I was a little disappointed to hear that Karl Ellison shut down his
site due to the possibility of a copyright infringement. I was hoping
that someone would have a similar site someday with examples of various
mechanical musical instruments, such as a Violano and others, so people
could hear what each type sounded like. There is a huge difference
between reading about a machine and (sort of) hearing what it sounds
like. It would be a shame if this possibility for valuable information
exchange were eliminated because of some over-zealous descendants of a
handful of deceased composers.
Thanks for the heads-up on the Sunday Morning program. It was an
interesting tour of a place I always intended to go to when I lived
within 100 miles of QRS. But, like so many things in life, it was so
close that I could "go there anytime." Now that I live 400 miles away,
I wish I had visited when it was close!
John J. Breen
[ Most old music for orchestrions has passed into public domain, so
[ Violano music doesn't have all the composer copyright problems
[ associated with the newer piano rolls. -- Robbie
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