My experience with punched music is limited to the 20 note organ.
I have only ordered music through Hal O'Rourke, who is the US agent
for Melvyn Wright. According to the catalogs that I have, the music
is priced by the length of the selection.
Melvyn has worked it out so that a _full_ spool of music costs GBP 45,
which at this mornings rate (1 USD = 1.46100 GBP) works out to USD
65.74.
Individual selections are priced by length and you simply add up the
cost of each selection and the roll is perforated to your liking. The
capacity of the spool is GBP 45 worth! Rolls over GBP 25 include the
spool and a nifty box. The rolls are perforated on a high quality
plastic material that is dimensionally stable and resists tearing.
If you want music for the John Smith organ, Melvyn sells the printed
masters on fanfold paper. Here are some comparative prices between
the finished roll and the printed master.
A long roll in the catalog, 73 feet to be exact, would be "The Savoy
American Medley", with selections like Turkey In The Straw, Yankee
Doodle, Camptown Races, etc. The cost for that single selection (less
shipping) would be GBP 32, or USD 46.75. The printed master for the
John Smith organ for the same selection prices out at GBP 13.20 or
USD 19.28.
One more example, "The Beer Barrel Polka", is GBP 12.20 in punched roll
form and GBP 5.40 in the John Smith printed master form.
To date I have punched, by hand, 43 selections for the Smith organ
using the printed masters, producing enough chad to rival that gathered
in the Dade County (Florida) elections.
Ed Gaida
[ Ed says he averages 6 feet per hour punching the organ rolls; that's
[ much faster than I ever achieved, cutting piano rolls with a knife.
[ It's certainly a labor of love! How many feet per hour of 20-note
[ organ music can the MIDster punch? Maybe I should make a MIDster to
[ perforate 75-note Wurlitzer 165 rolls. Of course, it would probably
[ run about one-quarter as fast as when punching 20-note music.
[ -- Robbie
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