I have always been interested in different reasons people are in our
hobby: what their perspective is.  I feel some are mostly interested in
the mechanical aspects, some are in it for the musical end, some out of
a historical interest.  I suspect, too, that for most collectors no one
of these categories alone fits; but some or all do, to varying degrees.

This being said, I am herewith presenting my strategy in collecting
vintage 88-note rolls, which more of less reflects the nature of my
interests.  I'd like very much to receive feedback on this, good, bad
or indifferent.  I do ask, however, that all responses, both to my
original post, and to any responses, be civil and respectful of the
opinions of all those involved.

I possess only one mechanical music instrument, a Hardman Duo console
pumper from the 1950's which I acquired about 3 years ago.  I have,
however, been buying rolls for several years, with the anticipation of
the purchase of a player piano.

Initially, I sort of purchased old rolls willy-nilly.  I was not well
enough versed in music to know which composers and artists would give
some indication of musical quality.  Likewise, I knew virtually nothing
about  roll manufacturers, except for the more common labels.

Before long I had a number of QRS and Imperial rolls of marimba
waltzes, a few lame marches, a couple interesting fox trots, but all in
all a rather dull collection.  Also, at that time, I had never heard of
the various recut labels (BluesTone, Artist's Choice, Leedy Brothers,
etc.), or the smaller producers, such as Andy Taylor, Doug Henderson
Rob DeLand and others.

After joining AMICA in 1990, a vast amount of music roll information
became available to me.  Also, I purchased Palmer Mai's book about
collecting rolls, "Perforated Paper Patter".  For the first time,
I began to think about developing some kind of strategy for my roll
collecting.  This is what I came up with:

Primarily, I look for odd brands.  My previous willy-nilly purchasing
had left me with a lot of rolls by about 3 brands, and very few by
anyone else. So now I usually look for brands I don't already have.
This may lead you to assume that I'm probably not as interested in
the music contained on a vintage roll as the company that made it.

Actually, this is not entirely true.  I am _very_ interested in the
music, but, in my opinion, if it is music you want, but _recuts._
I say this for several reasons, not the least of which is that most of
the really great stuff that was ever put on a roll is or has recently
been recut.  But, too, the expected life span of a recut is consider-
ably longer than that of a vintage roll.

Furthermore, buying recuts allows me to own copies of recordings
I would never have access to otherwise.  Finally, it allows me to use
the various recutters as remote "roll hunters" if you will, broadening
the scope of my search for good rolls.

I would be kidding myself to say that I have been musically pleased by
all of the various recuts I have purchased, but, for that matter I have
a number of vintage rolls I've happened upon over the years which are
musically very satisfying.

This strategy has brought me a collection which is both diverse and
musically appealing.  Of course, I have a number of rolls with odd
labels I never listen to.  And I certainly am fond of a number of rolls
put out by the major players in the industry.  But specifically going
after odd brands has also yielded some great stuff I may have otherwise
missed.

My strategy for buying rolls is just that: a strategy.  It is not some-
thing that restricts my collecting, it simply focuses it.  A systematic
plan for collecting just about anything will fail the collector who
adheres to it rigidly, for his rigidity may cause him to pass up really
good pieces that may fall outside of his collection parameters.

So: there it is:  Bryan Cather's roll-buying strategy.  I look forward
to your (civil) comments and suggestions.

Bryan S. Cather
Bryan.cather@Platinum.com   (preferred address)
BSnakeC@AOL.com             (residence address, old but still valid )
Arlington, Texas