 [ What suggestions can MMDers offer Miguel?  Could he build the special
 [ 65/88-note tracker bar, and make a changeover switch?  -- Robbie