In the context of an off-line discussion with Robbie, I mentioned a
frustration I've had with my piano.  He suggested that I describe the
problem to see if others had experienced it and, perhaps, solved it.

Here goes.  I have an American Steinway upright from the mid teens.  It
plays Aeolian 65- and 88-note Themodist rolls.  The piano compensates
for roll irregularities with a single "finger" mechanism on the left
roll margin.

I find it almost impossible to play old rolls that have developed
twists and "wobble."  Heavier, softer, non-waxed papers are particular
culprits.  These rolls are definitely twisted out of shape.  You can
watch them move endlessly from left to right, to left, to right during
the rewind cycle.  And they do the same thing while being played.

I don't know whether the single-finger, left margin tracking mechanism
is inherently incapable of compensating for these skewed roadmaps or
whether some part of the mechanism is just plain out of adjustment.

There is a lever on the finger assembly that throws the whole shebang
over to the left or right.  First of all, I drop-tap a roll a few times
hoping to send all of the paper evenly over to the right spool margin.
Then I set that finger lever slightly to the right of full left.
Generally, rolls flounder around for a few pumps getting themselves
settled.  Really good, even rolls will be fine from there on.  But with
errant rolls, the "fun" has just started.

Sometimes I say I'm not going to fool around with the finger lever.
That's fine, except whole stretches of the roll don't sound.  Then,
eventually, a stretch will play.  If I try to be proactive and move the
lever either to the left or right trying to catch up with the paper's
movement, I may be able to line things up for a few notes, but then I
start missing notes worse than ever.

At times like these I'm not sure whether just to give the old piano up
(I've wrestled with it for over 30 years now) or what.  Over the years,
I've given away dozens and dozens of old rolls, the playing of which
has proven bad for my mental health.

Does anybody recognize the piano problem (not the mental health
problem) I'm describing?  If so, is there hope?  I'm not a technician,
but I'll gladly pay to have it fixed.

Thanks for your help.

Paul Murphy

 [ Surely the rolls were okay when new.  How does a music roll acquire
 [ the serpentine warp?  Is it a characteristic of some tracking systems,
 [ or can it happen due with any tracking system?  What music roll
 [ tracking systems can successfully manage the warped rolls, and why?
 [ -- Robbie