There is a growing awareness of the need to capture the content
of rapidly decaying music rolls in some electronic form that offers
the opportunity for quality recuts, conversion into a form capable
of operating a player piano from a nearby computer, and preservation
into an electronic form offering hope of long term preservation.

While players pianos can be repeatedly restored into perpetuity,
the rolls cannot.  Paper rolls will die, some right now.  All too
frequently, we are hearing horror stories of cherished, well loved
rolls self-destructing.

The process of scanning the content of music rolls and conversion
into electronic form is now very well established.  Pioneers such as
Peter Phillips and Tim Essex started this movement some 10+ years ago.
In recent years, Richard Stibbons has developed a very low cost method
of scanning music rolls that is gaining in interest and momentum.

The process requires a roll transport device that, for most rolls,
bears a striking resemblance to an elongated conventional player piano
spool box.  In fact, such old spool boxes are first class candidates
for the parts needed to build a roll scanner.

There are a number of people actively seeking to build roll scanners.
What are needed to make it all happen is a bunch of spool boxes,
typically removed from salvaged player actions.  I'm in need of two
right now for roll scanners aimed at people prepared to make their
results freely available.

If there are some among us who have such parts available for a good
cause, I would appreciate hearing about them.  To learn more about what
is currently happening with roll scanning, see:

http://www.iammp.com/index.php
(International Association of Mechanical Music Preservationists)

http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm
(My personal web site summarizing current achievements)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rollscanners/
(Discussion group for roll scanning)

Regards,

Terry Smythe
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm