I was a little surprised to see that Spencer Chase made reference
to the valve system that he has been developing with Gene Gerety in
a recent MMD article, but was pleased to see the cat out of the bag.
I know that the word "wait" in the mechanical music world has
historically had a bad ring to it, but in the case of the Gerety/Chase
MIDI controlled valve system, it is a good thing.

I have been following the development of this system as an observer
and occasional consultant ever since Gene put out his flyer at my table
last year at the MBSI convention.  I can tell you that the unit is very
compact, simple, reliable, and very bug free.

It would have been possible for these two guys to start producing the
design that they had a year ago.  However, they have taken the time and
effort to test and modify it thoroughly until they have come up with
something that responds very quickly, works in any orientation, and is
very compact.  In short, they are doing it right and are now at the
stage where they are preparing to get these parts and assemblies made
in quantity.

I truly believe that this will be the building block that people have
been waiting for to make MIDI conversions of pneumatic instruments easy
and relatively painless.  It should literally be a matter of some T's,
tubing and an interface cable to complete an installation.  So be
patient and you will be rewarded.

Jack Breen
Southboro, MA