I must agree with John Tuttle that my survey did not reflect the opinions
of the masses (masses of collectors? Hmmm...), but then again it was
never intended too.

My hidden agenda, as it were, was to find out what MMDers are doing with
acoustic MIDI systems.  The level of interest in mechanical music is
sparse, so I can't exactly go chat with my neighbors and co-workers about
it (I own one of two PianoDisc units in the entire state of South Dakota,
and I know of one Ampico as well).  I keep my collectors fire alive
through the MMD, it's like having kindred spirits over every morning when
I read the Digest.

One of the things I didn't report in the survey was what I do with my
instruments.  I've been rebuilding players since I was 13 years old
(1972).  I bought a player that had been sledge-hammered apart to get it
out of a basement in Milford NJ.  I paid $75 for the piano (I paid $70
too much ;-), and spent the next month reading a PPCo catalog trying to
figure out what to do.  My parents though I was a certifiable nut!

After 6 months of work, I had rebuilt and refinished a Milton Player with
Standard action.  When I played my first roll (QRS, The Old Piano Roll
Blues) I was hooked.  My parents never questioned my hobby again.  I do
feel sorry for who ever has that piano today though.  =8-O

Since then I have owned and rebuilt numerous Edison phonos, two Mermod
music boxes, a Gem Cob Organ, Steinway Duo Art, Knabe Ampico A, Jacob
Doll pumper, Lauter Humana pumper, Seeburg L, Wurlitzer Military Band
Organ, Tangley Calliope, and a Knabe Ampico B.  My most recent addition
was the Knabe PianoDisc.

This is not a slam, but, I am not the type of customer John would service
since I do my own work.  That's the fun part of the hobby for me, and
it's why I enjoy the level of sophistication on the MMD.  (By the way,
 John, if you were to service my pianos, you would definately hear the
PianoDisc when you came to my door :-)

I spend around 1-2 hours a day scouring the Internet for MIDI files, and
have downloaded over 500 so far.  Most of the MIDIs on the Internet sound
horrible on solenoid pianos since they are intended for electronic
pianos.  I spend many hours re-sequencing files (mostly editing strike
durations and re-patching instruments) to make these files playable.  I
use the Studio 4 editor from Midisoft and record the files directly on
the piano from my sound card (TurtleBeach TBS2000) to the MIDI-in on the
PDS128+.

I also have Gary Giebler's translation software for PianoDisc and
Disklavier, but found a bug in PianoDisc's software which patches
instruments incorrectly, so I can't use his programs on any orchestrated
files.  Obviously this is the part of the hobby that has me fired-up
today!

I started out collecting because I was hooked on the mechanics involved
in these systems.  It's what drove me to study Mechanical Engineering in
college.  Over the years I have migrated to being hooked on the music,
oddly enough I'm no longer working as an engineer, but do marketing
now (building markets and awareness.  Notice I've refrained from the
"building awareness" thread ;-)  I often wonder if there is a correlation
between my hobby shift and my career shift!

Personally, I have been thrilled with the response I got to the survey,
and have enjoyed the email interaction with the other members.

Regards,

Scott Currier
"MIDI man in the hinter land"