Is investing in Mechanical musical instruments a worthy investment?

Reflecting over the years that I have bought and sold player pianos,
I never made any money on the sale of any of them.  I either sold them
for what I had put into them, or for less money.  But then again I
never bought any of my player pianos as an investment.  I bought them
for the sheer pleasure that they give me, and others who visit to
listen to the great music.

Over the years I kept upgrading until I had an example piano that
played the three major reproducing rolls, the AMPICO, the Duo-Art,
and the Welte.  I doubt seriously that I will ever get my invested
money back on any of them.  But for the pleasure that I have gotten
from the music, I feel that I have got my investment back.  I share my
collection with senior, church, and other groups of people and I find
it fun and interesting to share the music.

I have not seen much interest lately in people wanting player pianos.
When you consider that there are billions of people in the world, and
there are only a few million 88-note player pianos and only a few
thousand of the reproducing pianos ever made, isn't it obvious that
not everyone in the world wants one?  When you also consider that many
collectors have several of the various instruments, doesn't that also
lead to that conclusion too?  If every person in the world wanted a
player piano, then there would be a great market, and prices would
reflect it.  Out of the billions of people in the world, I think that
there are only a few thousand of us who really want to own these
Mechanical Musical Machines.

In the 1970's I remember visiting the American International Galleries
in So. California, and looking at the various instruments that they had
for sale.  I remember standing in front of a Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina
that had two roll mechanisms, so that when one roll was rewinding the
other roll would play.  The price on it was $15,000.  I had at that
time never heard one, but I had heard several of those squeaky Mills
Violanos, and thought to myself that with three violins, it must be
horrible to listen to also.

Then in the 1980's I finally got to hear one.  What a sweet sound.
Siegfried Wendel in Germany was going to make 10 replicas, and he was
going to come to LA to the AMICA convention and tell us about it.  At
the same time a collector died in LA who owned one, and by the time the
flurry of bids died down, it was sold to a collector in Japan for
$300,000.  Wow!

I had heard through the grapevine, that there was at a scrap yard, the
remains of a Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina, the violins and some parts were
long gone, but the piano and case were still intact.  I went to the
convention with the thought that I might be able to buy some of the
replica parts to make the one that I knew about whole again.

Siegfried came and told us about his replica project and, as his speech
wound down, I sat in my chair, gripping the arms with anxious antici-
pation for the price.  When it came to the bottom line as to what they
were cost, I still remember the words that Siegfried said: "What will
the price be for these replicas?  As you know, recently an original
Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina sold to a collector in Japan for $300,000.00
and my price will be ..."

At that moment I knew that I would never in my wildest dreams ever own
one of these fine music machines.  Don't we all wish we could turn back
the clock?  If I knew in the 1970's what a Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina
would have been worth in the 1980's, I would not have hesitated one
minute to buying that machine.  Is it a good investment?  Will the
collector in Japan ever get his $300,000 dollars back?  Who knows?

I recently attended an estate auction here in Virginia where there was
an upright 88 note player piano, a rather nice two-door roll cabinet,
and about 200 rolls; half were 88-note, and the other half were Ampico
rolls.  The auctioneer knew I was into player pianos and he kept his
eye on me.  First they mentioned the player piano was for sale, and the
auctioneer looked directly at me and I shook my head "no" that I was
not interested.  It sold for the final bid of $45.  I never even tried
to see if it worked.

Next they auctioned off the roll cabinet, and I stuck up five fingers
for $5, and it surprisingly sold to me for that price.  No one else was
interested.  The week before I had been bidding on a similar one at an
antique auction and kicked myself all week for letting it go for $250.
I did get the rolls too!

There do not seem to be many buyers for player pianos.  I get phone
calls every week from people who have them for sale and in some cases
they say I can have it if I just come pick it up.  Is there anyone out
there who wants one? Just give me a call.  It is kind of sad isn't it?

If you are in the market for wanting a player piano or any other type
of Mechanical Musical Marvel, let me know as I know a lot of sellers
out there who have instruments that they would like to find a good new
home for, and I can probably find the "right widget" for you, whether
your wallet says I want a free player piano or one for a million
dollars or more.

Currently there are a lot more machines available for sale than there
are currently buyers.  So let me know what your wants are and drop me a
line.  If you have some instruments for sale, also let me know as I may
have a buyer who wants one.  I like to connect buyers and sellers
together.

Now don't get me wrong.  For some very rare, ornate, one-of-a-kind
musical instrument there will always be some demand for them and
I think the value will hold, but for the common place and ordinary
musical instrument, unless we can convince the other billions of people
on earth that they should have one, I think the market will still be
slim.

There still seems to be a strong market for the music rolls for these
various instruments.  I am currently working on getting my next music
roll auction out and up on my web page at
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~rollertunes .

It is not up as yet but I expect the first of February for it to be
there if you are in the market for some great music rolls for your
various machines at bargain prices.  Yes!  Some rolls are even for
free!  I keep marking the rolls down until someone makes an offer or,
I give them away for free!  So I doubt that you will find a better
bargain anywhere else.  In the mean time take a look at my web page
at what rolls are still left.

I think that what the investment in Mechanical Musical Instruments
boils down to, is: If you see and hear something that you like and it
is for sale.  Buy it for the pleasure it gives and do not buy it for an
investment.  Someday if you are lucky it may appreciate in value or it
may not.

I know of a great many people who paid good money for these machines
and sold them years later for a lot less than they paid for them.
I don't think any of them regretted selling for less as I think they
got a lot of pleasure from listening to them.

Musically yours

Larry Norman