Regarding Mr. Conway's question about the direct Play-Rite copies, the
answer is "variable."  I can speak only of the style 125 rolls that
I have, of course.

The quality of the recut depends on the condition of the original.
Some play just fine while others have sloppy attacks to the notes and
equally-sloppy releases.  This appears to be a result of the one-to-one
mastering that Play-Rite used.  The notes generally tend to become
elongated during the mastering process as well, which gives the recuts
a legato effect.  They all appear to be usable, but one can often
discern the difference between the "real McCoy" and the recut.

Another problem is slippage of the original during the remastering
process.  One 125 roll comes to mind with the march "Under the Double
Eagle" near the end.  The master slipped and it seems that all
subsequent recuts have an obvious section where the music just races
for about four measures or so, then settles back into the right tempo.
It seems that the master, having wound up loosely for a while, stopped
to cinch up.  I have seen this on several of Play-Rite's rolls.

Even though they sold well despite their problems, Play-Rite could have
spent a little time editing out these glitches.  I know that Mike Grant
uses a special tracker bar on his perforator that has only little slits
instead of the usual round holes.  While they have a tendency to clog
rapidly, they do eliminate many of the errors which cause the ragged
attacks and releases, and the tendency for notes to become elongated.
I think he does a better job than Play-Rite on band organ rolls,
despite Play-Rite's higher-tech approach to music roll production.

Dave Vincent