Hi All,

This is my first posting to MMD.  I just bought a 1929 Gulbransen player
piano from an add in our local newspaper.  I paid $300 dollars for it
and that included a box of parts which consisted of a new set of
hammers, tons of felt, cloth for the bellows, pneumatics, and air motor,
tons of felts, 300 feet of neoprene hose, and a set of key tops. I don't
know if I got ripped off or not.

I have been doing a little research on the piano and I now doubt that
it is a 1929 model as I was told.  Two things make me think this.  The
serial number is around 147,000, and it has the infamous glued stack.
The model name is "suburban" and it says nationally priced $425.00.  It
doesn't have any automatic tracking mechanism at all.  The literature
that I got with the piano seems to suggest that this was an option.
Also, it has a transposing tracker bar that it says will play in 7 keys.
Can anyone tell me more about this piano?

Anyway,  I have tons of questions.  I have already ordered Art Reblitz'z
book on player piano servicing and a catalog from Player Piano Inc. in
Kansas.  Are there any other sources of parts that you recommend?

I am an engineer and an excellent woodworker with access to a huge shop.
I have rebuilt many classic cars, but never a piano before.  Any advice
would be appreciated.

Also, the oak veneer on this piano is in horrible shape.  It was
stripped badly and left that way for years.  I don't think it can be
saved.  Would I destroy all value of this piano if I decided to do a
black lacquer finish on it?

Benjamin J. Haass
email:  bjh@fc.hp.com.geentroep   [ drop .geentroep to reply ]

 [ Benjamin, Welcome aboard.  I know that many of our subscribers
 [ have relevant advice.  You may also want to browse our
 [ Archives and the Source pages.  The Sources pages are not as
 [ up to date as I'd like, but they should prove to be good
 [ reference:
 [     http://mmd.foxtail.com/Archives/
 [     http://mmd.foxtail.com/Sources/