Hello Robbie and MMD'ers, unfortunately I made no _new_ recording of
the Cis-moll Prelude by Rachmaninow.  I don't own rolls but have to
borrow them from friends each time I want to make a recording.

When I finished my roll reader years ago I recorded the data of the
punched holes in two different ways:

1.  Steps and holes in a data field, not very much different to Wayne
Stahnke's *.web or *.bar files, but without Wayne's wonderful idea to
align the little aberrations to the original punching process.  Then
I printed the file on a NEC P7 printer, on endless paper.  This was
also the reason for choosing a step width of 1/180" : The friction rod
was easily brought to a diameter that aligned readers step width to
printers, so that the lengths of roll and printout differed only a few
mm / meter.

2.  As I wanted to hear the rolls on my synthesizer and have MIDI
files of it in my computer, I wrote an emulator program to let the
reader output MIDI data with intensities.

When I was aware that short low bass notes were played correctly
on my synths but not on a Disklavier, I made the program lengthen
those notes.  But at last, as I have good synths but no Disklavier
or PianoDisc, I gave up and made the program play good for me.
(That is also, why Wayne's splendid idea of the pneumatic/
optoelectronic solution is not for me ;-).

So my first method is for looking at (and copying rolls) and the
second one for listening to.

I am still curious why recordings with a intensity scale of MIDI-
velocity 45 are judged as overemphasized and Disklavier recordings
with a velo-scale from 10 to 100 are not.  When I posed this question
I never got an answer !

So here comes one of my last recordings, of Ampico roll 53717.
I will send it from my mail address <mohrhrh@t-online.de> [which
serves the Win95 computer].  It is a piano transcription of the
G-moll concert of Saint Saens played by "Victor Wittgenstein".
I like it very much, but could only get the 1st and 3rd roll.
I have heard of Paul Wittgenstein and am curious who Victor
Wittgenstein might be.

If MMD wants more roll recordings for the web site, let me know.

Best regards,

Horst Mohr
mohr@nemeter.dinoco.DE  D-51515 Kuerten 02268/1561

 [ Thank you, Horst.  We will place your transcription at the MMD
 [ Sounds page.  The book, "Biographical Dictionary of Musicians"
 [ (1939) says that Paul Wittgenstein (of Vienna) lost one arm in WW1;
 [ he is the pianist for whom Richard Strauss and Ravel and others
 [ wrote works for one hand.  There's no mention of Victor W. -- Robbie