Why should anybody want to ruin an Orchestrelle by converting it to
play 88-note rolls?!  Why stop there?  How about converting it to play
89-key Gavioli books and take it to organ rallies?

If Mr. Herr thinks he can do the conversion in a reversible way I
suggest he has never seen the insides of an Orchestrelle.  I challenge
anybody to replace the 58-note tracker bar with an 88-note one, and fit
the necessary tubing to double-up the end notes without major surgery
to the roll box.  Come to think of it, the roll box would have to be
widened to take the wider roll and end chucks will need to be altered
from female to male.  This would then necessitate altering the front of
the instrument to make a wider door for the roll box to allow the wider
roll to be installed for playing.  And all of this would be reversible?

I suggest Mr. Herr restores the instrument to its former glory and
enjoys the Orchestrelle for what it is.  I get endless pleasure from
this very under-rated instrument.  The variety of expression is almost
endless and great pleasure can be obtained from learning the music and
interpreting it according to your mood.  A wide variety of rolls are
easily available and I would suggest the majority of 88-note rolls,
especially modern ones, would not sound correct on an organ due to the
absence of perforation extension in the bass.

I continue to be amazed at the thoughts of some people who think they
can improve on what were well-thought-out and designed instruments,
and in the process deny yet another original instrument to people who
will appreciate them.  The majority of organs have only a 4-1/2 to
5-octave keyboard, so I don't see the reason for wanting to play full
scale rolls on one.  There is a wide variety of roll playing organs
available, from the 46-note Aeolian organ up to a fully reproducing
176-hole Duo-Art organ.  Surely enough for everybody?

To answer Mr. Herr's question about the different models of
Orchestrelle, I refer him to the book, "Clockwork Music", by Ord-Hume,
which contains a reprint of part of an original Orchestrelle catalogue.

A happy Christmas to all MMDers around the world and keep up the good
work.

Yours faithfully from Great Britain,
Nicholas Simons