After 17 years of storage, I have refurbished and updated my P-100 Pianocorder and installed it in a 1953 Wurlitzer console piano. I have posted several photos of the actual work over the past 6 months. I will be posting videos very shortly now. The piano was a joint "rescue". My landlady, Dr.Janet Gitney and I saved this piano from total destruction. It was scheduled to be dumped in the trash. The piano was in very fine condition, even the case was beautiful in it's original mahogany finish. The piano from an operational standpoint was in good tune, and fairly well regulated. Some key releveling and minor action work has produced a very nice player piano. But it's NOT just a player piano - it can do a whole lot more, as my videos will show. I am working on transcribing some really great piano performances specifically for the Pianocorder digital system. Here are some photos of the work as it was accomplished.
The setting is the East Broad Top Steam Railroad...
The orchestra is joined by Frederick Hodges
playing a rare 1922 foxtrot dance version of Felix Arndt's
signature piece... "NOLA"
If you are a train buff as I am, the intro should catch your attention !!
Friday, January 2, 2015
Welcome 2015 - A New Year with new goals and aspirations. Wishing a happy and healthy new year to all of my friends and customers !!!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
A Little something for Halloween!!!!
Everyone always associates this timely classic Bach piece for Organ with haunted castles, and scary movies. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and as played by Virgil Fox, the late, great organist of our times. Play this in the dark, if you dare...
You can visit my site at http://www.lansdalepianotuning.net
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Monday, June 23, 2014
The Sounding Board is now integrated with my new Web page:
http://lansdalepianotuning.net
Please look it over and let me know what you like or dislike. I have tried to make navigation very easy, and accessible. If you have any ideas, suggestions or comments, please feel free to post them here. You can also contact me from the site or via e-mail here. In honor of the introduction of my new webpage, my featured video this month is in the form of a tribute to my late friend and mentor, Mr. Harvey N. Roehl, whose Vestal Press became a valuable source of both historical and practical information on mechanical musical instruments. The rag you will hear is dedicated to the memory of this gentleman and scholar.
THE VESTAL PRESS RAG.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
The Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina
When I was 15, my friend, Ed Freyer had acquired a Mills Novelty Company double Violano Virtuoso. It was built around 1914 and was unique as a player in that it was solenoid operated and not a pneumatic player, totally electric. Since A.C. current was not in general use at that time, the unit had D.C. motors and needed an internal voltage regulator and converter. That machine operated very well and I was impressed with it's sound. The sound board was hinged like a door, and it opened as such to allow tuning of the piano. Also unique, the bass strings ( the longest and thickest strings in a piano ) were in the center of the sound board, with the mid range strings being to the left side and the treble strings being to the right side. This gave the sound board layout an archway look instead of the normal left to right inclined look of all other pianos. It also used 4 synchronous motors with rosin wheels attached to act as "bows" for each violin. There were no tuning pegs to tune the 4 strings on each violin. The strings were "tuned" by a permanent hanging weight on each string. According to Mills, this was supposed to eliminate the need to tune the violins.
Today, I am comparing the European competitor to Mills with their version consisting of 3 ONE string violins, a REPRODUCING player piano, string tremelo and a single rotating wheel that played the violins as they were needed, by pneumatic fingers and being individually pushed out to the rotating bow. This machine was built in 1901. Personally, I like the Hupfeld over the Mills. The 2nd video is a FULLY restored Mills Double Violin playing the Tennessee Waltz. Also of note, the music roll of the Hupfeld plays from bottom to top, totally opposite of it's American counterparts. These are both two very unique inventions. When the Hupfeld was built, we had no AC electric, airplanes or automobiles.
Let me know which is your favorite. Drop me an e-mail at:
classic.musical.instrument@gmail.com
I will post the results here in a future posting. Enjoy some great sounding music on two awesome machines.
