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~
construction and tuningc of
xylophone bars and related types of musical
bars, such as marimba, orchestra bells,
celesta, vibraharp and glockenspiel bars, has
been enshrouded in a kind of mystery which
is really unjustified. The purpose of this
article is to set out a group of physical
principles which should enable the
do-it-yourself restorer to complete a
fractional set of bars, or even to bu i1d a
complete set if the need arises. With a bit of
experimenting, each person can fairly
qui ckly develop his own techniques,
depending on his particular needs and the
materials and tools that he has on hand.
A,II of the above-mentioned
instruments (including church-type chimes)
share one common characteristic which
makes them quite different from most other
instruments: their tone bars vibrate in much
the same way that other percussion
instruments do (such as piano, guitar, etc.),
except that their stiffness is the dominant
pitch-determining characteristic instead of
the tension they are subject to, as in piano
and guitar strings. This gives them a set of
natu ral overtones that are distinctly
different from those of other instruments. It
is this same "stiffness" that gives rise to
"stretching of the octaves" in the upper and
lower registers of piano tuning.
Specifically, most tone-producing
instruments (violin, organ pipes, brass and
woodwind instruments, etc.) generate a set
of overtones, which are higher pitches in
addition to the basic fundamental tone, and
whose frequencies are exact integral
multiples of the fundamental tone. They are
known as "harmonics", both in musical and
electronic engineering circles, and it is fairly
safe to use the terms "overtone" and
"harmonic" interchangeably, until you get
to vibrating devices whose stiffness becomes
significant. Our whole system of harmony,
keyboard layout, musical chords, and
musical composition is predicated on the
fact that most musical instruments have a
series of overtones that are also harmonics.
For example, middle C, as a fundamental
tone, has overtone (or harrno nics) whose
pitches correspond to C (one octave above),
G (1~ octaves above), C (2 octaves above),
E (2 1/3 octaves above), G 2~ octaves
above, C (3 octaves above), ad infinitum.
These correspond to the second, third,
fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth harmo nics.
As many as twenty of these harmonics can
be significant in establishing the tone
character, or timbre, of a tone.
This is where vibrating bars differ,
musically and physically, from vibrating
string or vibrating air-column instruments. A
vibrati ng bar has a series of overtones wh ich
are definitely not harmonics; that is, the
pitches of these overtones are not integral
multiples of the fundamental pitch. It is
precisely this non-harmonicity that gives
these vibrating bars their distinctive tone.
Spefifically, for a bar of uniform
cross-section (that is, one which has not
been "undercut"), the middle C bar will
The Construction and Tuning
of Vibrating Bats
by W. E. Flynt, Garland, Texas.
have overtones whose pitches correspond
approximately. to Fit (1~ octaves above),
and a ~ries of higher ones which are of
lesser hnportance (except for church
chimes - more on that lated.
This order of overtone structure will
prevail regardless of the length, width,
thickness, or type of material from which
the bar is made (metal, wood, etc.),
although the fundamental pitch will be
strongly affected by all the above factors
except width. In particular, the frequency
of vi bration of a bar of uniform
cross-section is proportional directly to its
thickness, and inversely to the square of its
length. That is, if a bar were ground to half
its original thickness, its pitch would be
halved O.e., lowered one octave). Further, if
a bar were cut to half its original length, its
pitch would be quadrupled (i.e., raised two
octaves). Thus, such a bar can be tuned by
grinding away small amounts of material on
its ends or in its thickness, depending on
whether it needs to be sharped or flatted,
respectively. To a limited extent an
unintentional "overshooting" of one can be
compensated by the other. To raise the
pitch of a bar by one semitone, you would
need to remove about 3% of its length.
Instruments which have bars that have
more or less uniform cross-section are
orchestra bells, glockenspiel and xylophone.
I nstru ments which have intentionally
non-uniform bars include vibraharp, organ
harp, celesta and marimba; these latter
instruments have bars that are deeply
undercut near the center, giving them a
particu larly mel low tone due to the
resulting overtone structure. A further
constraint that the instrument designer (or
restorer) must work within is that, for the
sake of appearance, a set of bars must
gradually taper in length from one end to
the other. If a new set is being constructed,
this will come about naturally if all bars are
made the same thickness and out of the
same material (whether wood or metaO.
However, if you find yourself needing to
make one or two bars to complete a set,
some experimentation will be necessary.
Generally, the shortest bar of a two octave
set, say, will be about half the length of the
longest bar.
Probably one of the more interesting
facets of the design of a vibrating bar, or set
of bars, is that the fu ndamental tone and
the first overtone of a bar are each
separately tunable and, in fact, they both
must be tu ned. The pitch of the overtone is
very nearly as important as the pitch of the
fundamental tone, although not quite as
critical. As stated above, the first overtone
of a uniform bar will naturally occur at
about 18 semitones (or about 1% octa.ves)
above the fundamental pitch. This particular
interval happens to be somewhat dissonant
w hen played in chords with, other
instruments, but it gives the xylophone its
characteristic "plink" type of sound, and is
usually satisfactory. Orchestra bells fall into
the same category. The tubular resonators
which are often used under the bars on a
xylophone serve to amplify the fundamental
tone, and to a minor extent, the first
overtone.
If the interval between fundamental
and first overtone pitches is the same (say,
18 semitones) for all the bars ina set, then
the apparent tone quality will be consistent
from top to bottom, and the slight
dissonance will be quite satisfactory to the
ear.
Figure 1 shows a typical bar and the
method of tuning the fundamental tone and
the overtone, separately .and together.
Notice that material removed from the ends
of the bar will cause both the fundamental
and the overtone to rise in pitch, whereas.
material removed from the center will
flatten only the fundamental, and material
node
node
. 1_~
material removed
here will flatten
only the overtone
\
~
material removed
here will flatten
only the fundamental
tone
material removed from either end will sharpen
both the fundamental and the overtone
FIGURE
I -- FUNDAMENTAL VIBRATION MODE OF A XYLOPHONE.TYPE BAR
Page Three
removed near the nodes (about 25% inward
from each end) will flatten only the
overtone. It is in this way that the
fundamental and the overtone are separately
tunable, and it is very important when
tuning to remove material from the proper
areas in order to obtain the desired result.
Since material removed from the
center area will flatten the fundamental
tone only, the spread between the two tones
will thereby be broadened (say to 19 or
more semitones). In particular, if enough
material is removed from the center area to
broaden the interval to 24 semitones, which
is exactly two octaves, then the
combination will be very pleasing
(somewhat mellow) to the ear. This is the
case with marimba, organ harp and
vibraharp bars. The tubu lar resonators used
under these bars serve to amplify only the
fundamental tone, further mellowing the
tone. This, then, is the reason that the bars
on these instruments always are very deeply
undercut.
The fundamental vibrating mode of a
bar, shown in exaggerated form in Figure 1,
has two points called "nodes" along the
length of the bar where there actually is no
motion, and it is at these points that the bar
must be physically supported. Xylophones,
vibraharps and other instruments usually
have their bars supported on a cord that
runs along the length of the instrument.
Each bar is drilled horizontally at its two
nodes to accommodate the supporting cord.
Other instruments, such as glockenspiel,
have their bars drilled through vertically,
rather than horizontally, to accommodate
felted screws for support. In either case, the
tuning of the fundamental tone is affected
only very slightly by the drilling operation.
It is vital for the hole, whether vertical or
horizontal, to be drilled at the' node; .
otherwise, the musical tone will be damped;
that is, it will fade away quickly. To locate
the position of the nodes of a bar, it may be
supported temporarily on two narrow strips
of felt, and, as it is struck several times with
a rubber hammer, sawdust sprinkled onto
the bar will quickly migrate to the two
nodes, and their position can be marked for
drilling. The drilling operation should occur
before final trimming to pitch. Although the
locations of the nodes will change very
slightly during final tuning, the change will
not be sign ificant.
Actually, when tuning the overtone,
material should be removed not exactly at
the node position, but from an area slightly
toward the center of the bar from the node,
particularly in the case of cord-type
support. Since a hole will be drilled at the
node, any further removal of material at the
surface will weaken the mechanical strength
of the bar.
When tuning the bar, either overtone
or fundamental; material could be removed
merely by cutting part way through the bar,
in the appropriate place, with a saw blade.
However, commercial manufactu rers cut
away material from a broader area,
apparently using a drum-type sander. Most
holes drilled at nodes for supporting cord
(
I
)
./)
Note deep undercutting;
see text.
~
(
tubular resonator, if used
movable tuning plug
FIGURE 2-- CROSS-SECTION OF TYPICAL VIBRAHARP OR MARIMBA BAR
likely the reason is that the resultant
bending during vibration of the bar will be
distributed over a larger area, lessening the
likelihood of material fatigue at that point.
In any event, the appearance is certainly
more appealing with the gradual curve.
As for actually tuning to final pitch,
some pitch reference will be necessary, such
as a piano, organ, or electronic tuning
device, unless the tuner happens to be
blessed with absolute pitch. Certainly some
degree of relative pitch development would
be desirable, since the overtone and the
fundamental tone must be separately
distinguished, each in the presence of the
other. The fundamental can be excited
alone by carefully striking the bar exactly in
its center; the overtone can be excited alone
by striking the bar exactly at one of the
nodes. However, such a procedure is more
useful in identifying the pitch of the
overtone in the mind of the listener than in
actual practical tuning.
As for selection of materials, some
experimentation is in order here also. For
metal bars, common aluminum alloys such
as 6061 can be used, in thicknesses from 1/8
inch to perhaps 1/2 inch, depending on
whether an existing set is being matched or
a new set is being constructed. The width of
each bar should be at least twice its
thickness. Wood bars should be made of a
dense hardwood, preferably rosewood, but
walnut, maple, or other hardwood can be
used. Rosewood is very expensive and
difficu It to cut, since it tends to burn and
collect on sawblade teeth, but its resonant
qualities (i.e., low damping factor) cause it
to "ring" much longer when struck.
Therefore, its cost would seem to be
justified in the better instruments. A
"clean" knot-free portion of a large board
must be selected since all bars should be
made from the same board so that the tone
quality and appearance will be uniform. The
moisture content of these wood bars will
influence their elastic properties (and hence
their pitch), so they will need to be sealed
with a lacquer or varnish after final tuning.
Possibly a moderate temperature bake-out
prior to final tuning would help stabilize
their pitch. An oven setting of 150 degrees
for one hour is suggested, but some
experimenting would be in order.
Page Four
The tubular resonators under each bar
on some instruments serve to amplify
sou nd-especially the fundamental tone.
These tubes are usually about equal in
diameter to the width of the bars, and they
are usually plugged at the end opposite the
bar. They are acoustically analogous to a
stoppered organ pipe, and they must be
tuned by sliding the stopper inside the tube.
Since the resonant pitch of the stoppered
tube depends strongly on its proximity to
the bar, it must be in final position before it
is tuned. About % to % inch spacing is
common. For rough tuning, the pitch of the
resonator (independent of the bar) can be
estimated by blowing into the tube,
somewhate like "blowing across a bottle",
and listening for the resulting tone. But be
careful, since it is easy to err by exactly one
octave in the estimation of pitch.
Many of these same principles apply in
the construction and tuning of tubular
chimes, and this subject will be covered in a
forthcoming installment.
References:
"Elements of Acoustical Engineering", by
Harry F. Olsen (Van Nostrand, 1949), page
52.
"Vibration and Sound", by Philip M. Morse
(McGraw-Hili, 1948), page 154.
About the author••• Dr. Flynt is a physicist
with Varo, I nc., Garland, Texas, in the field
of night vision electro-optics, and holds the
PhD degree in physics from the University
of Texas. He has built a 16 rank pipe organ
for his church, where he has been organist
for the past 12 years, and is otherwise
involved in local musical activities. Only
recently has he become interested in
automatic musical instruments, and current
projects include the development of a digital
tape recording system for creating new
reproducing piano arrangements from live
performances, and several "drafting board"
arrangements for the Ampico system.
Claes O. Friberg and Q. David Bo-w.-ers invite you to learn about the ...
§V1ekanisk.- §vfusik.- cfJJuseum
Let's Get Acquainted!
Claes O. Friberg and Q. David Bowers, owners of the Mekanisk Musik
Museum, invite you to get acquainted. Over the past five to ten years
Dave and Claes have supplied many fine instruments to AMICA
members. It is our estimation that 75% or more of the Welte-Mignon
reproducing pianos to be shipped from Europe to the U.S.A. during
that time have come from Claes in Denmark. Dave, a California
resident, has been an important supplier to many collections. Many of
the finest reproducing pianos, orchestrions, organs, music boxes, and
other automatic musical instruments featured during the fabulous
AMICA convention last July were obtained from Dave.
We would like to have you try our service. We offer you: (l) A nice
selection of instruments of all types - large ones, small ones, cheap
ones, and expensive ones - something for everyone. (2) Reasonable
prices (perhaps the best evidence of this is that most of our sales are to
dealers). (3) Convenient low-cost packing and shipping from Europe or
from various points around the U.S.A. (4) Accurate descriptions of
instruments being offered. We try to be conservative in our descriptions, not optimistic - and we believe that the experiences that many
AMICA members have had with us bears out great satisfaction in this
regard. (5) A sincere, friendly, and honest transaction. We're collectors
and enthusiasts ourselves, and we will treat you just as we would like to
be treated.
About the MMM
The Mekanisk Musik Museum is located at Vesterbrogade 150, right
in the heart of downtown Copenhagen. The MMM (our nickname for it)
is an affair of the heart - and the modest admission charge of 5 Kr.
(about 70c U.S. funds) just helps to defray expenses. Instruments on
exhibit include such pieces as a Weber Maesto orchestrion, Seeburg H
orchestrion, Mason & Hamlin Ampico Model B, Steinway-Welte,
Hupfeld Phonoliszt-Violina, Mills Violano Orchestra, and over a
hundred other things - from the collections of Dave and Claes. The
MMM is not intended to be a money-maker; both of the directors have
other sources for their income.
We are actively buying and selling all types of instruments. Claes,
who lives in Denmark, speaks Danish, English, French, German, and
Swedish and is constantly travelling around Europe in search of
interesting things! These are then brought to the MMM and shipped
from there. We have complete export packing facilities to ship you
anything from a small music box to a container full of pianos or organs
- all efficiently packed and shipped at low wholesale cost.
Dave lives in California (postal address: Box 1669; Beverly Hills,
California 90210) and is constantly looking for interesting items in the
U.S.A.
Items that the MMM has for sale are listed in the MMM Review, an
interesting magazine that we issue several times per year. All AMICA
members were sent a free sample copy of Issue No.1. Now Issue No.2
is being prepared. A subscription of $5 will assure you of receiving the
next six issues as they are released. Guarantee: If at any time you don't
want to continue your subscription,. the balance will be cheerfully
refunded without question. Many AMICA members have already sent
their subscriptions. If you haven't done so, do so today. The next issue,
No.2, will contain many, many wonderful things, will be much larger
than the first issue, and will feature one of America's most fabulous
collections offered for sale. Read on ...
The Larry Givens Collection
We recently purchased the fabulous collection formed over a period
of many years by Larry Givens of Wexford, Pennsylvania. Larry needs
no introduction to AMICA members: his books, Rebuilding the Player
Piano and Re-enacting the Artist, are classics.
The Givens Collection will remain in Wexford as we have made a
special arrangement with Larry to have items shipped from there to
various buyers as they are sold.
The Givens Collection is just one of the features of the next MMM
Review. Many other fine groupings will be offered in the field of
reproducing pianos (including Ampico, Duo-Art, Welte, Hupfeld, and
Philipps), disc and cylinder music boxes, some really fabulous orchestrions (the recent AMICA convention in Los Angeles showed how much
fun these instruments are to own!), band organs, portable hand-cranked
barrel organs, and many other things.
Send your $5 today to Claes in Denmark - and you'll be a member
of the "MMM family" - and receive our MMM Review copies as they
are issued!
"The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments"
A few months ago the Vestal Press released The Encyclopedia of
Automatic Musical Instruments, a 1008-page book with thousands of
illustrations, written by Q. David Bowers. How has it been selling? Well,
in the first month after its release 1,200 copies of this $25 volume were
sold - and now a huge second printing is in the works!
The Encyclopedia contains information, model numbers, historical
data, etc. on thousands of different instruments - including reproducing pianos, player pianos, and other things which are AMICA
specialities. In fact, quite a few AMICA members contributed pictures,
information, and facts to the work.
The Encyclopedia is available for $25 sent to U.S. addresses or $27
overseas. Send $25 to: Q. David Bowers; Box 1669; Beverly Hills,
California 90210 and he will send you a personally inscribed and
autographed copy. Make your check payable to the Mekanisk Musik
Museum. Guarantee: If you aren't 1000/0 delighted with this fabulous
book, just return it within ten days and your money will be instantly
refunded. Informative and possibly significant note: No one has ever
taken advantage of this return guarantee!
A Few More Words from Dave and Claes
Well, we've now just told you some things about us and the MMM.
Now it's your turn - and we'd like to hear from you. We think you'll
really enjoy doing business with the MMM. We'll do our very best to
give you the best value for your money and to engage in a transaction
which will bring you back for more! We look forward to receiving your
letter!
A small part of the Larry Givens Collection
Sincerely,
Claes O. Friberg and Q. David Bowers
§V1ekanisk.- §vfusik.- cfJJuseum
Vesterbrogade 150/ Copenhagen, Denmark
Directors: Claes O. Friberg and Q. David Bowers
Note Extensions on Ampico Rolls
by Vemon Brown
©A
mong Charles Fuller Stoddard's many
automatic musical instrument patents, there
are eight which concern note extensions.
The patents consist of one or two pages of
drawings followed by many pages of fine
print replete with high flown verbiage and
legal jargon. I propose here to extract the
pertinent portions and to present the
content of each patent in easily
understandable form.
The note extensions were, and to some
extent still are, controversial. Much was
claimed for them over the years. It was
sometimes claimed that they added " tone
coloring" to a roll thus edited. Or it was
claimed that they enabled the roll to
reproduce the "exquisite 'singing tone'"
which "distinguishes the playing of some of
the greatest artists". On other occasions it
was claimed that the note extensions
represent half-pedaling by the recording
artist. Aside from these claims, just what is
accompl ished by the various note
extensions? And to what extent do they add
to or detract from the fidelity of the
reproduction?
The eight patents are here arranged in
chronological order by the date of filing of
the patent application. The patent nu mbers
are not in order because some of the patents
were granted soon after the application was
filed and some were not granted until years
later. As presented here, the first paragraph,
in each case, is composed of extracts from
the patent itself, and this is followed by
clarification or comment.
OCTOBER 18, 1911
NOTE SHEET
INSTRUMENTS
FOR
MUSICAL
U. S. PATENT 1,072,527
"A note sheet for automatic musical
instruments comprising note perforations
having lengths selected arbitrarilY,
su bsta ntially without regard for the
intended durations of their notes; .••and a
supplemental perforation for continuing the
sounding... of said notes to desired
durations, after the said note perforations
have ceased to act."
This first patent is, in effect, an
anti-extension patentL It actually provides
for shortening the note perfs rather than
extending them. But as will be seen, this
patent is related to those which follow
because it concerns use of the damper pedal
and because it involves alteration of the
notes as transcribed ."from the score or from
a record of the pianist's performance". The
text states that in "the type of note sheet
heretofore used", the lengths of the note
perfs corresponded with the duration of the
notes. But "in the practice of this
invention" the note perfs need "be merely
long enough to cause the initial sounding of
a note" and the "damper pedal
mechanism••• be utilized.•• to sustain the
note ••• throughout the desired
duration••••Thus it is possible to curtail
note perforations very substantially and to
sustain a note [or notes] by a single
supplemental sustaining [pe·dal]
perforation ••• "
The advantages are
considerable: Not only does this "permit
sympathetic vibration of other strings" but
"this curtailment of perforations avoids a
substantial proportion of the cutting
necessary to be done on note sheets as
heretofore made, and thereby not only
effects an economy, especially in the
preparation of a master sheet by hand, but
also results in a much stronger and more
durable note sheet."
This shortening of the note perfs could
be done without affecting the performance
and would indeed strengthen the paper. But
tampering with "the rear ends" of the notes
had begun, and if something could be
achieved by shortening, could something
perhaps be achieved by lengthening? We will
soon see a complete about-face from the
position taken above.
PRIME CONTROLLER FOR AUTOMATIC
OR PARTLY AUTOMATIC MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS
U. S. PATENT 1,294,844
II A
note sheet for automatic musical
instruments comprising a succession of
groups of note-sounding perforations for
sounding theme notes and accompaniment
notes respectively; [damper pedal]
perforations for sustaining through
substantially the duration of a group
accompaniment notes sounded in said
group, a selected accompaniment-note
perforation of said group being abnormally
extended to prolong the note thereof into a
second group; and [damper pedal]
perforations to sustain notes of said second
group and to sustain also, as a part of the
harmo ny of said second grou p, the note of
said abnormally extended perforation."
In this patent we see the first
introduction of note extensions, here
lim ited to selected notes in the
accompaniment. The notes (both
accompaniment and theme) are sustained by
normal pedal perfs, and the dampers are
returned to the strings periodically as
determined by the phrasing or by harmonic
changes. The extensions are used to prevent
certain accompaniment dampers from being
returned to the strings at the end of a phrase
or group, the dampers of such notes being
held up by the extension until the pedal
perf of the second group can catch them. By
this means, those tones of one group that
Page Six
are not actually discordant with those of a
following group are added to the harmony
of the following group.
NOVEMBER 15, 1911
METHOD OF MAKING NOTE SHEETS
FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
U. S. PATENT 1,370,614
"A method of making a perforated
note sheet for reproducing upon an
automatic musical instrument characteristics
of a manual rendition which comprises
recording upon a record-receiving sheet•••the
operation of the tone-sounding action ...and
recording upon the same record-receiving
sheet substantially the times when the
damper pedal is depressed and released by
the performer; and making in the said sheet,
perforations corresponding respectively to
the tones recorded,... and one or more of
said perforations having its rear end
extended arbitrarily beyond the
record-mark ••• to sustain its note
substantially as indicated by the record of
pedal operations on said sheet."
This patent includes the design of
machinery to record the pianist's pedaling
on the note recording by means of a switch
attached to the piano pedal. ("Pedal" means
the sustaining or damper pedal. The soft
pedal was never recorded.) The patent states
that "heretofore" such pedal perfs as were
inserted were "placed on the note sheet
more or less arbitrarily by reference to the
original musical score. Thus, a musician
employed for the purpose would examine
the score and indicate where the dampers
should be withdrawn from the strings and
where they should be returned; and the
perforations necessary for these purposes
would then be correspondingly placed on
the note sheet. Such a practice as this has,
of course, somewhat improved the
automatic playing by providing for some
sort of an automatic substitute for pedaling;
but even so improved, the playing lacks that
quality of spontaneity and individuality
wh ich characterizes a manual performance
by an artist. An artist's pedaling is largely
instinctive and cannot be practically
reduced to any rule which would enable one
to translate an ordinary musical score into a
perforated note sheet and provide
effectively for proper pedaling. In short,
what has been attempted heretofore has had
in view a mere imitation of characteristics of
manual playing, as distinguished from actual
reproduction thereof such as comtemplated
by the present invention. By contributing to
the art a method and means of recording
and reproducing characteristics of a manual
performance, the present invention gives to
an automatic instrument the capacity to
reproduce (not merely imitate) the
distinctive individuality of the greatest
artists•••"
So far so good. It wou Id seem that we
are on the threshold of true reproduction.
But a few paragraphs later we find that "It
is a further object of this invention to
provide a note sheet which shall be capable
of reproducing pedaling effects without
requiring any auxiliary pedal perforations.••
This result is obtained•••by••• prolonging the
note perforations so as to sustain the
individual notes•••" In other words, this
patent, at one fell swoop, provides for
recording the pianist's pedaling and then
abolishes all pedaling from the note sheet,
note extensions to be supplied instead.
Let us digress for a moment and
consider just what happens when note
extensions are substituted for damper pedal.
The a'rtist's performance and the
reproduction by the piano will differ in that
the sympathetic vibrations provided by the
other strings will all be lost in reproduction,
and this cannot help but affect tone quality
and resonance. I n addition, without the
damper pedal, it becomes impossible to
repeat a note without first damping the
string. When the pedal is used, the dampers
may be raised and a note struck repeatedly
while the string continues to vibrate without
interruption. Without the pedal, the key
must be allowed to rise in order to strike the
note again, and as the key rises, the damper
is returned to the string. This fact seems not
to have been considered here, but we will
fi nd that some two years later, another
patent will attempt to remedy this
deficiency. As for the loss of sympathetic
vibration, the patent grants that there is
"some difference between the sustaining
effects produced by prolonging the
individual note perforations as described,
and those produced by the actual damper
pedal operation" but claims that the use of
note extensions instead of the damper pedal
is an improvement on the artist's
performance in that "discordant
sympathetic vibration is eliminated." We
have come a long way from the first patent
above.
JANUARY 23, 1912
NOTE SHEET
INSTRUMENTS
FOR
MUSICAL
U. S. PATENT 1,304,117
"A note sheet for reproducing or
i m i tating characteristics of a manual
rendition provided with note sounding
perforations••• which, in order to cause their
notes to be sustained with the effect of a
damper pedal operation, have their rear ends
arbitrarily prolonged."
This patent differs from the one
immediately above only in that there is no
provision for recording the pianist's
pedaling, and instead of "a note sheet for
reproducing", this patent has "a note sheet
for reproducing or imitating." That is, this
patent provides for the insertion of
extensions by editors without reference to a
recording. It would seem that all that had
been said about "the practice heretofore" in
the patent immediately above had been
forgotten.
MARCH 30, 1912
NOTE SHEET FOR PLAYER PIANOS
AND THE LIKE
u. S. PATENT 1,025,077
"A note-sheet ••• havi ng selected
perforations prolonged beyond lengths
corresponding to the notation on the score
or record from which the sheet is made, said
perforations extending beyond the rear ends
of non-selected perforations and overlapping
followi ng perforations to augment the tone
volume of the latter by the addition of the
selected tones..."
This patent differs from preceding
patents mainly in that, although there are
no damper pedal perfs, the extensions do
not necessarily reproduce or imitate
pedaling; instead, the extensions can be of
any length. "It is practicable•••to prolong
any given note perforation to an indefinite
length so long as it does not too far overlap
succeeding perforations of notes wh ich
would be prohibitively discordant."
"A music '''sheet for automatic musical
instruments comprising, in combination,
sounding and resounding perforations; and
pedal operating perforations of minimum
length to hold the stri ngs of said sou nding
and resounding perforations undamped
during the interval between sounding and
resounding."
This patent adds, accordi ng to its
wording, "the ultimate refinement" to
ear lier patents by providing "pedal
perforations of unique character and
purpose." These peda1,perfs have nothing to
do with the pedaling of the recording artist.
They are very short perfs raising the
dampers for only an instant just before a
resounded note or notes in order to bridge
the gap between the end of a prior note
extension and the resounding perf. The
pedal is used solely for this purpose, all
other sustaining being done by extensions.
This gives "very highly refined effects, in
some cases of greater tonal beauty than is
possible to be procured by the most skilled
manual playing."
OCTOBER 12, 1914
Most Stoddard-Ampico, Solostyle, and
Rythmodik Record Music Rolls have a
rubber stamped notice on the leader and
label affixed to the box top stating: "This
MUSIC ROLL is manufactured under U.S.
Patent No. 1,025,077••• In the event of any
violation all rights revert to the owner of
said patent."
APRIL 23, 1912
NOTE SHEET FOR
AND THE LIKE
PLAYER PIANOS
U. S. PATENT 1,270,985
"A note-sheet havi ng desi red
perforations prolonged beyond lengths
corresponding to the notation on the score
or record•••, certain of said perforations
having their rear ends positioned as close as
practicable to the advance ends of
corresponding resounding perforations to
cause the resoundings to occur during
residual vibration of the strings; and certain
selected prolongations being terminated
sufficient distances from the advance ends
of corresponding resounding perforations to
permit residual vibration of the strings
substantially to cease prior to the
resou ndi ngs."
T his patent pertains mainly to
resounded (repeated) notes and "the
emphasizing, more or less, of selected notes
or the relative supressionin greater or less
degree of other non-selected notes" by
varying the amount of paper between the
end of an extension and the beginning of a
following perf for the same note.
SEPTEMBER 28, 1914
NOTE SHEET FOR AUTOMATIC
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
U. S. PATENT 1,251,042
Page Seven
PERFORATED NOTE SHEET FOR
AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
U. S. PATENT 1,257,043
"A note sheet... comprising•••
note-sounding perforations, certain of said
perforations being curtailed to lengths less
than the lengths indicated by the score or
r ecor d ••• and au x iii ar y sust ai n i ng
perforations cooperating with non-curtailed
note perforations to continue the notes
thereof from their original group into
another group."
This patent, like the one immediately
above, provides "pedal operating
perforations of unique character and
purpose" totally unrelated to the pedaling
of the recording pianist. The pedal perfs are
intended not only to permit resounding
without prior damping of the string but also
to bridge the gap between one harmony
group and another so that selected note
extensions can be further extended by
raising all dampers. The only really new
thing in this patent, however, is the
provision for eliminating undesirable notes
by shortening their perfs so that they are
not caught and sustained by the pedal.
Normal sustaining action is accomplished by
note extensions.
As even a summary of the note
extehsion patents runs to a good many
words, a summary of the summary may be
in order: The first patent claims superiority
of pedal perfs over extensions. The second
continues the use of pedal perfs but adds
accompaniment extensions to bridge over
the damping of the strings between pedal
perfs. The third abolishes all pedal perfs and
substitutes extensions based on a record of
the actual pedaling. The fourth permits the
insertion of these extensions by editors
without reference to a record of pedaling.
The fifth provides for extensions of
indefinite length regardless of pedaling. The
sixth concerns the extensions in relation to
emphasis of resounded notes. The seventh
adds a special momentary use of the pedal
before the above resounded notes. And the
eighth provides for shortening certain note
perfs and special use of the pedal to extend
the extensions.
It must be remembered that during the
Stoddard-Ampico era, the concept of the
player piano and the reproducing piano as
separate entities was not fully developed.
Stoddard's piano (though in fact a
reproducer) was "The Stoddard-Ampico
Player Piano". The patents, however, have
numerous references to "player pianos and
the like" [emphasis mine] and to
"automatic and partly automatic musical
instruments" [emphasis mine] indicating
that the concept of two different
instruments was not entirely lacking and
that the patents were intended to apply to
rolls for both instruments. Certain it is that
the note extensions became a featu re of
both American Piano Company's
Rythmodik (88-note) and Stoddard-Ampico
rolls at a very early date. The extensions
persisted even after the Stoddard-Ampico
era, even after most of the
Stoddard-Ampico rolls had been
renumbered into the Ampico 5xxxx series,
even, in gradually diminishing numbers to
be sure, into the mid- and late 20s, indeed,
as long as Stoddard remained with Ampico.
There are, to be sure, extensions even in the
Frank Milne rolls of the 30s, but I believe
these rolls should be considered in a
separate category and that they are worthy
of an entirely separate analysis.
happens in this case, let us say that in
measure one we have a D major harmony
with D-F~-A sounding, and in measure two
we have a G7 harmony with' G-B-F
sounding. Since the presence of D from the
harmony of the first measure would not
actually create a dissonance with the G-B-F
of the second measure, the D is extended so
that in the second measure the strings
G-B-D-F are sounding. The composer,
however, intended only that G-B-F be
sounding, and the recording artist,
unwilling, we hope, to take liberties with
Chopin, for example, played G-B-F. But
after the extension was cut into the note
sheet, the note D, which should be silenced
in the second measure, continues to sound.
himself the first Ampicophile, must have
been pleased with the effect or he would
not have insisted on the continuance of the
extensions in the face of opposition from
others. To this devout Ampicophile,
however, the effect is one of sloppy
pedaling with resultant blurring of the tones
and lack of definition in rhythm and
harmony.
But what is the effect on the listener?
Should not the ear be the final judge? The
effect created by the extensions may well be
p leasing to some Ampicophiles. The
extensions may impart an agreeable
smoothness to the playing and the
impression of richer harmony. Stoddard,
That the Ampico succeeds as a
reproducing instrument no one can deny,
but it succeeds not because of but in spite
of the note extensions, and all other things
being equal, from the standpoint of
reproduction, the best rolls are those with
the fewest extensions. To this Ampicophile,
Ampico rolls are much like "the little girl
with the curl in the middle of her forehead"
who, "when she was good she was very
good. And when she was bad she was
horrid." With some judgment in roll
selection, the Ampico performance can
always be very good. With the best rolls it
can be magnificent.
What is the contraption standing on
top of Tom Ahearn's Steinway Duo-Art?
The machine is a complete three-note action
unit. It even contains a three-bellows
hand-cranked supply pump with an
equalizing bellows. This may have been built
as a demonstration unit to aid in technical
service-training seminars or perhaps for sales
purposes, to demonstrate player principles
and construction to the personnel of a piano
company which might be a prospect for
purchasing the player units.
The unit is constructed in 3-tier
fashion, as most upright player pianos, each
tier containing just one valve and pouch.
The fronts of the valve boards are windowed
with a celluloid material so that the
operation of the valve and pouch, may be
observed. Even the bleed is positioned to be
visible. The three signal tubes lead to a
three-note tracker bar secured via a bracket
to the top of the machine. The three
pneumatics have Aeolian-type striker
puppets which hit against a stop rail.
It is not stamped, dated or otherwise
signed, but its construction suggests the
manufacturer to be the Aeolian Company.
It does look like a production item, rather
than a one-of-a-kind. (Do any other
AM ICAns have anything like it?)
Be in g a rebu i1der of players and
reproducers, Mr. Ahearn finds the
machine useful in demonstrating how a
pneumatic action works, and what is done
in the process of rebuilding.
It is interesting to note that nowhere in
the above patents is there any mention of
half-pedaling. It is never claimed that the
extensions represent half-pedaling by the
recording artist; it is claimed only that the
extensions produce something called
"singing tone", and while granting that this
"characterizes... the manual playing of some
of the greatest artists," the singing tone
provided by these "inventions" provides "a
breadth of sustained harmony and tone
which could not even be procured in manual
playing by any artist, however skilled ..."
It seems obvious that at this time there
was less interest in faithful reproduction of
the artist's playing than in the production of
special effects by manipu lating the note
sheet. "The most skilled manual rendition is
surpassed in the beauty and breadth of the
tone effects which can be produced." The
performance "far surpasses a manual
performance even when assisted by skillful
pedaling."
The patents readily admit that after
editing, what is heard is not what the
composer wrote and not what the pianist
played. "One of the purposes of this
invention is to provide for prolonging
selected notes from one harmony group into
another [group] by adding thereto the
notes so selected..... To illustrate just what
Page Eight
,
Reprinted from the SanFrancisco Chronicle, Monday, Nov. 13, 1972
Piano Movement Hits a High Note
Famed Composer
Rudolph Friml
Is Dead at 92
Not so long ago, when music ,was judged by its melody, Rudolph Friml was a:
king of the entertainment
world.
Some of his songs, like
"Donkey Serenade," seem
as lively today as when he
wrote them, more than half
a century ago.
Mr. Friml died Sunday, at
the age of 92. He had been in
Presbyterian HO!lpital i n
Hollywood since October 5
because of internal bleeding.
Much of what Mr. Friml
wrote could accurately be
called "schmaltz." but it
was delightful.
S.F.
In San Francisco, where
he owned a home for many
years at 500 48th avenue,
Mr. Friml is fondly rememIbered.
He wrote 33 operettas and
hundreds of songs, often, it
seemed, effortlessly. His audiences hummed the melodies generations after they
first heard them,
"I'm so full of mllsic," he
said, "that if I don't sit
down and let some of it flow,
I think I would burst from
the pressure."
He was 90 when he said
that.
Mr. Friml's music might
be called square these days.
but he was anything but
lhat.
"1 like a full - blooded libretto with a luscious melody, rousing choruses and romantic passion," he declared, lind his life fit his
music.
HISTORY
Mr. Friml was born in
Prague, on Dec. 7, 1879,
when Bohemia, later Czechoslovakia, was part of the
Austro - Hungarian Empire.
His father was a baker who
10 v e d music, preferring
plucking the zither and playing the accordion to rolling
strudel.
When RUdolph was 4, he
was encouraged to play the
piano by his father, who
bought the instrument wi th
money needed for necessities.
"My mother gave him
hell," Mr. Friml recalled in
later years, "but it proved a
sound investment."
He first came to the United States in 1901 for a concert tour, Mr. Friml was accompanist for violinist Jan
Kubelik.
'-Ie liked this countrv and
ret\lrned to stay in J9I)6,
CHANCE
Six years later he got his
first major opportunity.
Victor Herbert changed
his mind about writing an
operetta for musical comedy
star Emma Tnintini. The
producer, Arthur Hammerstein, asked Mr. Friml to
write the music.
I t was "Firefly," Mr.
Friml's first hit, and one of
the songs he wrote for it was
"Donkey Serenade."
Mr. Friml became a naturalized citizen in 1925.
In addition to his home in
San Francisco, he had
homes in Hollywood and in
Palm Desert.
..lP JrlirtJpholo
RUDOLPH FRIML
'I'm so full of music •• .'
MARRIAGE
He married four times. He
was fond of standing on his
head for his morning exercise. He didn't like most of
the recent musical comedies
-he heard. He especially disIi ked modern composers
with a penchant for dissonance, such as Igor Stravinsky.
The last musical he was
enthusiastic about was
"West Side Story" in the
'50s.
"Crooning and drums
have replaced the beautiful
arias," Mr. Friml said. "It
is all a bunch of high-paid
rubbish. Writers d 0 not
write from the heart but for
cash."
Mr. Friml wrote so easily
it awed other composers.
Irving Berlin once told
him, "RUdy, you can shake
music out of your sleeve."
Mr. Friml agreed.
In recent years, he lived
in the Hollywood Hills with
his fourth wife, Kay, whom
he had married in San Francisco in 1952. She had been
his secretary.
He is survived by her and
his son, Rudolph Jr.
Funeral arrangements are
pending.
Mr. & Mrs. Rudolph Frlml
at Bill Knorp's home in
Sausalito. With them Is
Roberta and Bob Cherney I
and Larry Mangus. The,
plano Is Bill's Amplco.
The New York Times/Carl T.
~p"'('hIIO 'jl\t ;\"",.
SOUTH NYACK, N, Y" Sept.
20-A rare grar.d piano was
moved by helicopter to a
sixth-floor apartment here
this morning in what an ob-
server was quick to dub "the
rarest of piano movements."
The helicopter gently deposited the piano on the roof
of 3 Salisbury Manor, and a
crew of moving men then
carried it down one flight of
stairs to the lOp·floor apart·
ment of its new owner, Lawson Hargrove.
The airlift was necessary
because the seven-foot·long,
1,200-pound instrument could
neither fit in the building's
elevator nor :)e carried up six
narrow, sharply angled flights
of stair5.
Mr. Hargrov(', who is milO·
ager nf deWaard Brother".
YNk
Tlmf'~
lnr., a Sleinway piano dealership in Monsey, N. Y ..
wJ,tched nervously as the
three-man helicopter crew
made the piano secure with
green nylon webbing. The
piano had been brought to
the apartment house by
moving van from Monsey.
"( hope it hangs togethC<',
one of those threads looks
loose," Herman deWaard,
president of the dealership.
told his colleague.
Several dozen of Mr. Hargrove's neighbors, taking pictures with everything from
lnstamatics to movie cameras, gathered to watch. Two
att€'mpt~~ were n('eded, but
finallv rhe helicopter lifted
the piano off the lawl1. I.es!'
th~n a minute IflolC'r, it was
safely on the roof.
From the New York Times, September
21, 1972. Mr. Hargrove is a new AMICA
member; the piano is a 1927 Steinway 6'5"
Duo-Art with a Louis XVI art case in
walnut. Jack has a collection of 250
recordings for his piano. His address is:
Lawson "Jack" Hargrove, 3 Salisbury
Manor, South Nyack, NY 10960. Phone
914·358·2628,
Page Nine
GD~\ert
Lawson Hargrove's piano arriving in South Nyack
Reprinted from the Pensacola, Florida, News-Journal
Hobby Rare as Collecting Hen's Teeth
Orchestrelle Collection Puts Action
By JUDy KACZOR
News·Journl' Stiff Writer
FORT WALTON BEACH In many homes guests congregate in the kitchen while in
others the den or family room
has all but replaced the living
room's function.
However, in the Fort Walton
Beach home of Capt. and Mrs.
John R. Grant, the couple's
two-car garage is where the
action is, and the couple's
cars, incidentaly, aren't.
There. in a typically inform a I cement-floored room,
Capt. Grant has peddled and
puttered his way to fame
among friends and relatives
with a hobby nearly as rare
as collecting hen's teeth.
The young officer is a restorer of rare keyboard instruments, among them the
orchestrelle, known more familiarly as a player reed organ. He is now restoring his.
eighth such orga n.
T h l' e e ornately scrolled
h a I' d·wooded organs peer
down at Grant as he works
nights and weekends leisurely
rehabilitating some of the
m 0 s t valuable instruments
known to the country, most
having been produced in the
early 1900's.
When Grant steps up to his
latest restored organ, inserts
an ancient player roll and
p e d dIe s systematically, a
t I' i P pin g march scrambles
along the reeds and overflows
in the garage. The reed organ
sound is a one-in-a-million
'Voice which just can't be duplicated.
Dominating the garage and
fellow organs is a stately
eight-foot mahogany orchestrelle, which almost grazes
the ceiling. It is the reason the
Grants moved in their present
home last Spring. "We had
just outgrown our old home."
con ten d s a smiling Judy
Grant eyeing her husband's
gallery of finds.
CAPT. JOHN GRANT HAS PEDDLED AND PUTTERED WAY TO FAME AMONG FRIE DS
... by leisurely rehabilitating some of country's most valuable instruments
(Pensacola News·Journll photo by Judy Klczor)
The eight-footer is the ra·
I['est ~cquisition to date and
was purchased from the pri·
vate collection of Q. David
Bowers of Los Angeles, Cali!.,
author of "Put Another Nickel
In," a pictorial history of
nickelodeon days and sentiment.
Captain Grant won't dis-
Page Ten
close the cost of his new investment, but does reveal that
the original purchase price of
the orchestrelle, crafted by a
firm named Aeolian, was
Sunday, December 5, 1971
ijIge Jen611tnIn ){efu.-~_01t_r_n_lll
_
•
In Grant Family's Garage
$5,000 in the early 1900'
s. It is
also reputed to be one of three
existing organs of its ty,pe in
the world.
Grant expects it will be his
most rigorous repair task to
date, and hopes it will later
share a nook in his permanent
collection upon retirement
from service.
Each orchestrelle in the garage has a rich past worth exploring through dated, yelk>wing magazines and books
which the officer readily collects. He has found some
magazine keepsakes inside
the organs while working, adding an exciting discovery element to the repair.
M 0 s t orchestrelles were
treasures in turn-of-the-century patrician homes. The looming eight-footer has tentative
ly been traced to a family in
New Jersey, residing in a
mansion.
Peering up at its eight foot,
three inch frame, it rather
seems to reflect a tale of demure little parties, young
ladies in Victorian style white
gowns and upswept hairdoes
seated primly pumping at the
pedals for the pleasure of
their friends and family.
It might seem logical to assume that Grant has been a
gifted musician the bulk of his
life, but actually the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute graduate
is an engineer by occupation.
He sometimes laments that he
was never able to study music
or own an instrument as a
child.
"Of course at the tim~, I
might not have cared," he
adds, observing that nei ther
of his parents was musi~ally
inclined.
"I feel I have always loved
good music," he says, noting
that finally in college he began to activate his interest by
taking the only instrument he
had-his own voice-and joining the choral glee club.
There he became a proficient
tenor.
Until just recently he kept
up with his attraction to singing by membership in the Eglin Air Force Base chapel
choir. But he gave it up to devote more time to his restoration.
It was while at college that
his desire to own an instrument was fulfilled. There
he bought an old bugle, which
today rests upon his living
room desk, unplayed but revered.
Analyzing his first purchase
of a reed organ has been
something he hasn't quite
heen able to sort out. He \\'as
a college man then, working
for a music store and often
helping repair other people's
problem instruments.
"It really was a fluke. One
day I just went out and bought
this old reed organ," he re.
calls. But his wife .Judy, then
a newly\\7ed, remembers the
purchase more poignantly.
"We had just been married
a \veek and he told me, "I
want you to see something
· · . ' and he took me to see
t his organ that he had
bought!" Surprised, but not
overwhelmed, Mrs. Grant,
who once played the accordian, was soon intrigued, alon~
with her husband, by the nostalgic instrument.
Presently she assists him
with material-cutting for the
front cut-out section of the organs and for matching organ
seats, in the restoration process which he defines as being
fifty per cent mechanical
know-how and 50 per cent refinishing.
His most recently finished
orchestrelle, like his preVIOUS
ones, can be played manually
in addition to player roll-style.
Its volume is controlled by the
number of stops pulled.
Trumpet, violin, clarinet the ivory-hued stops are
marked ornately in Old English script. Pumping through a
roll, Grant can quietly serenade the garage, or, pulling
out more stops, draw the enthusiastic barking approval of
the couple's two dachshunds
out in the yard. All the way
out, music booms out of the
garage and into the neighborhood. But when the organ is
played there are never any
complaints.
At times Grant envisions
himself as a small scale P. T.
Barnum. He says he would
love to load the orchestrelle,
even the big one, onto a truck
bed and be in a parade, but
the strains of the organ in the
outdoors tend to dissolve.
Presentlv the music-lover is
content "to have buddies and
their wives over to partronize
his garage "music room."
One instrument in the garage which the officer has taken out and demonstrated before groups is the versatile
"piano player" as opposed to
a player piano.
The box-like contraption
with feltcovered strikers is
merely shuttled up to any
regular piano keyboard. A
standard rnusic roll is inserted, someone peddles, and
the unique device begins its
duty: playing the piano, the
strikers hitting the regular piano's keys.
Onlookers have been smitten with it and some have offered to buy it, but presently
Grant has not been able to
fi nd another piano player as a
replacement so will, for the
Inoment, hold on to his re
newed find.
Music rolls for playing by
the piano player and the player reed organ might be rare
to purchase for the individual
non-collector but Grant has an
a uthentic collection of rolls
dating from the 1890's and including 240 rolls now boxed
and stacked on a table in his
garage and another 488 stanl
Page Eleven
dard nianorolls packed away
in Virginia.
Ragtime,
cotton-picking
tunes, patriotic marches a la
Sousa, religious hymns f?f
close of day and deep operatic
themes from scores like Aida
and La Boheme are among
his music library, making
Grant's peddling ability as
broad as E. Power Biggs'
playing.
Though somewhat scrappy
and yellowed from age, their
music is alive as it circulates
through the refinished orQan
tracts. Most are American
made, by companies also producing the rolls in London,
England.
As the new year starts
Grant plans to be deep in the
work of transforming both a
smaller player reed organ and
the gigantic orchestrelle and
then upon completion of both
the couple will have to face a
dilemma ... to sell or not to
sell.
In the past he has sold every organ he has refinished in
order to afford a gra nder
model to redo. And he will admit readily that his hobby is
not for economy· hobbyists.
So even though he has designs of keeping it for his permanent coHection, it may be
sold to ·bring another instrumental unique home to the
Grant garage for salvaging.
Finally he faces a mammoth dream which he plans
for the future. Someday Captain Grant wants to restore a
grandiose pipe reed organ
from perhaps a church or
theatre - and it "rill fill up
more than a two-car garage!
And when he plays, his guests
might have to. congregate in a
warehouse.
TONE REGULATING AND VOICING THE PIANO
PART IV: CONCLUSION
by James Aber
There are times when the hammer
shank can be brought into proper alignment
by heating the shank with a small alcohol
flame, and holdi ng the hammer over with
the fingers until cool, before release. These
remedies (for hammer alignment) are not
usually necessary,'unless the action has been
IIbutchered" or poorly designed. As a
general rule, the action may be put in its
optimum location by adjusting the
key-frame away from its stop block with a
proper thickness spacer, or removing a thin
shaving from the stop block. Also, care must
be used to regulate the stop screw which
prevents the action from shifting too far in
soft pedal operation, so that the hammers
may not strike a wire of an adjoining note.
I n some instances, it mav vex a tone
regulator to fi nd hammers that have been
glued on the shanks at such an angle to the
center line of the shanks that, in striking the
strings, the nose of the hammer may not
contact the set of two or three strings,
comprising the note in a manner that will
generate equal force to all of the wires.
It will be observed that the strings of
the treble are almost vertical to the striking
line of the hammers. For the first two
octaves the holes in the hammers are bored
straight through, so that when the hammers
are glued on the shanks, the noses of the
hammers are in a straight line, at rightangles
to the direction of the string length. Here
there is usually no problem, as each hammer
will deliver equal force to the wires of the
same note. However, as we proceed to the
left toward the middle range, the strings fan
away to the left of the striking line, until, in
the tenor range, the angle of the strings
becomes considerable. In this area the holes
in the hammer mouldings are bored to such
an angle to the striking line that the hammer
noses, when glued on the shanks, will
conform to the increased angle of the string
direction and will deliver equal force to all
of the strings of a given note.
This boring of holes is quite important
and there shouId be a gradual change from
the vertical extreme treble boring to the
lowest of the tenor section, where the
strings have reached their maximum
deviated angle to the strike line. If the
hammers do not present the proper related
angle, the strings will not receive equal force
and will, more or· less, be subjected to a
diagonal contact with noses of the hammers.
On a three string unison the wires will
receive the blow .in such a manner that the
central wire will get a fairly solid blow, but
the two outside wires will suffer by a
weaker attack and will be fouled up by the
edges on the hammer's rim. In the bass
section, the strings bear to the right of
vertical and the hammers must be bored to
coincide to this angle to get a proper blow
to all of the stri ngs of each note, or they
will suffer from lack of hammer power.
These troubles are magnified if the
hammers being used are too narrow in
width. Such problems usually occur when
the piano has been rehammered with
hammers that are too skimpy in width, or
hammers that have not been bored to the
correct scale. Also shorter strings of small
pianos may present more difficulty, because
of the length of string to spread ratio is
more acute.
About the only solution, when the
hammers do not conform to the angles the
strings make to the strike line, other than
replacing the hammers by other hammers,
correctly bored, is to carefully sand-file the
hammers so that the noses of the hammers
will relate more favorably to the desired
angles, and avoid the slicing blow to the
outside wires of the notes.
I n voicing, the tone from some notes
may have a "sandy" quality which does not
respond to the needle treatment. Merely
softening the hammer does not always clear
away the objectionable sound. I n this case
the hammer may be over-eentering, which
happens when the hammer, in traveling the
arc of the circle, of which the hammer
center-pi n is the center, is on its way to
contact the string, yet does not make this
contact with the string directly over the
point of the center of the wooden
moulding. If the head of the hammer is too
short, measuring from the striking point to
the center of the hammer shank, the
hammer will toe in, as it reaches the string
and the impact will not be precisely
opposite the center of the moulding, but
will be a bit beyond this point on the
receding contour of the felt, as it curves
away from the point. In this case, the
moulding does not back up the felt in its
function, but leaves the felt on the shoulder
to sustain the blow. This ~uses poor tone
to be produced. Such a condition may be
the result of too much removal of felt by
sand-filing, or the installing of hammers, too
short, in the first place.
On the other hand, hammers too long
may cause the hammer to reach the string
before the center of the moulding is directly
Page Twelve
beneath the point of contact. This also is
bad for tone, but fortunately this defect
does not occur often, since, unless the
hammers have been replaced, by other than
the original ones, with a too long hammer
body from the shank to the striking point,
the trouble is rare.
A rem~dy for these fau Its can be
attained partly by carefully sand-filing the
shouIders of the hammer away from the
nose to prevent the shoulders from being
the point of attack, either too early or too
late. As in the case of filing hammers to
conform to string angles, it may help
enough to be passable.
A few grand action and a few upright
action finishers depart from boring the holes
through the hammers for the shanks at right
angles to the axis line hammer body. This is
called IIgiving the hammer a rake", or the
reverse thereof. This may be done for a
specific reason to expedite repetition or
more hammer power and better balance to
the action. There is no quarrel with this, and
it is considered the prerogative of the action
designer if his results are satisfactory.
However, it must be remembered that the
same plan must be followed, in case of
replacement with other hammers.
One sad hurdle in developing the best
tone in pianos, even the finest ones, is the
jangle which takes place at the agraffe or at
the plate bar, under which the treble strings
are stretched, before reaching the tuning
pins. New pianos seldom have this
complaint, but as the years go by, the
vibrating strings, which are held down by
considerable tension to keep bearing on the
bridge, will gradually bite into the soft brass
of the agraffe or the soft cast-iron of the
plate bar, leaving a groove a trifle wider than
the string. When the string is struck, it may
vibrate to a point where it may touch the
metal of the sides of the grooves and set up
an annoying jangle. Where a string, in
passing through the agraffe or under a plate
bar on its way to the tuning pin, is
cushioned by a felt rest on the plate before
the tuning pin is reached, and then there is
no bare metal to touch it until it reaches the
pin, it may be damped enough to prevent
this. However, this may not allow the sound
of the harmonics that are present, if left
undamped, and Jose some tone luster.
On the other hand, too much jangle
may be introduced into the sound to be
tolerated. Something must be done, but
what? Obviously, the best remedy is the
most costly: restring the affected area, after
clearing away the shaggy metal in the
agraffes or on the hold-down bar, providing
the bearing of the strings on the bridge is
not reduced by the operation. But th is may
not be in keeping with the economy of the
customer, who wants a disagreeable "fect
removed without spending a lot of money.
If the trouble is at the agraffe, one may
insert the dull blade of a screw-driver
between the center wire of a note and the
left-hand wire, close to the agraffe on the
voice side and, with a twisting motion, put
considerable pressure on the strings to right
and left a few times, and then repeat the
same treatment between the center wire and
the right-hand wire. After the strings are
retuned, the note may sound clear again.
Caution is recommended as we do not want
to damage the wire so that it may break
under tension.
would be to let down the six strings of two
adjoining notes, and, using emery cloth,
with the smooth side against the strings with
the grit against the bar, "shoe-shine" the bar
to clear· away metal projections on the bar,
under which the strings are drawn.
Naturally, retuning the affected notes is
necessary. Another method which may be a
I Iquickie" way to help the situation is to
lace a narrow strip of bushing cloth over and
under each individual wire between the bar
and the metal riser and pull it taut. As
mentioned above, this may rob the notes, so
treated, of some resonance, but weeding out
some jangles may be worth it.
Where the treble strings pass under a
bar on the plate, use of the dull screw-driver
may be employed by thrusti ng the blade
between the center wire and the outside
wires of the same note, and putting pressure
on the involved wires, and rotating the
handle of the driver with sufficient power to
move the wires from side to side to clear
away any metal projections on the bar'that
might be touching the vibrating strings, thus
reducing the jangle sound. A better way
There is one problem that faces a tone
regulator that defies solution, regardless of
how fine the instrument is, and that is
trying to satisfy a customer who refuses to
accept the technician's best efforts as
inadequate. There is no denying that some
people have an unusual sense of
discrimination of slight tonal differences of
one note quality, as compared to other
notes. These people may not be good
performing artists, but one finger
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. CHAPTER - September Meeting The September meeting of the
Southern California Chapter - AMICA was
held at the hillside home of Barry Spencer
and Rod Carlson on Saturday, September
16th. Fifty-two members of the club
assembled at the house, set high on the
Santa Monica Mountains and commanding a
sweeping view of the San Fernando Valley.
The spectacular view can be enjoyed from
all the major rooms of the "living-floor"
with its spacious balcony, or from the
"rumpus-room" on the floor below. The
house is a recent acquisition by Barry and
Rod. You can understand why they snapped
it up when they discovered that the original
owners had built-in a "Unified Seven-rank
Wicks Pipe Organ". The organ was originally
a IIdemonstrator" from the Manufacturer's
Sales Room. After they moved into the
house they discovered that the console
contained a "paneled-over" tracker-bar for
player rolls. The bar did not work, but
Barry has restored it so that it now performs
excellently on 88-note piano rolls or from
Kimball electronic organ rolls. Apparently
the roll-playe" was used when there was no
"Iive" organist available for sales
demonstrations. For the
"technical-minded", the organ ranks are:
Diapson, Dulciana, Vox Humana, Open
Flute, Stopped Flute, String and Oboe
Horn.
Members had been requested to bri ng
favorite rolls to hear if they wished, so the
early part of the evening was given over to
listening to rolls on thr organ, munching on
tid-bits from a delicious spread in the din"ing
room, viewing the valley lights from either
the balcony or the Iiving room telescope,
and the general "get-together" chit-chat that
~--
Gene Di/they, Reporter.
accompanies any meeting of friends who do
not otherwise see each other too often. An
unplanned feature was a plainly visible
firewords display above nearby Universal
Pictures Studios where a celebration of Los
Angeles "Mexican-American Days" was in
progress. Tom ana Evelyn Meeder came in
from Santa Barbara and brought with them
an album of AMI CA pictures, including
some of the convention, which we all were
allowed to see during the evening. Tom also
brought along his copy of the September
Bulletin, the only one in Southern
California at that timet You can be sure that
we eagerly "glommed" onto it, and passed it
from hand-to-hand for a peek at the new
and delightful format. Great work, Hester,
and congratulationsl
Chapter President Bill Mintz opened
the Informal meeting with the introduction
of several new members and some
not-so-new ones who had not previously
attended. I ntroduced were: Don Peake, Don
Pease, Prentiss Knowlton, Irma Gremm,
Fred Fehl and Ken and Dorothy Bromage.
We were also happy to welcome Steve
Johnson of Grand Junction, Colorado, who
flew in from there to attend.
Steve explained and illustrated a clever
trick for Ampicans who have Model A
Ampicos and would like to play some of the
"J umbo" B coded re-cuts. His system
evolves from the fact that the present-day
thinner paper allows the bulk of the roll to
be much smaller than the originals. I n some
cases the paper can merely be re-spooled
onto a standard "Iarge" Ampico spool.
Others can be made to fit in an " A"
spool-box by cutting away the outer flange
Page Thirteen
"plunkers", who lack the ability to bring
out fine overall sound from a piano as a
complete instrument and cannot manage to
produce the ensemble of sounds the ear
wants to hear. There is no such thing. as a
perfect piano, such as having every note
perfectly matched to all others. Nor was
there ever a symphony orchestra where
every member was an outstanding virtuoso.
Yet, under the skilled direction of the
conductor, magnificent music is brought
fOrth. So, also, does the gifted performer at
the keyboard weave' the sounds that blend
into a harmonious whole. If he went around
the keyboard, "plunking" every note
separately, he would find many that might
seem to be slightly different from others.
This would probably so upset him that he
would give up in despair. Blaming the
instrument is a favorite excuse of inept
performers to cover up their lack of ability.
If a tone regulator happens to find one of
these overall super critics, after he has tried
his best to comply with the demands, he
had better give up the client ~nd do his
work where it is more appreciated.
of the "Jumbo" spool with a coping saw. He
showed us a roll so altered, and I can't wait
to try the idea for myself.
Anita Nickels exhibited a miniature
grand piano of "filigree silver" that she had
obtained from the Phillipines. A charming
bit of "bric-a-brac". Duplicates are available,
and Anita will be happy to tell interested
collectors how to obtain one.
We were then treated to a "slide-show"
by Don Peake. Don showed us the pictures
he had taken at the Convention in JuIy.
Very good, and thoroughly enjoyed by all
present.
Our host, Barry Spencer, entertained
us with~a "Sales Demonstration Roll" for
the Welte-Licensee Reproducing Piano.
(Barry's is a 1928 - 5'8" Kimball grand.)
The roll was issued complete with a
"Salesman's Manual" which Barry read to us
as a commentary on the roll. After listening
to the roll and the "sales-pitch", Jan
Patterson said: "If you can deliver
tomorrow, I'll take twol" We then heard
several fine classical recordings that Steve
Johnson had brought with him. Steve
recently purchased a large collection of
Welte Rolls, and is now looking for a Welte
piano to play them. Anyone know of a
Welte for sale7
As a finale, we invaded ·the "pop" part
of Barry's roll library and joined at the
plano in a sing-along. This was alternated
with more rolls on the organ. It was a most
enjoyable evening, and we all offer our
thanks to hosts Barry and Rod for a
delightful time.
MICAPERS
LADY:
WHY IS MY PIANO
SO LOUD?
TeCHNICIAN:
EH? WHATS THAT?•
YEA. WE HAD
THOUSANDS
OF TH~M" BURNe 0 'E""
CAUsE THE END NOTES
WENT PI-I HI< PL.INI<'•
Page Fourteen
RARE AMPICrO ROLLS USED FOR WALLPAPER!
Now that I have your attention, I'd
like to introduce this new Amica column,
inspired by Tom Meeder, and devoted to the
coli ecti ng, restoring, and enjoying of
peda I-operated player pianos.
by John F. Edwards and J. Frederick Fehl
More people own pedal players than all
other types of automatic instruments
combined. Still, foot pumpers have been
"soft-pedaled" and put down by serious
collectors. Many, in fact, are reluctant to
admit they own onel
Actually, pedal players have more to
offer than any of their myriad pneumatic
relatives:
-They are the most readily available
and least expensive machines.
-More music is available than for any
other instru mente
-It is the only machine which is
lip layed" by a human performer, not
powered by, but played, in the sense that
the tempo, loudness, accent, etc. are
controlled by the operator.
Pedalers are a true musical medium,
requiring considerable technique to operate
expertly--every quality of the music, except
the notes which are struck, are at the
command of the operator-and the result
can be a mechanical plinkety-plink, or a
masterpiece, depending entirely upon the
skill of the treadle virtuoso.
Most musical instruments take years of
practice to play well, but the pedaler can be
learned easily by anyone, because the most
difficult part of playing any instrument,
st r i kin g the cor r ect notes in proper
succession, is done by the machine, leaving
creative control and accent of the music to
be executed by the performer.
Why, then, you ask, are these
astounding devices sneered at by collectors
and musicologists?
--Most people are not aware of the
tremendous range of self-expression possible
with the pu mper.
--The majority of used players on the
market have been improperly restored, and
are difficult to pump, as well as being
sluggish., and replete with creaks, leaks, and
squeaks. A properly restored instrument is a
joy to play--a touch of the pedal and the
music pours forth, a light, slow, easy
rhythm sustains the sound, a slight jab of
the pedal results in an instant accent, every
feeling, every movement, is transferred to
the music in a thrilling unity of man and
machine.
I am sure all of you, after reading this
far, are just itching to run right out and buy
a pedal player. That's goodl Here's what to
look for to be sure a machine has been
correctly restored and not just patched.
Put a roll on the machine and leave
blank paper over the bar. With tempo at
zero, pedal the piano. It should "pedal up"
after a few strokes and be so firm you
cannot push the pedals down. Listen
carefully for leaks. Playa roll and pedal very
softly. The piano shou Id play very softly
without dropping notes. Pedal as hard as
you can, then gently, then hard again. The
roll speed should not change no matter how
you pedal. Pedal moderately and jab one
pedal--the player should accent as you jab.
Stop pedaling--the piano should continue to
play for at least two or three seconds.
If the player will not pass the above
tests, it has probably been patched or
improperly rebuilt.
Pedal players first appeared on the
market around 1900 in the form of "push
up" players--eabinets which were wheeled in
front of a piano and played the keys with
felted fingers. Self-contained players were
introduced a few years later. These early
machines usually played either fifty-eight or
sixty-five note rolls, spaced six to the inch,
although many different sizes and types of
rolls appeared, until the industry finally
standardized to the eighty-eight note,
nine-to-the-inch roll we know today.
It is generally best to steer clear of
these early instru ments, although some are
beautifully built, and most can be converted
to play modern rolls.
And, speaking of rolls, a question often
asked, but never answered, is "What do the
letters QRS stand for?"
An old gentleman who comes in our
shop now and then tells me an old friend of
his used to work for the company when
they made player pianos. They decided one
day to also make rolls, and the boss at that
time decided to call them "QRS". Why? No
reason. It is the first thing that popped into
his head, and it means nothing.
Page Fifteen
This is. a true story. The friend passed
away quite a while ago, and his name could
not be recalled.
Much confusion seems to exist about
the literally hundreds of different brands of
pedal players which were manufactured
between 1900-1929. Most people have
heard that th is or that brand is no good, or
can't be rebuilt, or whatever, and opinions
differ. (Example: Many technician curse and
downgrade Gulbransen players because they
are very difficult to rebuild. However,
anyone who has ever played a well-rebuilt
G u I bransen would agree that they are
probably the best pedaling player ever
made.)
There are some players which are
legitimate dogs, badly engineered or crudely
assembled, players that really don't play
well no matter what you do to them.
Fortunately, the vast majority of pedalers
are well-designed and carefully
manufactured, although some are
considerably harder to rebuild than others.
This month, I offer a list of players to
avoid completely. These are brands which I
have personally experienced. I am sure there
are many more "bombs" that I have never
seen. I would appreciate hearing from those
of you who know of other losers. I will
print additions ot this list as I become aware
of them.
Here are the players I wouldn't touch
with a ten-foot pneumatic:
--Early Story and Clark (3 tier)
--Kranich and Bach ("kissing valve")
--Wurlitzer players with metal "sardine
can" valves
-Waldorf players
--Angelus players with the giant
pouches instead of pneumatics
Next month, I will offer a list of the
players which are the most difficult to
rebuild.
A Iso next month, a question and
answer section dealing with pedal players
and rebuilding generally. Please send your
questions to:
John Edwards
c/o Pasadena Piano Company
1836 East Walnllt Street
Pasadena, CA 91107
I wou Id appreciate hearing from all
you pedal player nuts. Tell me what you
would like to see in this column. Let me
know, and I will do my best to meet your
needs and wishes.
MUSEUM OPENS
EXHIBIT OF
INSTRUMENTS
The Oakland Museum will present a
historical exhibit of Mechan ical Musical
I nstru ments with AMICA's own Mel
Luchetti lecturing on the weekends. The
exhibit, which uses tapes of the instruments
during the week and live AMICA
demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday
afternoons, will run from Dec. 16 through
Feb 5.
The museum exhibit, under the
direction of staff member Gretchen" Snider,
is presenting quite a collection of the larger
instruments. Dick Reutlinger's Photoplayer
will be set up as it would have been for
silent films. Other instruments include Mel
Luchetti's Mason & Hamlin Ampico, Bill
and Ann Johnson's Mills Violano Virtuoso,
Joh n Moto-Ros' Aeolian pumper, Bill
Wherry's Empress Electric and much other
automata including music boxes, and small
reed or pipe organs played by pinned
cylinders or perforated paper rolls. The
museum is also going to show films, one of
which is the Koff's (of Los Altos)
production, "They All Laughed When I Sat
Down to Play - But When It Started to
Play". This film was much enjoyed at the
AM ICA convention when it was shown in
rough form.
Through this exhibit AMICA hopes to
show the public what these instru ments can
sou nd Iike when they are in excellent
condition. Too many people hear automatic
instruments which have not been properly
restored, maintained or, for that matter,
tuned. To our knowledge such a program
has only been attempted once before and
the response from the public was complete
amazement. AMICA is cooperating fully
with the museum to bring this exhibit to the
public, aod AMICA members are urged to
attend. The Museum's address is 100 Oak
Street, Oakland, CA.
KNABE AMPICO GRAND
wit h F a c to ry Ins ta II ed
E lectro-Pneumati c Action
Th is un it can be played as a norma I Ampi co or from the keyboard
of an organ. The Ampico is a late model A with a curtain valve
pump, note compensation, etc. It is in excellent unrestored condition, but we wi II be happy to restore it and make installation.
$3500 or best offer.
Contact: Thomas H. Hundermark
143 Division Avenue
Summit, NJ 07901
Phone 201-464-2654
TEXAS CHAPTER NEWS The Texas' Chapter met in Dallas on
Su nday, October 8, at the home of Jerry
Bacon. It was a beautiful sunny day and a
casual air prevailed as Jerry served draft beer
and refreshments. The center of attention
was Jerry's Chickering Ampico, an early
Model A. It's a great sounding piano· the
dynamic range and tone are impressive.
Jerry's collection of old electric fans, a fine
Victor Orthophonic phonograph and other
collector's items also attracted their share of
attention.
by Jim Meadows.
The business portion of the meeting
was brief. A committee to nominate officers
for next year was appointed" and the
possibility of an AMICA convention in
Texas was discussed.
I n December the Texas Chapter will
hold its meeting in Oklahoma City on
Sunday, December 10. Our hosts will be Mr.
and Mrs. Stan Whitehurst. The scheduled
events will include a visit to the Whitehurst's
home, the Silver Dollar Musical Museum at
Page Sixteen
the Cowboy Hall of Fame and dinner at a
location to be announced.
AMICA members in the Oklahoma area
- join us for the December meeting. We will
be gathering for lunch in Oklahoma City
about noon on Sunday, December 10. The
meeting will officially start about 1:30 p,m.
If you can attend, call Stan Whitehurst
(405-341-7667) or Steve Chapman
(214-937-2726) for details.
AUNIQUE COLLECTION The other day, I chanced to visit Lou
Parkelson, an AMICA member I know
casually through the meetings. How I
happened to be invited to his home to view
his collection, I shall not bother telling.
Suffice it to say, I was alone and eager.
I knew from my talks with Lou that
there was something unique about his
collection, but he was rather vague--"Artl"
he said. "Personification of machine, true
creative expression of design." I was to be
the first to see Mr. Parkelson's collection of
fifty years accumu lation.
Knocking on the massive door of Lou's
enormous Victorian home, I was admitted
by Lou himself. The first thing that caught
my eye was the most magnificently
beautiful Wurlitzer LX I have ever seen.
Lou caught my breathless gasp and
beamed proudly. "Real beauty, eh?" he
said. "Ah, but the real surprise is yet to
come. Wait ti II you see what I've done to
the inside."
He carefully opened the massive ornate
door, and I was literally left speechless. The
inside was completely empty, except for the
red velvet lining and a rack of shotgu ns
which hung in the back.
"But where is the mechanism?"
finally managed to sputter out.
"Oh, we threw that away," said Lou.
"After all, I've got records or radio to make
music, but did you ever see a more beautifu I
gun cabinet?"
Before I could think up a reply, he was
slapping me on the back and leading me into
the parlor to see some more of his
"collection".
Parkelson had dozens of truly beautiful
instruments. The center of interest in the
parlor was a gorgeous Louis XIV rosewood
double Mi lis, the only case of its kind, with
the mechanism removed. Lou used the case
to display his snuff box collection.
I wi II not torture the reader by
revealing these horrors little by little as was
done to me. I will only say that each room
was more horrifying than the last.
An encore banjo--the case, that
is--made into a beer tap, with the keg in the
bottom and little shelves with mugs where
the banjo is supposed to be. Cylinder
phonographs made into lamps, radios, and
everything a cylinder phonograph could
conceivably be made into; and, for the
grand finale, an entire room wallpapered
with various nickelodeon rolls.
A Welte cabinet player made into a
window seatl Hundreds of giant metal stars,
cut from music box discs, hanging from the
ceiling.
by "J.E. I I
A STEINWAY
in a SARDINE FACTORY?
As 1 got over the initial shock; the
.second wave hit me. Every lamp in the
house, every statue in every little nook and
corner, had at one time adorned the front of
a nickelodeon or band organ.
by Nick Jarrett
The Northern California Chapter's
September get-together was hosted by Mr.
and Mrs. Earl Gardner at Pirates Cove Flea
Market. Anyone who has seen Moss Landing
will agree that it's the most improbable
place to find a fine Steinway Duo-Art, to
say nothing of Earl's collection of old
phonographs, pianos and funky
memorabil ia. But there it was amongst the
tuna boats on, well, I should say, over, the
Pacific sands, nested between trawlers,
yachts and sundry boats in various stages of
decomposition.
The back of the couch had once been
the ornate facade of a carousel organ. Every
window in the house was art glass. You
guessed it-spread eagles, and other familiar
designsl
Huge music boxes made into plantersl
A nine-foot Steinway, at one time an
Ampico B, with a mattress on the strings. A
nine-foot piano-bedl
My head was spinningl All I could do
was screaml Scream and pound the floorl
And screaml
Earl played some of his favorite rolls
including Chopin's Ballade in F minor and
"Charleston". Also on the program was a
beautiful violin accompaniment to one of
those early rolls by Raff, which I have never
previously enjoyed. Earl is in the piano
business, so all credit to him and many
thanks for this delightful evening.
Ah yesl That's why they have put me
in this nice rest home with the white bars on
the windows-and if you believe this
story,-why you'll be joining me. Very
soon!
~~~
~~~
POTLUCK AT THE FIELDS'
Northern California Chapter News Founding Chapter AMICAns gathered
at Wilma and John Fields' home in Santa
Cruz for the October Meeting. At four
o'clock the goodies started to arrive.
Everything looked scrumptious and the
smell of hamburgers on the outdoor grill
filled the air. Wine was served with dinner
and Bob Whitley brought some of his
home-made wine.
Wilma and John have a terrific Aeolian
pumper upright which Mel Luchetti took
great delight in playing. His favorite
selection being the William Tell Overture
with full emotional range. Other virtuosos
of the ankles and feet were allotted-time to
play their favorites.
They also have a Stella Music Box with
a wonderfu I assortment of discs. Itwas
played between selections on the Aeolian.
He has a catalog for discs that were available
for it and other Ideal machines. There were
over 700 discs issued for the 15%" Stella
that he has. We all found the catalog very
interesting.
Downstairs they are in the process of
rebuilding a Seeburg style R that was used
for silent movies. The piano section is now
working and the case work was magnificent.
It will be a real honey when finished.
Wilma and John have also acquired a
Wu rl itzer Style R theater organ that
belonged to Mr. Fox of the Fox theater
chain. Mr. Fox had it in his home in Rhode
Island. It is now in pieces, but when
Page Seventeen
by Sally Lawrence.
finished, it will be a 2 manual, 6 rank organ.
There is an embro idered cover for it when it
is not in use. A player attachment is
available for it, and when the organ is
assembled it will be incorporated.
The Fields have a diversified collection,
not mentioned so far, including old
ph 0 nographs, a Model A Ford coupe,
photographs, old typewriters, clocks and a
large train collection. Their main interest is
their three lovely children, ages five years to
eight months.
It was a great meeting and our thanks
to the FiEJlds for their warm hospitality and
gracious use of their home.
Our next meeting will be the Christmas
party at Dick Ruetlinger's on December
16th at 8: 00 p.m. at 824 Grove Street, San
Francisco. Dick will serve a little nog and a
midnight supper. A charge of two dollars
will be collected at the door. Everyone bring
a one-dollar joke gift for the annual gift
exchange. It is rumored the American
Photoplayer will be ready for action and a
movie may be seen. All those interested in
attending should let Dick or Sally Lawrence
know so there will be ample nog for all. This
is a great chance to come to San Francisco
as it will be the opening day of an exhibit at
the Oakland Museu m on the history of
Automatic Musical I nstruments with
AM ICA's cooperation. Many instruments
will be exhibited. Mel Luchetti will lecture
at three o'clock on Saturday afternoon,
December 16, with a demonstration of the
various instruments.
I
LETTE RS TO THE EDITOR
QUESTIONS...
••• 1 read with interest the IITexas-size
Rumor" in the September bulietin.• .1 had
been studying the idea of changing my
Wurlitzer Artecho piano to play Ampico
rolls for months. But more pressing needs
kept me from attempting it.
Upon reading the Texas-size Rumor, I
made a point of changing my piano to play
the Ampico rolls; and Mr. Flynt, when
stat ing that only tubing changes were
needed, was correct, as I suspected on
earlier contemplation. However, I am having
two slight problems, both of which I would
like to correct without any major alterations
to the piano in order to be able to return it
to the original system when desired. On
these problems, Mr. Flynt, your assistance
wou Id be appreciated.
How, first of all, do you release the
hammer rail? The Artecho uses lock and
cancel, the Ampico uses continuous
perforation for this effect. The continuous
perf will trip it, but how are you releasing it
at end of perf?
Secondly, how have you connected the
A rtecho crescendo/diminuendo units to
work satisfactorily with Ampico? Does it
work off llcancel" hole in tracker to return
to normal level? Are you able to use both a
fast and slow crescendo as called for? If so,
how? The change works great. I recommend
it, so long as no structural changes are made,
to permit original condition when desired.
James A. Williamson, Jr.
794 Dunwoodie Drive
Cincinnati,OH 45230
and ANSWERS.
Mr. Williamson raises several valid
questions about the Artecho to Ampico
conversion, and fortunately I've been able
to overcome those particular facets of the
problem.
Concerning the soft pedal, the
lock-and-cancel valve is not used at all;
instead, I devised a "sluggish primary" valve,
as a separate item, which is tubed to the 3T
hole in the tracker bar. Functionally, it
actuates quickly but releases slowly, so that
the coarse chain perforations get "smeared"
in reading, and the soft pedal operated in
the usual way. This I avoided the necessity
of cutting an elongated slot in the tracker
bar.
Con ce'r n i ng the fa stan d slow
crescendos, the solution was much more
complex. Again, I had to have sluggish
primary valves (one each for 18, 58, 1T,
and 5T) to read the coarse chains in each of
I
these positions. In addition, I devised an
additional set of valves to do esentially what
the fast crescendo bypass pouch does in an
Ampico crescendo unit.
On the two crescendo assembl ies I
disabled the brake (a sliding friction device
which holds the crescendo pneumatic in its
last position), and installed a return spring
arrangement, since Ampico rolls do not have
a "diminuendo" instruction, as such.
It has worked out very well, and all
changes that I've made are "reversible", in
that I've added several items, but I haven't
removed anything, nor have I modified the
tracker bar.
I'll be happy to furnish more details to
Amicans who want to pursue it further.
W. E. Flynt
1722 Iroquois
Garland, Texas
••• 1 would enjoy seeing two members
with their instruments in each issue of the
Bulletin. One from the Ampico or Duo-Art
group and a second with a Welte or
something else. I don't think the biography
bit about where they were educated and
grown up is important. I think what is
important is what their instruments are.
What their favorites are. What they are
looking for. How long they've been
collecting. What interesting collecting
experiences they've had. What their 3
favorite rolls are. Also what other hobbies
do they have. Each person, with a picture,
might use up half a page.
Sam Thompson
1537 Ulupii Street
Kailua, Hawaii
Ed. Note: How about some contributions
from members in this vein? We'll understand
if you toot your horn a bit•••how else are we
to know about you?
•••Your new AMICA Bulletin format is very
attractive. Cou Id I make a suggestion: Some
of the better publications enclose their
issues in a brown craft paper outer cover
that is bound in as an outer page. This cover
can carryall the mailing information and
can be removed when it has arrived, and yet
does not require special wrapping
machinery ••• 1 highly recommend this
technique if AMICA can affort the minor
extra expense.
Robert W. Fleming
14111 Elite Drive,
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Page Eighteen
•••1 wish I could read my new Bulletin; the
type's too small and cramped together.
A. Nonymous
••• 1n t he September Issue of ou r
AMICA Bulletin appears the report of
Roberta Cherney, Secy., of the proceedings
of the July 3rd I nternational Business
Meeting; which reads:
"The roll auctions were discussed next
and Jon Lawson moved that the periodic
AM ICA International Roll Auctions be
handled by mail bids only. The motion was
seconded, but was voted down."
Those of 'us who attended this meeting
feel that this report fails greatly to convey
to the full membership what actually
transpired in regard to my motion.
N ow that AM I CA is tru Iy an
I nternational organization, with many
members across the United States and
foreign countries, too, I and many others
believe that the Roll Auctions shou Id by
handled by MAl L BIDS ON LY. This would
be the fairest way to all the membership
participating, as those attending the roll
auctions in person do have an advantage
over those being represented by mail bids.
In the beginning when AMICA was
primarily a San Francisco organization, I
believe that the live auction was
appropriate. Now that the rolls themselves
as well as the bids are being received from
allover the cou ntry, it seems that the
method of handling this should be changed.
Thus, by MAIL BIDS ONLY; this is the
only way fair to all! II
As you can well imagine, at this
business meeting there was a spirited
discussion of this. Then the President Frank
Loob called for a vote, and the motion
passed. Then, Frank Loob immediately
opened up the discussion again and with
more re-hash of the same thing. Then it was
voted upon a SECOND TIME and this time
it was voted down.
Those of you that are fami Iiar with
Parliamentary Procedure will immediately
realize that this action of the second vote
was in complete violation of standard
practices. Once a motion is voted upon, you
can not re-vote again at the same meeting
rega rdless of whether you are for or
opposed to the action involved.
Therefore, if the fair practice standards
of ordinary Parliamentary Procedure are
recognized, legally the motion has passed.
The Auction procedures should be changed
accordingly.
I would be greatly interested in your
comments in this regard.
John H. Lawson
Treasurer; AMICA - So. Calif Chapter
1560 Rolling Hills Drive
Monterey Park, CA 91754
IHELP! I
ONE PICTURE IS WORTH HOW MANY WORDS?
•.•Could you run a call for help for me.
I need titles of Leopold Godowsky's
reco rd ings for Welte, QRS Automatic,
Apollo, QRS Recordo and any odd-brand
rolls. I have received the complete Ampico
and late Duo-Art titles of Godowsky. I
wonder if he made any early titles pre-1927
or later after 1929.
Den nis Ferrara
WFJC - Radio
1401 East Court Street
Flint, MI 48503
~~
... 1 recently acquired a 1929 Steinway
"OR", but someone removed the Duo-Art
parts many years ago. This vintage uses the
spool box assembly with the moveable
tracker bar and is somewhat lower than the
standard spool box so the standard one
won't fit! Does anyone know the
whereabouts of one of these spool boxes
and a Steinway-Duo-Art stack (4 sections)?
D.L. Schacher
2008 Greenwood Drive
Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
201-797-6283
~~
... Living in Massachusetts makes it just
about impossible to even consider attending
an AMICA meeting, all of which seem to be
held in California. I have proposed to Dick
Reutlinger, and presently will write to
Frank Loob, concerning the matter that
AM I CA found an East Coast chapter
(Boston). While our membership would not
be too large in numbers, we could at least
have quarterly meetings and reports in the
Bulletin. I would appreciate, though, your
thoughts on the matter of a Boston Chapter
of AMICA.
Thomas E. Ahearn
77 Scotland Road
Reading, MA 01867
Ed. Note: How about some East Coast
response to Tom's proposal? By the way,
Tom, AMICA's in Texas, too.
~~
... 1 need to beg, borrow, buy or steal a
schematic diagram, Or preferably a complete service manual on both the Model K
and Model H Hammond Solovox.
Robert P. Kershner
1418 Tanglewood Lane
Garland, TX 75042
WITHOUT MUSTACHES {above}
WITH MuSTACHES
Photograph in the White Family Album (of
Wilcox & White Company), Caption on the
back reads "Harold Bauer Recording
Angelus rol\s at Wilcox & White's Voltem
Recording Department, circa 1918". The
man seated behind Bauer is identified as
Frank Cornell White, W&W's mechanical
engineer, a member of the firm's controlling
family, and the inventor of the Artrio. The
man leaning over the piano is K. P. Van
Yorx (probably Artrio's Editor-I n-Chief,
and/or head of the recording department.
He has been identified in some sources as
the man who did al\ the conversions from
Welte-Mignon to Artrio).
From page 29 of the Vestal Press reprint of
the "Simplex Reproducing Player Actions"
booklet, it bears the caption "Artist Making
Record of His Playing on Electrically
Controlled Recording Piano", This booklet
was probably published after 1921, when
Conway I ndustries owned both Artrio and
Simplex.
Page Nineteen
(below)
~~~
Submitted by Jim Elfers, with assistance
from Ed Hayden and Alan Pier, who is
researching the history of the Wilcox and
White Company for MBS.
The Oakland Museum
presents
an Exhibition of
TU'RI··OF·THE·CEITURY
I
Mechanical Musical Instruments
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