Hi Douglas,  I took the liberty of sending your article to the MMD.
You made an extremely good point regarding the word "Duo-Art" which I
have yet to hear from anybody.  It makes such perfect sense that I'm
amazed that I didn't figure it out years ago.  I hope Robbie and Jody
post your article which shows beyond the shadow of any reasonable doubt
that you not only understand the medium, you also know about the
'hidden' history behind the myths.

May I use your article (or a revised version which I hope you will
send) as another, in an increasingly long line of fine articles which
are available at PlayerCare?

Musically,
John A. Tuttle

 - - -

Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 09:53:55 -0500
To: cdodrill@u.washington.edu
From: artcraft@wiscasset.net (Douglas Henderson)
Subject: Don't convert that S&S piano!

Hello,  Saw your MMD posting about the possibility of converting a
65/88-Note pedal player grand piano into a Duo-Art version.  Aeolian
did this all the time (when instruments were traded-in on newer
models), but ... I think you should leave it alone.

Being involved with music rolls is the pleasure of the medium.  The
'reproducing' rolls - which were really arranged and mostly retrofitted
from earlier 88-Note releases already on the market - are usually quite
bland and rarely take the instrument to its full dynamic spectrum.

This is why Pianola levers were added, and is WHY it was called a
"Duo-Art": manual/semi-automatic interpretation.  One must monitor the
tempo on ANY 'reproducing' piano as it's "off" by about 25-33% after a
few minutes' time.  Aeolian called the manual use of the instrument
'The Duo-Art as a Pianola', by the way.

Hope you'll keep the Steinway "as is".  The Steinway Grand Pianola - as
Aeolian called their pedal Pianola Piano - is rare today.

I have a Duo-Art "AR" electric and a pedal "O" Steinway in my roll
Studio, and enjoy them both for what they do.  I also use the 'Duo-Art
as a Pianola' via the hand-controls 1/2 the time, since the commercial
rolls get boring in short order, due to limited expression scores.
(ARTCRAFT Duo-Art Rolls, of course, can be played w/o the Pianola lever
'overrides' -- except for the tempo monitoring which is mandatory for
anybody who listens to the musical performance.)

Check out my URL: http://www.wiscasset.net/artcraft/ (HOME PAGE)

"The PIANOLA News" dep't. is updated weekly, so you might visit the
location frequently, when time permits.

By the way, I've posted an Editorial which gives my viewpoint about
'reproducing' rolls' authenticity [which I have rejected for 4 decades]
...  and this is linked to another URL giving the "artist on the
keyboard" approach.  In this forum, you'll find an old MMD posting of
mine which goes into the variables of playing Duo-Art rolls on 9-foot
concert grand instruments ... showing that there's a lot to the
aesthetics of music rolls BEYOND the simplistic "let it play" claims.
You can reach this discussion here:

    http://www.wiscasset.net/artcraft/phony.htm

Now -- if I can just train people to use something other than "pumper"
(an antique fire engine) and "reproducer" (an Edison phonograph part),
both coined in recent years by presumably-unmusical collectors, then
everything else will be fine!

I'll be anxious to know if you spare the Steinway Grand Pianola, and
keep its 65/88-Note roll capabilities.  (My pedal "O", by the way, was
designed to be a 65-Note instrument and was either retrofitted by
Aeolian to 88-Note only or got changed half-way in the manufacturing
process.  When I bought it, the 1912 piano came with advertisements
from 1924, suggesting a trade-in or factory conversion ... which
fortunately the original Maine owners never had done!)

Best regards from Maine,

Douglas Henderson
ARTCRAFT Music Rolls
Wiscasset, ME 04578
(207) 882-7420