Xylophone or bell beaters in a nickelodeon hit the bar quickly and do
not rest or muffle the bar in any way.  When the beater pneumatic is
closed the beater just misses touching the bar by almost an eighth of
an inch in some cases.  This clearance is varied to taste and how much
the beater weighs.  Most beaters are rosewood balls for xylophones, and
metal balls (in Coinola and Wurlitzer) or wood (in Nelson-Wiggen) for
the bells.

There are no set guidelines as to how many notes or size of pneumatics,
as this varied by manufacturer.  The arrangers of 'A' rolls did not
seem to have a set number of notes.  Some Seeburg A roll pianos have
22 notes, while Coinola 'A' roll pianos had 24 notes and Nelson-Wiggens
varied number of notes by models.

Don Teach

By the way:  Since Robbie is into motors at this time, does anyone know
why some Seeburg E's have a 1/6 hp motor and some have a 1/8 hp?

 [ I was wonderin' that myself!  ;-)  -- Robbie