There was a comment made recently about the technicians in the U.S.
There are many excellent technicians in the U.S., and unfortunately,
some that are not up to par, so to speak.

Some of the technicians where working on players when all they had to
do was cover a few pneumatics and the player would work fine.  Today
the younger technicians are learning the difference between rebuilding
and a total restoration.  The quality of the work varies just as it
does in other trades such as automobile repair.

There have always been disagreements on the best way to obtain
the final result and there is justification for these disagreements.
Seventy plus years in different conditions have done different amounts
and kinds of damage to these instruments.

Most of the finest technicians in the U.S. do not subscribe to the
MMD nor are they on the Internet.  Some of the finest technicians do
participate in the MMD but they are really only a small percentage of
the technicians in the U.S.

It is my hope that as time goes on some more technicians will join the
MMD, and that could offer the reader more techniques that work for
them.  Until that happens I urge anyone slightly interested in
Mechanical Music Machines to join both the Musical Box Society and
AMICA as some of the best writers on Earth contribute to the bulletins
from these organizations, complete with pictures and documented
histories.

The bottom line in my message is: please do not condemn the contribu-
tors, but offer constructive comments that will benefit all.  There is
more than one way to skin a cat.

Don Teach, Nickelodeon Technician
Shreveport Music Co, 1610 E. Bert Kouns, Shreveport,  LA  71105