Chris and I would like to thank our kind host, Bob Berkman, for giving
us the grand tour of the QRS facility In Buffalo this month.  We had a
great time!.

Not only did I have the opportunity to see (and closely examine) the
roll perforators and other wonderful old machinery, I also had the rare
opportunity to see the department where the arrangements are created.
Bob also gave us an education how the rolls were created before
computers came along.

Even though I have arranged rolls myself, I never cease to be amazed
or lose my love for this type of industry.  Most people pump through a
roll not realizing how much time and care (and work) actually goes into
a 3-minute player roll.  In some cases, it takes two to three weeks to
finish a selection.

Of particular interest was the Cook arranging piano [used for many
years by J. Lawrence Cook] that inspired me to build my unit.  This is
a fascinating machine.  Basically, it's a mechanical counting computer
connected to a small perforator, with a punch ram on the left, and a
reader on the right.  Right below the "stops" there is a "Ferris wheel"
arrangement running through the entire length of the piano, connected
to the intermediate shaft of the perforator.

I always wondered how anyone could operate this machine without
becoming confused or loosing the proper time in the music.  There used
to be an indicator device above the stops that would indicate where the
perforator steps were at any given time.  I was told that Rudy Martin
wanted the device removed, because he didn't need it.  He must have a
keen sense of timing and an excellent memory; I would be hopelessly
lost after the first measure (and have to take nerve medication)!

Creating a master from this machine must have been nerve racking. The
operations "Cut-Copy-Paste", which we now do so easily on our personal
computers, were done "the hard way" on the paper master!  The machine
could be backed up or advanced to allow the arranger to create the
master like he wanted . I never heard of a QRS artist losing his mind,
but I am sure that it was tedious at times.

This machine is no longer used since computers came along.  A computer
also operates the QRS production perforators via a bank of MIDI air
valves.  Other than this change, it's pretty much the same as the "old
days"

Bob also showed us the QRS master vault, where I read J. L. Cook's
penciled notes on some rolls.  I was like a kid in a candy store the
whole time.

QRS also makes their own spools with an plastic injection machine.  The
machine that punches the tabs is a mechanical work of art.  It's almost
as much fun to watch as the perforators.

Providing a stencil belt is almost as much work as the arrangement
itself.  The letters are impressed onto a fiberglass belt and, like the
musical arrangements, timing the words, spacing, and cueing the stencil
belt is very important .

The arranging piano had one more detail that is much like my home-built
unit.  There is a dummy sitting at the keyboard.  There is also a
"dummy" sitting at mine when I am arranging ! <chuckle>

Thank You, Bob!  Just lock me in the building for the next thirty
years, and give me a player piano!

Andy Taylor
Tempola Music Rolls