Player Piano-Phonograph
By Mike Carey
In regards to a previous message on the MMD about a player piano with a phonograph _in_ it -- I have one of those pianos. The piano is labeled a "Pianista". It is slightly shorter than a conventional upright player of the 1920's.
The piano is a regular upright-style piano, rather ordinary. The player mechanism is a conventional Standard double-valve action. One difference in the player is that the tracker unit is not mounted to the _left_ of the spoolbox; it is mounted _on top_, with a teeter-totter type pneumatic instead of a double-leaved pneumatic like a Standard (in order to clear the underside of the lid).
The piano has _1_ sliding door in front of the spoolbox, instead of 2. This is because the phonograph is mounted to the _left_ of the spoolbox. On the front of the cabinet is a door to the left of the spoolbox with a knob at the top to pull open the door (which swings down).
The phonograph : It is a "Phonola". It is mounted _vertically_, slightly tilted backwards at the top, to keep the record from falling off the turntable. The tone-arm is counter-balanced to allow the arm to work vertically; the weight of the reproducer keeps the needle in the groove.
Two neat things about this : for a horn, the piano does _not_ use an outside horn. The _spoolbox_ is the horn - the top part of the spoolbox (where the roll goes) is tapered from right to left, towards the rear of the piano. This connects to the tone-arm, allowing the sound to radiate from the record. The crank (to wind up the spring on the phonograph) goes into the piano through a hole in the side of the cabinet.
Of course, I did get the crank. It looks to be about 3-4 long, in order to reach the spring winder from the outside of the cabinet. The crank is situated to line up behind the wind motor and the spoolbox.
I figure the best bet for the crank is to obtain a regular crank (with a short threaded section) and use a long piece of steel rod, threaded at one end to connect to the spring motor, and a threaded union to screw the crank into.
I found this piano in Florida in an antique store. When I went to pick it up, it had casters under it! Real fun, especially since I didn't have a dolly with me! Arg!
I have not restored the piano/phonograph yet; I have _so_ many projects going at once right now (and who doesn't when collecting these wonderful machines?!?!?)
Just thought I would add my 2 cents worth.
By the way : there was also a player piano with a _radio_ in it; the one that comes to mind was pictured in either the Player Piano Treasury, or the Encyclopedia. I can't remember which, but I do remember the piano was advertised as the "Weydig Radi-O-Player", using an antenna that was stuck in a hole in the lid.
Nike Carey
mcarey@usit.net |
(Message sent Wed 19 Mar 1997, 03:40:39 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
|
|
Mechanical
Music Digest™ Archives
