Hi All,  Below is series the short letters which led to the successful
repair of an Aeolian Musette via the Internet.

A woman writes:

  I live on the Oregon coast and don't have access to a piano tuner/
repairman - my piano seems to be "stuck" in reverse.  Is this fairly
simple to repair? or? more info?

I answer:

  Fairly common problem in units that aren't maintained on a regular
basis.  Most likely, the pinion gear inside of the transmission has
become disengaged from the shifter arm.  I know that sounds like Greek,
so I've made up a simple picture to guide you.  [See the image
tranny.gif at the MMD Pictures site. -- Robbie ]

  Open the top of the instrument and locate the transmission, which is on
the right hand side of the spool box.  Move the Play/Reroll lever back
and forth and watch what happens inside of the transmission.  The long
arm that moves right and left is the shifter arm.  The small brass gear
in the middle of the transmission is the pinion gear.  On the back side
of the shifter arm is a small pin which must be positioned such that it
'rides' inside the 1/8" channel on the pinion gear.

  To position it correctly, gently pull the shifter arm towards you and
move it so that the pin on the backside of the shifter arm goes into
the groove on the pinion gear.  Then, to help prevent the problem from
occurring again, tighten the screw, (with the spring underneath it) that
holds the shifter arm to the transmission.  Do not tighten it more than
1/2 turn.

  In closing, this problem can happen if the Play/Reroll lever is
aggressively moved from Reroll to Play.

Her reply:

  Hey - thanks - got it fixed - works great - really missed it! :)

My closing reply:

  Super!  Glad to have been able to help.  Now you'll need some new
rolls to enjoy.  You can save up to 20% off the QRS list price.  See:
http://www.player-care.com/qrsprici.html

Musically,

John A. Tuttle

P.S.  Here's a little trivia question posed to me this morning by
my wife, Pandora, who learned the answer from the History Channel:

  What did Mr. Story do with his life after leaving Story & Clark?

Hint: It happened in So. Calif.