Dear Folks,  I am a fortunate 'beta-tester' (if a system with zero
problems can be deemed in 'beta testing') of the new Gerety-Chase
'in-line' MIDI valve system.  The Gerety-Chase System ('GCS') is
designed for use with all pneumatic player devices; it is being used
by me in my 1924 Steinway XR equipped with Aeolian's Duo-Art system.

A word first about the instrument.  It was fully restored in 1999 by
Kirk Russell of Wakefield, RI.  'Fully-restored' here means just that
-- all parts of the piano and piano action itself, as well as a full
restoration of the Duo-Art mechanism.  At full crash, a single note
plays at 80 water inches of vacuum; at intensity '0', a single note
plays at about 6 inches of vacuum.  The piano has an astonishing
dynamic range, as these instruments can when properly restored.

Besides having done such an excellent restoration (Kirk is the chief
tech at Avery Piano in Providence, RI, which was formerly Steinway's
retail outlet in Rhode Island, back before Steinway cut back on the
number of its retail dealers), I am very fortunate that the basic piano
itself is an outstanding instrument.

I am a fanatic about ambient noise when listening to the rolls, so the
pump and motor (though as silent as I've ever heard on a reproducing
piano, nickelodeon, orchestrion and the like) are located remotely,
in the basement.

As for the system itself, Spencer Chase came personally to Georgia to
do the installation (he's probably still reeling from the culture
shock).  The valves are located in very small (1.4" x 1.5" x 5")
separate blocks of 16 valves each.  (For the Duo-Art 6 blocks were
needed for a total of 92 valves -- 80 notes, 8 for the theme and
accompaniment levels, 2 for bass and treble theme, 1 for soft pedal,
1 for sustain pedal -- 4 valves not presently in use.)

The valves sit in front of the bleed rail, and connect to the stack
by use of small 'Y' connectors.  The entire valve system is then made
invisible to the eye by Spencer's ingenious use of a black, spongy
fabric which is lined with foam and which he sewed so that the pedal
lyre fits in the middle of it, and it is secured by Velcro to the
bottom of the stack and to the small wooden strip that it underneath
the key bed (and which Aeolian used to hide the various control
levers).  In some ways, the new cloth is a visual improvement over the
original design, as one no longer sees or notices the brass control
levers with which one can manually control rolls played on the Duo-Art.

The GCS performs beyond my wildest expectations.  A previous
manufacturer of MIDI valve systems for pneumatic pianos was unable to
ever supply me with a model that could open against the high vacuum
levels of the Duo-Art.  The GCS has no difficulty whatsoever in playing
each and every note, no matter how high the vacuum is, nor how quick
the repetition.  With the spongy cloth and padding covering the
valves, there is really noise from the valve system (of course, with
the system this silent, one begins to notice other things -- the
somewhat raucous sustain and soft pedals, for example).

As many of you know, I am a roll manufacturer (Meliora Music Rolls),
so have no desire to see a demise in the music roll industry.  More
important, though, is do avoid a demise of these instruments
altogether.  I think rebuilders need to seriously consider offering
this system to their customers when doing rebuilds.  I love the
'romance' and period authenticity of playing rolls, and always will.
However, I take enormous pleasure from the fact that I can now:

 - choose from approximately 2500 Duo-Art titles instantly;

 - listen without worry about damaging fragile rolls;

 - listen to entire Sonatas, or Symphonies, or Song Cycles, without the
distraction of changing rolls;

 - not be concerned about whether certain companies' recuts are
authentically reproduced, or stuffing my tracker bar with 'confetti'
and

 - Stop lugging rolls up and down from the basement!

I think the GCS can give these classic pneumatic instruments the
digital 'edge' they need to compete with the Disklaviers and
PianoDiscs.  The sad fact is that few customers will care that the
older instruments are capable of more realistic and musical
performances.  If even given an opportunity to think about a
comparison, they will quickly apprehend that the solenoid pianos more
easily 'play themselves' by virtue of the digital interface.  The GCS
can overcome this formidable barrier.

I may also be wrong about this, but if a customer can afford to spend
$14,000 for a Yamaha Disklavier upright and upwards of $22,000 for a
Disklavier Grand, they can get a GOOD piano (Steinway, Weber, Mason &
Hamlin, Knabe, Chickering -- fully restored, both player and piano) for
a lot less, even including the GCS (which I understand will retail
between ($2,500 and $3,500; probably less for dealers).

I have not priced what the cheaper sorts of solenoid pianos retail for,
but surely someone could get a better quality reproducing piano, fully
restored, with one of these systems for less AND get a much better
piano.  Heck, even the 'lower tier' of Aeolian and American Piano
products (i.e., J.C. Fischer, Haynes Bros., Steck, Stroud) have to be
better than a lot of these cheaper, new models (I also have a
'Original-Built' Welte piano manufactured by Estey -- at which many
folks on the MMD would turn down their noses -- but as it was built in
the 'golden era,' it's a pretty good instrument).

I think the foregoing is especially true if one cares more about
classical performances, where there will be a large library of Classical
performances available from the Duo-Art, Ampico (and eventually) Welte
libraries.  Obviously, nobody's putting excerpts from 'The Lion King'
on a Duo-Art, Ampico or Welte roll.*  If, though, someone follows
through and determines a way to 'translate' modern MIDI performances
into coding for the older reproducing piano systems, even this hurdle
will not exist.

One more issue for present owners, and/or new owners, of reproducing
pianos.  The cost of the system pays for itself in the size of the
library you can acquire.  For example, you purchase the entire Spencer
Chase catalog of rolls for approximately $800, which includes about
2000 titles.  Assume the system costs $3000, and you have to spend $800
for the entire library ($3800).  You've just acquired 2000 rolls for
$1.90 each.  If you're used to paying b/w $12 and $20 each for
reproducing piano rolls, this is actually a bargain.

I haven't even addressed the issue of FINDING the rolls; one is
subjected to the whims of eccentric manufacturers like those people at
Meliora Music Rolls in having to purchase only what THEY choose to
offer to sale the roll-hungry public.  Who wants to deal with that? ;-)

Finally, we all know the original rolls are crumbling into dust
(ESPECIALLY the Duo-Art rolls!).  Assuming proper quality control on
the roll scanning process, the sale of these systems furthers the goal
of roll preservation; the rolls must perforce be scanned for use with
these systems, and are thus preserved in the process.

I would be pleased to answer any questions about this product via
e-mail.

Timothy Baxter - Meliora Music Rolls

* I should mention that another thrill of owning this system is to make
my coding of new Duo-Art performances easier.  I use Richard Brandle's
excellent 'Wind' computer program to create Duo-Art rolls from MIDI
performances.  I can now instantly check the coding as I go along using
the GCS.  I also play the GCS using 'WindPlay,' specifically designed
by Mr. Brandle for playing rolls on a MIDI valve system.