In reply to questions about the Reproduco, posed by John McClure,
I offer the following:

First a disclaimer: I can not guarantee these answers as being beyond
doubt correct, I can only state that this is what I have done with my
own Reproduco, and feel the results are most satisfactory.

My piano is tuned to A-440 Hz.  The professional gentleman whom I
called in to help with the pipes had no problem with this, and the
instrument sounds fine.

One important thing was to replace all the leather wraps at the
top of the metal pipes to insure the caps would stay firmly in place;
if not, the tuning will not hold.

As for the mandolin rail, my unit did not have one.  I did tinker with
trying to make something that would fit properly, but found a lot of
conflict with the split rail lift and the general rail lift device.

After pondering on this for a while, I came to the conclusion that the
Reproduco and the Coinola were both made by the Operators Piano
Company, and the mandolin effect on my Coinola is not the curtain
drop-down style, but the rather interesting and great sounding
spring-loaded plunger-button-type device that mounts lower than the
piano hammers, between the action and the strings.  A slight shift
sideways causes it to play or not.

Rather than leap into the construction of this item, I started to study
the rolls to see if the mandolin was used and if so, how frequently.
Out of about fifty "O.S." and "N.O.S." style rolls, mostly popular,
I only found two or three that had a perforation for the mandolin rail,
and it was hardly ever called for.

Perhaps it's a good thing.  After all, the Reproduco is primarily a
pipe organ instrument with a muted piano background.  The piano is, on
rare occasion, called up to full strength for an accent only.  Perhaps
a personal matter of taste, but I can't see a ricky-tick piano sound
being a pleasant blend with organ pipes.

Respectfully submitted

Ken Vinen, Stratford, Ontario, Canada
http://www.woodsvilla.orc.ca/