•After finding out that Phenoseal is not PVC-E glue mixed with water, I decided to do an experiment and find out what PVC-E and water is like. I mixed about 50-50 and the result was a liquid like milk that could easily be painted onto wood. I took a slice off a 2" by 3" about 1/2" thick, and drilled...

•I recently bought a set of all nine Beethoven Symphonies, a collection of 38 rolls, from a dealer in England. They are in perfect condition, but a few questions have come up. These rolls were made by Aeolian in England, and if you are familiar with their rolls, you will know that they were made on ...

•To Glen R. Perye Jr. who wrote in for ivory: If you look on eBay under ivory keys, you will find lots of people selling full and partial sets of ivory. I just bought a complete set to recover the keys of an old Mason and Hamlin Liszt Organ. This was an organ built to the specifications of Franz Lis...

•I recently bought an unusual wind motor on eBay that uses pistons instead of pneumatics. Comparing this wind motor to the photos in the MMD Archive shows that it is not a Pistonola, as they used four cylinders, whereas mine uses three double-acting cylinders. Of course, Pistonola might have changed...

•Hi gang: Does anyone out there know if a grand Steinway player can be wired up so that it records MIDI data, yet still work as a pneumatic player? I have a friend who would like me to put sensors in his piano so that if it is either hand played or roll played, a MIDI file can be created. The pneuma...

•Hi there: I wrote in earlier asking about getting MIDI off an acoustic piano. This link seems to indicate I've found the answer: http://emusician.com/mag/emusic_moog_musicpianobar/index.html Randolph Herr

•If someone were to tell me that they were going to perform a Chopin piece, and that they were making some changes in it, I would be very interested in hearing it. How they can think that they can improve on Chopin is beyond me, yet it is possible that the results will not be disastrous. How many co...

•I wish to thank D.L. Bullock for submitting the Mister Rogers video. It was truly worth viewing and saving. I've got a question concerning the arranger shown working at the factory. Can anyone verify if that person was Rudi Martin? It didn't look like J.L. Cook. Keeping with Q.R.S. arrangers, by an...

•I seem to remember Cook was on "You Asked For It" with Art Baker, brought to you by Skippy Peanut Butter. Randolph Herr

•I am looking at a possible rebuilding of a Red Welte Vorsetzer that was imported from Europe. Those fiendish Germans did not use any rubber tubing at all in this machine; the brass tubes run from the wooden tracker bar down into the stack, and every other tube is brass as well. It would be one thin...

•Hello there: I have decided to try to sell my 6' 10" Hardman-Peck Welte Licensee. The piano is unrestored but complete. It is a mahogany grand in a modern, double-legged case. I can provide photos if interested; currently, the piano is on its side in my basement. It has its original ivory keyboard...

•We all know the story of the blind men and the elephant. Obviously, unless they figuratively (and literally) put themselves in the other's place, they will remain a bunch of blind idiots trapped in an endless argument, unable to make progress. Once they all experience the many different parts of an...

•Hello there: I want to add to Bruce Grimes' letter to MMD about recutting Duo-Art rolls. First, I want to say that recutters who put in a huge "snakebite" perforation which consists of two adjacent holes on the tracker bar are not accurately recutting the rolls. I am not going to say the results ar...

•Hello again: I thought I would put in my two cents to the hot hide glue discussion. In my opinion, there is no magical "right" temperature or "right" viscosity. If you use a double boiler, or just a jar of glue in a pot of water, the correct temperature is _not_ when the water is boiling. The water...

•Hello, My friend bought a used Mark 2 Disklavier grand piano and is looking for a service manual. Can anyone help with this? Thanks Randolph Herr

•Hello there: In the US, Tempo markings are figured along the rule that Tempo 70 means that 7 feet of paper should move across the tracker bar in one minute, and so on. I have a Hupfeld roll, made in Europe, that says Tempo 50. Playing it at that speed seems too slow, but trying to substitute the me...

•Hello there: I have a friend who has a beautiful Weber satinwood foot-pumper grand that he imported from England. It seems that this piano needs tracker bar tubing smaller than usual. He tells me that 5/32" tubing (which is .15625 inches) is too big, so I am assuming he must need 1/8" tubing (which...

•I thought that I might be able to provide some information about the English Steck Pianola that was mentioned in yesterday's MMD. Back in the late 1960's I bought a Steck Duo-Art that must have been made in England. The fallboard said Steck "Pianola Piano" and underneath it were the words "Duo-Art"...

•Regarding Ethan Rose's request for making rolls, I have a large quantity of pre-marked music roll paper that is 11.25" wide. All 88 notes are marked vertically, and there are horizontal lines that measure each 1/8". If interested, contact me at Randolph Herr

•Hi Eric: You might have a copy of Die (The) Lorelei, or Die Loreley. It is an old German legend. Loreley is also the name of one of the beautiful Rhine Maidens who lured navigators of this river to their dooms with their alluring singing, much as the ancient Greek Sirens did. You can read all about...