Hi all,  Just thought I will add to the discussion on player values.

I think it makes a big difference as to whether you want to keep the
player or sell it for a profit (dealers).  If the player is for yourself,
either one you might have bought or one that's been in the family for
years, almost any amount of cost is justified, regardless of the type.
It will repay you with years of enjoyment and reliability.

The cost of having a player repaired (not restored ) in Australia is
around $3100 for the player action,  $1400 for the piano action and $1500
for a case.  Then add in the original purchase price, tuning and trans-
portation.  This does not include any sound board work, new strings or
replating of parts; that's more!

From a business point of view, to put a player on the floor for $8000
might be what it owes you, and is worth, but you might only sell a few a
year, and I don't think many people could repay a house mortgage relying
on this sort of income.

To me and other people who can appreciate a good player it will always
be worth the $8000 but most people with that kind of money to spend on
a player would probably buy a reproducer even if it was not 100%.  (So
would I !!)

Players in the classifieds usually sell for between $2000 to $3500 (non-
reproducing) and it would be a good salesman who could get $8000 for the
same type of player.

I have repaired a few players and sold them, but with me it's just a hobby
and the cost of 5% materials and 95% time is not a problem.  Although this
was more a case of getting a better one for myself each time!  When a
player restoration is your hobby a massive amount of hours is all part of
the fun.

On a lighter note: I tried the demo version of Midiscan mentioned on the
MMD a few days ago and was very impressed.   On the sheet that I scanned
in it only missed 1 note.

I also tried the MMD archives search for the first time and it is really
great.  Well set-up and very easy to use.  Congratulations to those
involved in making this.

Peter Coggins