When my partner and I took over Duffy Player Pianos in Palisades Park,
New Jersey, I had the dubious honor of attending the 'Aeolian Player
College' in Memphis, Tennessee.  It was a one-week-long seminar on the
players that were available in that year, 1978.

As mentioned, the pianos were terrible and the quality control was nil.
We used to order the players by the dozens.  When the came in, it was
my job to prep them.  This meant replacing plastic valves that didn't
work, installing lead weights in the last few keys so that they would
actually return, adjusting the stickers so that they hit one key
instead of two, adjusting trackers, timing motors and a host of other
repairs on this or that piano.  When the worked, they worked well in
spite of the shoddy construction.

I remember learning how to remove the individual keys from the piano.
You would reach and grab a key, lift it up and twist as you pulled
it off the balance rail pin, and yank it out.  I never ceased to get
a little applause in a customer's home!

I am still servicing them and I have a house call tomorrow on a Aeolian
Musette.  That tells me it is the 39-inch spinet, walnut with spindle
legs, with a drop action.  Should be fun!

Arthur Marino