[ Mr. Taylor granted permission to publish his thorough explanation
 [ following in MMDigest.  He wrote, "I have a soft spot for Melville
 [ Clark pianos since my parents bought theirs in 1980ish when I was
 [ five years old and I grew up with this multiple format player, not
 [ realizing that it wasn't like all other player pianos."  Thanks to
 [ Jim Cook for arranging permission and forwarding Mr. Taylor's
 [ article to MMDigest.  -- Robbie

Hello Jim,  Just today I read your posting on the MMD Archives from
January [030121 MMDigest] asking about multiple format players, as well
as the response you got.  I have no idea if you got better information
than that off-board, but I will take a moment and provide a little more
information than was responded to you publicly.

A multiple format Melville Clark player can play 58-note and 65-note
formats and two formats of 88-note rolls, one of which was exclusive
to Melville Clark players.  This multiple format capability is made
possible by a special tracker bar that has two complete sets of 88
holes, the bottom set perforated at 9 holes/inch and the top row at
6/inch.  Melville Clark was the first player piano to play all 88 notes
with the stack mounted internally, and it did so using 15-1/4" wide
88-note rolls perforated at 6/inch.

The spoolbox is unusually wide to accommodate these larger rolls and
has adjustable rewind shafts at the top to move between rolls of
different widths.  Additionally, the take-up spool is also specially
designed to have adjustable flanges.

There are two different levers in the spoolbox to shift between formats.
One lever shifts between the 9/inch and 6/inch holes, and the other is
a shift block that cuts off varying numbers of holes on the left and
right edges to permit narrow 58-note and 65-note rolls to play without
constantly drawing down all the notes outside the range of the paper.
This shift block only seems to effect the 6/inch portion of the tracker
bar.

Another feature is the rewind drive spindle, which has both a
spring-loaded center "drive" that fits into modern format 88-note
flanges, as well as a square drive for early 58- and 6/in 88-note rolls
-- which had a drive unique to each other and nothing else -- as well
as a slotted section for the pin-ends on the flanges of conventional
65-note rolls.

In the subject of different formats, these are the only ones which the
piano was intended to play, but any other formats perforated at 6/inch
or 9/inch can theoretically be used, although no such markings exist
in the piano.  Some organ rolls are playable on the piano as well, but
again that is purely coincidence and not a deliberately designed or
advertised feature.

My parents have a piano of this type, so I am very familiar with its
operation and layout.

Another format of "dual format" Melville Clark piano is the Solo Art
Apollo.  This is the very rare format with a 134-hole tracker bar
which operates two stacks inside the piano in a very early effort at
expression/reproducing effects.  Each stack can operate at different
vacuum levels, providing the ability to simultaneously play different
notes at different volumes/intensities.  The dual format ability of
this piano is that you can shut off one stack and play conventional
88-note rolls as well.

Solo Art Apollo rolls are also 15-1/4 inches wide, but are all
perforated at 9/inch and are _not_ in any way interchangeable with the
previously mentioned 88-note rolls of the same width.  To my knowledge
no pianos were ever produced that are capable of playing both formats
of wide rolls.

I am presently restoring one of the last known Solo Art Apollo pianos
from the basket case mess of neglect condition that I obtained it in.
I have a long way to go, but am very much looking forward to being able
to play the Solo rolls and hear just how well Melville Clark accomplished
his expression mechanism.

Hope this information is of some use to you; please respond if you have
any additional questions.  I am not presently a subscriber to MMD, so
anything will have to be sent to me personally at this address.

Best regards,

Troy Taylor
soloapollo@yahoo.com.geentroep  [delete ".geentroep" to reply]