•In 2020, I was offered the 20-note chime device shown in the photo. The program was pinned onto the wooden cylinder, which was rotated by an electric motor. The chimes were of the wire rod type as seen in mass produced chime clocks in the 1940s, as by Revere Telechron. The dealer had no provenance ...

In a message dated 96-11-14 03:13:10 EST, Rick Inzero writes: > Subject: Public displays of MM devices in NY State? > > Maybe somebody's already done this, but I'd like to compile a list of > working mechanical music items on *public* display in NY state (with > the idea of taking some road trips to...

•Joe: In MMD 990202 you asked about references for the Aeolian Aeriola roll-playing Instrument. Arthur Ord-Hume has several, albeit brief, references to it in his book, 'Pianola,' published by Allen & Unwin in 1984. Unfortunately, there are no pictures or descriptions of this instrument. What he doe...

•I think the history of the Aeriol is that the Aeolian company, led by the Tremaines, developed it as their own piano player mechanism, but purchased Votey's Pianola when they had the opportunity to do so. (The Pianola was not actually invented by Aeolian Company, but by Votey, who sold out to Aeoli...

•Recently I had the pleasure of assisting a friend rebuild his Ampico, in return for his expert assistance in rebuilding my computer that was severely damaged by a lightning strike last fall. While the glue pot was hot, and the materials were spread out all over the house (I gave up my workshop long...

•In response to Bruce Clark's restoration of his Ampico expression I wanted to point out the importance of the relationship of the top board. This board is the maple board that connects to the top of the three expression pneumatics and it is located at the very top of the expression unit. After you ...

•I am restoring a late Steinway Grand Duo-Art. Unfortunately moths got to much of the felt and I have to replace a good part of it. On the top deck of the pneumatic stack, as many of you know, there are long strips of felt on either side of the valves, to presumably act as dust shields between the t...

•Dear Barry, McMaster Carr has all kinds of industrial felt. Log on mcmaster.com and enter 'felt' into the search box. There is also lots of information on SAE grades of felt. Perhaps you can find what you need here. Larry Emmons

•The thick gray felt you need is used by the pipe organ industry. It is most often used for sound deadening between swell shutters. It is available in several thicknesses from Organ Supply Industries in Erie, Pennsylvania. D.L. Bullock St. Louis http://www.thepianoworld.com/

•Hans van Oost asks how one should describe the device that holds down the music over the tracker bar or keys in a keyframe. In a true keyframe, that is, one that has keys, I would use the description 'grooved roller'. I would not call it a pressure roller as it should be positioned to hover above t...

•Troopers, Posts regarding Robert-Morton's violin attachment are spelling its name "V'olin", which is incorrect. Its correct spelling is "V'Oleon". For a story on the V'Oleon, see pp. 530 and 521 of Vol. II of the "Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ". This volume of the Encyclopedia was auth...

•I posted this query on a theatre organ Facebook page. Several Robert Morton organs installed in Detroit (Annex and Tuxedo) had V'Oleon (correct spelling) units installed. They were fairly useless, hard to keep in tune, and so quiet as to be useless in any ensemble or in a large theatre. No one prov...

•I have a problem with the requirement that to be a RPT you have to be able to tune the temperament by ear. This seems to be a prejudice against new technologies. It also means that anyone whose hearing is not up to par can never be an RPT. If I can take a new autostrobe tuner with stretch tables, f...

•I believe the disadvantage of depending entirely on the tuning aid ("tuning without listening") is that the electronic tuning aid assumes that the piano being tuned has the same behavior as the average piano data stored in the electronic tuning device. Well, the modern mass-produced Yamaha pianos a...

•Dear fellow mechanical music lovers, All mechanical musical instruments have some kind of key frame. In those controlled by negative air pressure this key frame has only one side: the tracker bar. In all keyed instruments, and the keyless types working on positive air pressure, the key frame has a ...

•>[ Ref.: http://www.onlinewoerterbuecher.de/entry_12400.html >[ http://www.onlinewoerterbuecher.de/entry_12500.html >[ Drückblech {n} pressure sheet >[ Druckrolle {f} thrust roller [pressure roller] >[ Druckstange {f} pressure rod >[ Druckscheibe {f} pressure disc In most table-top organs and music...

•The device for creating vacuum from air flow is call a venturi. It is used in aircraft for operating gyro instruments without the use of electricity. Carburetors also use the principle. Jon Guy Arnett, OK

•This device is rarer than the almost mythical Firebird Suite on Audiographic rolls! This tracker-bar can bring notes 1, 2, 3, & 4 into play mode. If you have a Steinway AR, or an OR with an 88-note stack, you would have fun with this. No other reproducing mechanism can do this. What's the price? I'...

•[ Was: Device to Play Ampico "A" Rolls on "B" Pianos ] In an earlier posting, MMD 2017.03.04, I announced success with a prototype of my invention. A promise to report progress beyond the prototype stage was part of that posting. That promise is now being fulfilled. My invention now has a name. It ...

Recordo expression device I removed from a Clarenden (Pratt-Read) player. The customer didn't want it restored. 15" x 7" x 3", 4-valve unit block on top. 4 brass knobs along the side to adjust each dynamic level. 1" hose feed at the bottom. Nice little brass plate says: ELECTORA REPRODUCER Motor Pla...