Cost of "A" vs. "B" Ampico
By Don Teach
I thought I would throw a question out there to any Ampico fans. Just suppose the New Ampico known as the model "B" was really built to be less expensive than the model "A". There is only one set of valves for the striker pneumatics in the "B". The expression system is much simpler and easier to build. Electric roll drive eliminates the need for a wind motor and tempo governor. There is only one crescendo mechanism.
Roll production machinery was simplified, too. The longer "B" rolls no longer needed to be split into two rolls, requiring another box, two more flanges, and core. I thought I would ask this question to spark some comments. So, guys, what do you think?
So what if it was? It's still a great reproducer.
Perhaps someone should write an article or two about what some of these instruments are (band organs, reproducers, nickelodeons, etc.) for the first-time readers who may have found MMD and are not player enthusiasts yet. More education -- perhaps more interest.
Don Teach
[ Right on, Don. Hopefully education yields interest. At the moment
[ I know that Michael Water's web page, among others, has a discussion
[ of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) explaining a bit about the various
[ instruments. -- Robbie
|
(Message sent Mon 3 Feb 1997, 15:52:05 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
|
|
Mechanical
Music Digest™ Archives
