In response to the forwarded letter by Jayne Paris concerning her
Faventia barrel piano, I have been restoring these for some years.
Normal restoration included the replacement of the pinblock with a
"Delignit pinblock", then repining and stringing, including having the
wound bass strings duplicated. This is done without damaging the case.
Any needed work or replacement on the wooden gears are also done in
my shop.
For pictures of a Faventia than had been refinished by a customer,
removing the original red paint with the faux grain, go to
http://www.pebworths.com/Faventia/Faventia.html where all of the
songs on one barrel are available in RealAudio.
Another Faventia, this one with the wood block and triangle, along with
the audio recordings from two barrels, will be posted to my site in the
near future.
A common complaint is that these units will not stay in tune. After
restoration, mine perform very well in regards to tuning over time,
and can be tuned again, and again, just like a good piano, if needed.
These recordings of the Faventia are also available from me on a CD
if anyone wants a higher resolution recording than the RealAudio.
Al Pebworth - Pebworth's Player Piano Center
Chesapeake, Virginia
http://www.pebworths.com/
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