I have just come across what must be a very rare, possibly unique
Steinway duo -- and it is truly a DUO -- but not a Duo-Art!  The piano
is immense, I am told:  8'4" or so, and it contains *two* spoolboxes,
one seemingly a Welte Red and the other unknown, at least to me.

The spool boxes are on the top, as on a Duo-Art, but they are on
the sides.  The second spool box has a tracker bar that is standard
nine-to-the-inch and it takes a standard size roll.  Maybe this one's
a Welte Green, but in the middle, again, where the spool box usually
is, are the controls for an Ampico B!

This tracker bar has holes about an inch apart going across the tracker
bar, first above the usual holes, then below, then above, then below.
I am not familiar with that arrangement.

The piano is being handled by what appears to be a middleman and he's
looking for _big money_.  He says $70- or $80-thousand, but at _least_
$30,000 (that's quite a spread!).  There's a calf with the cow: that
means there's a separate, remote motor with the piano, and it matches
the piano.  There is also a matching bench.  And there are many cartons
of rolls.  I did see a number of DeLuxe, which led me to believe that
the smaller spool box is a Welte 98 (Green).  But I also saw a box
of Duo-Arts.

The man says that the piano formerly was part of the Tushinsky
collection, and I am wondering whether this was a customized job for
Joe Tushinsky, who also ordered the unique Ampico A/Duo-Art/Welte
Vorsetzer that I have the pleasure of owning.

More:  The piano is a Hamburg Steinway with a B plate.  It is a
fruitwood finish with straight legs, _very_ far apart.  The front of the
piano is quite a distance to the part where the curve on the treble
side starts.  The man who has it knows little about it.  He says that
the rolls are worth $4,000 alone.  I asked him how many there were, and
he did not know.

If there is anyone interested in owning this piano, let me know and
I will find out more about it.  I just saw it very briefly last night,
and probably will look into it more intensively, if only for my own
amusement.  I know one thing for sure -- this piano is not for a casual
owner.

My guess is that it was a fairly late German Welte Steinway that was
customized at a later time.

Tom Steuer

 [ Tom, you're well acquainted with reproducing pianos -- try to hear
 [ the instrument play, and tell us your impressions.  Could you get
 [ photos for us?  MMD is a fine place to spread the word, if the owner
 [ isn't afraid about probing questions!  (If he wants money maybe this
 [ isn't the place... ;)   -- Robbie