•Does anyone know anything about Hammond Solovox? This device was probably from the 40's-50's and consisted of a speaker box that sat on one end of the upright piano and a small keyboard with stop rocker tabs on the front for changing organ tones. The keyboard was to screw to the treble end of the p...

•Mike Ryan's note (MMD 980422) reminds me that I obtained many years ago a device called an 'Airpot'. It is a air-damping, glass cylinder with a graphite piston and fixed or adjustable leak valve, one-way or two-way control. Very precise damping in the adjustable version from very stiff to very loos...

•Roger Waring wrote in MMDigest 981105: > It seems to me that any artificial device, whether an electronic box, > or a computer microphone feeding into software, has considerable > limitations. I have tried one program, and from experience find that > it can only tune one string at a time. This ther...

•I really wonder why those folks who automate guitars and banjos resorted to such complicated devices to strum the strings. Has anybody thought of using some harpsichord jacks for that purpose? I have toyed with the idea, and it would require the back of the instrument to be inlet, but that shouldn'...

•Hi, I need the following device to complete my roll arranging piano, which by the way, is coming along nicely. I need to find or build an external MIDI clock to control the note durations. My MIDI program will accept an external MIDI clock signal, so that is what I need to control the "input" (reco...

•Hi everyone, I just bought a wonderful device in Amsterdam, and was hoping that someone could tell me what it is. It's brand new, but since it was the last one that the shop had (the "floor model"), I took it without any kind of box, booklet, or identifying marks. I have suspicions that it is manuf...

•Robbie commented in 000126 MMDigest about the Welte-Mignon "mercury trough" dynamic recording device: >[ I think that the story was invented by Richard Simonton, simply >[ to satisfy folks who asked the question, "How did they do it?" Rijn Gross of the Dutch Pianola Society (Nederlandse Pianola Ver...

•I believe that the word "Jenny" has the same origin as "gin" (the mechanical device, not the beverage). In turn these derive from "ingenious" which also gives us "engine" etc. All from one Greek root. "Engineer" has branched in several directions too. In continental Europe it means somebody who is ...

•We have a large auction with a fine collection of music boxes and mechanical musical devices. I have attached our entire text for the auction. We will be putting a complete list with lot numbers on our web site within the next 7 days. Preview is the previous day & the sale starts at 10 am. Local ho...

•Does anyone know how to link a laptop computer to an external MIDI transmitting device? We've got a roll reader and want to use a laptop to store the data. We have plans to use a serial port device but would like an increase in speed getting the data into the PC. (Robbie, help me out if the questio...

•Another possibility would be to digitise the carousel music and program a ROM device, similar to those greeting cards that play a tune. Whilst they produce those cards by the zillions, so can afford to use a very small memory chip and sound unit, there are available other larger, cheaper, electroni...

•For an automata project I would like to add bellows for a musical device. Where can I find instructions on making a bellows and a source for the leather? Triple bellows details are preferred but single bellows information would be appreciated. Regards, John Bottoms, Concord, Massachusetts, just a s...

•Hi, Does anybody know of a _quiet_ suction device for reed organs or player pianos? I have tried various units and found them all to have noisy bearings. Thanks Herb Huestis

•Holy smoke! Amongst the many amazing devices discussed herein, there are two that stand out in the last MMD. One device is the musical teapot that whistles 'Tea For Two' when it boils. How the heck do they do that? About all I can envision is a steam turbine powered miniature calliope. The other is...

•HMS Secret Service vs. a mechanical music device I thought of everyone here while reading Ian Fleming's "Diamonds Are Forever" last night. A wealthy Las Vegas crime boss had bought and restored an entire ghost town for his amusement and vanity. A certain Commander James Bond, sent to break up the c...

•Here is my advice to anyone in whose face whom any sort of modern device is flaunted, when he is trying to convey the history of our mechanical music instruments. Instead of getting instantly depressed and feeling challenged by this new-tech show-off, immediately pick up the conversation from there...

•Yes, this is a speed control device. When the crimped pad is put against the worm (endless screw) it slows it down. Nancy Fratti Canastota, New York http://www.nancyfrattimusicboxes.com/

•Could anyone direct me to a detailed article or book on rebuilding a tracking device on a Standard player piano? I have the Reblitz book but wondered if any more detailed info was out there. Thanks, Mike Armstrong

•Bill Budenholzer wrote: > The MIDISport Uno USB-to-MIDI interface is a quality device and > should work properly when set up properly. Users of the MIDISport UNO should be aware that M-Audio has identified a number of UNO devices that do not operate as 'quality devices' when used to receive MIDI in...

•Hello -- I recently purchased a Reproduco piano/pipe-organ combination and it has a device mounted above the tracker bar called a "Catch-All Tracker Cleaner" which I have never seen before. It consists of a slotted brass tube horizontally mounted in such a way that it will (presumably) vacuum the r...