Hi gang:  I have been browsing the net tonight and have seen several
adds for coin pianos.

Let me say first that the webmasters that put these pages up are _not_
responsible for the point I am going to make below.  Many of these
people maintain the pages non-grata and deserve our thanks and not our
criticism.

Although a homemade coin piano can make as good music as the original
ones can, I think the webmasters should _require_ the add writer to
plainly state the coin piano's mechanism's origin.  Just because the
piano itself is an antique, doesn't mean the whole thing is.

The point I am driving at: A very few of the people who build these
things try to present these pianos as bona fide original 1920's era
coin pianos when they are not.  I know of more than one unsuspecting
buyer who thought they were getting a original machine when they
didn't.

I know a company (who shall remain nameless) who bases their entire
business on placing built-up uprights (and in many cases unrestored)
"coin pianos" before the unsuspecting public as the machines of the
era.  After six months of hard use the action begins throwing jacks,
the hard hammers began wearing through to the wood, and the pins become
loose.

When the repairman explains to the new owner why he must spend another
$2000 on the machine he had just paid $7000+ for, it is a situation
that hurts everyone in the trade.

These "aftermarket" machines range from really horrible to excellent.
Again, it depends upon the builder.  An honest and careful builder can
build a machine that is reliable and musical and will give many years
of faithful service.

Such a builder will plainly state where the mechanism came from, and it
should be a advertising requirement.  These machines should be sold for
what they are, without making the buyer thinking they are getting an
original machine.

Best Regards
Andy & Chris Taylor
Tempola Music Rolls
http://home.swbell.net/tempola/index.htm

 [ California law requires that the license plate number of a car
 [ appear in the "For Sale" advert, but that's all.  It's still
 [ 'caveat emptor - the purchaser buys at his own risk.'  Auto techs
 [ have the same problem that you do, Andy, when they must tell a
 [ hopeful customer that the car is really a wreck under the new paint.
 [ Like newspapers, web site managers declare no responsibility for the
 [ truthfulness of the advertisements.  Purchasers should get advice
 [ from their trusted techs _before_ buying.  -- Robbie