A (non-member, non-computerized) friend of mine, Ron Sanchez, of The
Player Piano Shop in Monrovia, California, is about to create a new
Ampico Vorsetzer  -- a push-up piano player that can be used with any
piano.  This instrument could be an Ampico A or an Ampico B.  Possibly
he can fit it so it will contain both Ampico A and Ampico B mechanisms,
but this is really for the purist, since Ampico A pianos play Ampico B
rolls very nicely.  (The reverse is not quite as true, I am told;
Ampico B players do play Ampico A rolls, but not with the same degree
of perfection).

Ron is a well-recognized player authority and expert technician.  He
rebuilt my Ampico-Duo-Art-Welte Vorsetzer  to a very high degree of
perfection, even to the extent of _creating_ an all-new set of stack
valves for the instrument that is far superior to anything else I have
seen.  His associate was the (now deceased) Charles Davis Smith, who
wrote the compilation on the Duo-Art Complete Catalog and the Welte
Mignon history and complete catalog.  Ron has dedicated his life to
automatic musical instruments and is a fine resource.

He imagines that the Ampico Vorsetzer will deliver at about $10,000,
and that the first one will take about three to six months to complete.
Anyone interested may contact me directly for further information.
(I am interested only in helping Ron, and am not involved
commercially.)

Tom Steuer