I hesitate to enter a discussion about which there are so few confirmed
facts.  The recording process for Welte-Mignon is one such a murky
area.  I have no doubt that Dick Simonton did tell Mr. Brougher's
friend that he had seen the recording equipment.  This must have been
an exaggeration in the heat of the discussion.  We know that in fact
the recording and duplication equipment was all destroyed in the war.

I also agree that the Legendary Masters liner notes and High Fidelity
article are without a doubt suspect as to the particular recording
procedure.  I agree that the Welte-Mignon recording pianos, of which
there were at least two, as evidenced by the testimonial photographs
taken at the recording salon, did have a trough mounted below the
keyboard.  Given that the start/stop motor switches in early period
Welte-Mignon T-100 pianos all used open pot mercury switches, one could
reasonably assume that the trough was filled with mercury to make
contact.

I have examined the Welte-Philharmonic [pipe organ] recording machine
used in New York and it does use inked rollers to mark the "master" for
the playing notes.  I also have a number of Welte-Philharmonic "ink
masters" which were produced by this same recording machine.  The
Welte-Philharmonic "ink masters" were not immediately ready for
playback, as the ink lines required punching by hand first.  I have
never seen or heard of "ink masters" for the Welte-Mignon reproducing
piano.  It would be reasonable to assume the same technology applied to
both recording machines for Mignon and Philharmonic.  I believe the
instant playback statements to be a myth.

I have often seen collectors confuse the recording process used in
Germany with the Welte-Mignon (Licensee) recording process developed by
Billy Heaton, using a seismograph to record dynamics.  There is no
evidence that they shared information on their own recording processes.

 [ That's certainly understandable!  The 'Licensee' company, aided by
 [ the U.S. Government's regrettable actions, was the successor to the
 [ Welte-USA firm founded by the same Edwin Welte and seized as alien
 [ property during WW1.  There was no love by Freiburg for America!
 [ -- Robbie

So where does this leave us?  I know I have many unanswered questions.
I do not know how T-100 Welte-Mignon rolls were recorded.  I believe
the note recording was straightforward but the dynamics are a mystery.
Certainly this was Edwin Welte's and Karl Bockisch's best kept trade
secret.

Let me also add a few salient points.  When Deluxe began to produce
their first new recordings for the Welte-Mignon Licensee they did not
have the benefit of the seismograph.  The early Deluxe output (rolls
numbers 6000+) was very limited in the first two years, of perhaps
fewer than 200 new titles.  The expression was all produced by an
editor and is very coarse when compared to the fine later seismograph
recordings.

I have a Welte-Mignon catalog from about 1907.  Listed are the rolls
recorded in the first two years of production.  There are over 1,000
titles.  Listening to rolls produced in 1905-1906 in Germany is very
different than listening to those first Deluxe rolls made some 15 years
later.

While the 1905-1906 Welte-Mignon rolls [recorded in Europe] were most
likely not available for "instant" playback, they were produced with
great speed.  The implication being that there was most likely some
assistance in recording the dynamics since a great staff of editors
would be needed for such extraordinary output to edit all the expres-
sion by hand.

I must also add that some of these early rolls are very long indeed.
The Deluxe rolls were split up into shorter rolls as a matter of
policy.  Bearing this in mind, the output for M. Welte und Soehne was
even greater.

Whatever the process, it would appear that Messers Welte and Bockisch
took the secret with them.

Mark Reinhart
Charles Town, West Virginia