•MMD Readers, I'm looking for a restored, playing Ampico spinet. I'm in no hurry. I am aware that there is an unrestored one on eBay now. Can anyone give me a rough range of prices these instruments go for? Am I correct in my belief that regardless of the name on the fallboard these pianos were all ...

•Hello All, I have a piano in on consignment that I feel is a real gem and needs a good home. It is a 1928 Ampico spinet. The case is in XL original condition, the reproducing system was professionally rebuilt in 1983. With approximately 100 rolls, mostly Ampico. Plays well, however the expression s...

•The Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement in Utrecht, Netherlands, made a short video file (with music, of course) of a beautiful 25-key spinet harpsichord (ottavino, spinettina) played by a pinned barrel. The video may be downloaded at http://www.museumspeelklok.nl//speelklok/movies/hi/0979...

•For sale: Steck Ampico spinet piano, complete, in original unrestored condition. Case and mechanics look okay, but a full restoration would probably be necessary. I don't have it in my shop, but it was offered to me. Contact me if you have an interest. Philip Jamison West Chester, Pennsylvania tel...

•For sale, free: I have a complete Simplex player system in good shape, a complete Kimball spinet organ player mechanism and an old Lowrey Organo organ system that fits into a piano, all free to anyone who wants it. Too big to ship so would have to be picked up. I live in Gas City, Indiana. Jim Turn...

•Hi all, I looked at a Kimball Electromatic player spinet, #S39164, surprisingly in nice shape. Valves okay, plenty of suction, but the drive motor does not work. The fuse is okay, all the plastic gears are just fine. It turns on and off. Is anybody selling or repairing those electric motors? Thanks...

•Just a thought: I have serviced many of these over the years and often I find that the motors and gears, etc., need lubrication very badly. The shafts become gummy and don't want to turn. I have used light lubrication like WD-40 to start out with, and after it's freed up I use a light machine oil. ...

•Jim, from years of seeing the effects of hardened WD40 on clock works, I'd advise against using it on electric motors, or at least, after the motor is freed up, wash it with mineral spirits or gasoline to remove the WD40 residue. If you leave the WD40 its solvent will evaporate, leaving the other s...

•Hi Arthur and all, The subject of the Kimball Electramatic Spinet Player has come up before. Refer to the MMD Archives article at http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/200602/2006.02.05.13.html "Plastic Gear for Kimball Roll Motor." I believe this is the same problem that Arthur is seeing. The p...

•I have up for sale a 1938 Fischer Ampico Spinet (last gasp of the Ampico!), restored less than one year ago. Original dark mahogany finish in excellent condition, new bass strings, hammers, white keys, player mechanism restored by Bill Ackman, well known automatic musical instrument restorer. Locat...

•After a 12-year hiatus the player piano bug has struck me once again. I have been a reader of the MMD for years and have rebuilt ten or so players, most with Standard Pneumatic actions, however the last time I worked on a piano was twelve years ago. I have been thinking about getting another piano ...

•I have a customer with an Aeolian spinet player piano and I need to remove the upper part so I can do some piano action repairs. I could not see how to raise the upper part in order to remove the keys to make the repairs. The tubing going from the tracker bar to the stacks doesn't seem long enough ...

•Clarence, what you're missing is a gallon of gasoline and a match! Joking aside, the only way I have been able to get at that action is to disconnect every tube from the stack and lift up the upper action, pulling the tubes up the sides. I use a white paint pen from Michael's craft store to put a c...

•The Memphis-built Aeolians were constructed of very good materials, however, they were carelessly assembled, and never regulated and voiced properly. It's going to be a mess, but you are going to have to remove the tracker-bar tubing to remove the upper player components. If the tubing is rotten, t...

•Clarence, I had to service one of these before and, sad to say, you have to take the upper part _completely off_. With some sort of tape, mark all the tubing with numbers and disconnect them. Loosen all the items that is holding the upper part in place. Remove the upper part and service. Then repla...

•Several years ago I developed a class on disassembling the modern Aeolian player pianos. I have many photographs showing my method of removing the upper player unit, numbering tubes, etc. I taught this class at two Piano Technicians Guild national conventions. I believe I still have CDs with all th...

•I finally have to drop in my two cents about servicing the piano action on the Pianola spinet from Aeolian. I have managed to remove the piano action successfully without removing the upper player parts; it's simply a matter of taking off the wind motor and disconnecting the linkages and larger tub...

•Hi All, In response to the question about servicing and regulating the piano action in a modern Aeolian player, read the information at http://www.player-care.com/aeolian1.html It is just one of hundreds of technical articles at Player-Care.com Musically, John A Tuttle Player-Care.com ...

•Hello to MMDers, I have a Wurlitzer spinet player that does not rewind at the end of the roll. The problem is that the re-roll hole is #89. Most of the rolls do not have a re-roll slot or hole at the end of the roll for that hole. The re-roll is working properly on the piano, but doesn't trigger be...

•[ Jim Hockenberger wrote in 100521 MMDigest: > The re-roll is working properly on the piano, but doesn't trigger > because there is no hole #89 at the end of most rolls. There is a far easier way to deal with this. Since most of the older piano rolls do not have any rewind hole at all, here is what...