John Tuttle asked the size of the punch used for cutting the holes
in a 65-note music roll.  I believe if the music is to play well,
the question really should be, "What should be the length of the
web (bridge) between adjacent repeating note holes?"

Too often I hear a nicely restored orchestrion that doesn't repeat
the notes intended in the musical arrangement.  When I stop the music
roll and examine the perforations, I see that the web between notes
-- notes that _should_ play -- is too small to stop the air flowing
into the tracker bar and so reset the pneumatic and hammer action
for another strike.

The owner asks, "So why does this problem happen?  Surely the
instrument worked okay when it was new!"

I suppose it did, but the manufacturer didn't test the instrument on
every possible brand of music roll, nor did the manufacturer anticipate
that (1) later rebuilders might increase the bleed size (so that dirt
would pass though), and (2) recut music rolls made decades later
wouldn't be as precise as new rolls of the 'teens and '20s.

The worst rolls I've seen are copies (recuts) of style NOS piano-organ
rolls (which play at Tempo 38!).  One can see by inspecting the chain
pattern that a new note is supposed to begin, but the web in the recut
roll is too short.  In this instance a punched hole smaller than
original would have helped, and the when the original roll was recut
it should have been expanded to play at a faster paper speed.

My recommendation to roll recutting firms: Determine a minimum web
length as your own quality specification and make sure that the web in
all your recut roll products meet this length.  Then the notes will
repeat as intended and your customers are more likely to be satisfied
with your product.

Robbie Rhodes
Etiwanda, Calif.