Hi group,  I just subscribed to your list today.  This is my first
post.  Your list was referred to me by Dean Randall.  Dean said that
many members of this list are European, or live in Europe and may have
better knowledge of the Philipps than those in the U. S. since it seems
that few Philipps were imported here.

I am the new owner of a Philipps - Ducanola player (I think it is a
player and not a reproducer?) in a Ritmuller upright, s/n 25379.
I have been advised that it was made between 1910 and 1915, probably
1914.  I purchased it from the Salvation Army in November.  It seems
to be all there, and actually played somewhat.

I do not play the piano, nor have I ever had a player, but with the
right info and a little assistance from guys like you, I have the
manual skills to do whatever repairs may be required.  I feel I have
a grasp (very basic) of what's going on behind the keyboard, just from
information I've accessed on the Internet.

An electric vacuum blower had been added in the recent past and made
so much noise, the notes could barely be heard.  Some of the large
pneumatic bellows had been purposely disabled.

I removed the motor and discarded it.  I removed the foot pedals
and lower vacuum unit and am in the process of repairing the leaks,
etc.  It appears that the main problem was the flap valves on the pedal
bellows.  I ordered these and some basic repair parts from Player Piano
Co.  I am confident that I can have it working very soon.  I am pre-
pared to rebuild the stack if needed, after I first redo the lower
section and see if it will play a little.

I have ordered, but not yet received:  "Encyclopedia of Automatic
Musical Instruments", by David Q. Bowers;  "Piano Servicing Tuning
and Rebuilding : For the Professional, the Student, the Hobbyist",
by Arthur A. Reblitz;  "Piano Tuning : A Simple and Accurate Method
for Amateurs", by Jerry Cree Fischer;  "Player Piano Servicing and
Rebuilding by Arthur A. Reblitz;  "Rebuilding the Player Piano",
by Larry Givens.  Are there any more books that I need to get up-to-
speed on the theory, workings and repair of my new toy?

I have asked the Smithsonian Institution for information on my player.
I received _very little_ information, which consisted of two Xeroxed
pages, none of which described my upright.  One page was from Bowers'
Encyclopedia (p. 317), and the other was from Bowers' "Guidebook of
Automatic Musical Instruments" (p. 218).

Do any of y'all have any _specific_ info on my Philipps-Ducanola
upright?  Old advertisements, factory literature, repair manual, hints
and tips for this model, etc.?  It seems that the Philipps-Ducanola
uprights -- made in Bockenheim (Frankfurt?), Germany from 1908 to the
late 1920's -- were not imported to the U.S. in any great numbers.
Apparently this player piano is rare in the U.S?

My tracker bar has two sets of holes.  Turning the bar upside down
causes the different rows of holes to operate, but only one is able
to operate at one time.

One row has 67 holes, 6 to the inch; the seventh begins at the inch
mark, if the beginning of the first in placed at the zero mark.  These
holes are 1/8" wide, less than 1/16" high.

The other row has 88 holes (square) with another longer one at each
end.  A second hole is outside at one end and is the largest square
hole on the bar, slightly less than 1/8 square.  Total of 91 holes
in this row.  The 91 hole row connects to 91 holes on the back of the
tracker bar.  These are 9 to the inch.  The 67 hole row connects to
65 holes on the back of the bar.  The plate on which the bar seats in
either position has 91 holes.

So, it looks like this piano will play either 65-note or 88-note rolls
by simply turning the tracker bar upside down.

The 45 rolls that came with the piano are mostly MELOTO, IMPERIAL or
QRS, and most are 88-note rolls.  They are 11-1/14" wide.  The Meloto
rolls have an additional printed small label which reads:

  R. W. PENTLAND,  Player Pianos - Music Rolls
  Frederick Street,  Edinburgh

So maybe this piano was originally purchased in or imported to
Scotland?  All the rolls are printed in English.

I have not opened all rolls yet, but I just noticed one with pins out
both ends.  This must be a 65-note roll.  It is an IMPERIAL brand and
the title is "THE DRUIDS' PRAYER", autographed as a gift.  So, the
owner probably was a Scot.

The piano needs tuning and the key pins freed up.  The keys don't stick
when playing manually, but they all do not drop when the player is
operating.  I read that this is caused by the pins sticking, which I
verified by removing a few keys.  So, first, I will employ a
professional tuner-technician to get my piano portion functioning
properly.

If anyone on this list can give me any info or any suggestions, it
would be greatly appreciated.  I have also posted the above information
on <Rolldigest@aol.com>.

Thanks,

Glenn Cupit
Wilson, Louisiana USA
tel: 225-629-9822   fax: 225-629-6368

 [ Welcome aboard MMD, Glenn.  All the Philipps products are quite
 [ rare here in the States; I suspect you'll find most of the data
 [ in UK and Germany.  It _is_ nice to have a pumper equipped for
 [ both style rolls.  Good luck!  -- Robbie