In 031031 MMDigest Bob Taylor refers to pianos that seemed to be
designed for later installation of player units: Ampico, Welte,
or others.

In 1975 I acquired a 1931 Knabe Concert Grand (9') that appeared
to have been designed in that way: its underpinning beams were
parallel, not radial.  I installed an Ampico "A" mechanism into
this piano, finishing the total job in 1980, and it was exhibited
at a national AMICA meeting in Dallas, I believe in 1981.

An aside:  We believe that this piano's original home was the
Metropolitan Opera House in New York, based on some pencil markings
on its underside, apparently having been written by the delivery men
who moved it to that location.  The inscription: " M. O. H. 2/14/31 ".

In those days, Knabe was the official piano of the Met, and the piano
was found in the bankruptcy sale of a girls' school in Connecticut.
Curiously, its bass strings were wrapped not in copper, but in iron or
steel.  Possibly its last re-stringing was done during WW2, when all
copper was going to the war effort.

I use this piano daily for both Ampico and manual playing.

Bill Flynt
Dallas, Texas

 [ Piano tech Terry Bannister told me he once tuned another 1931
 [ Weber grand like mine but without the Ampico 'B' player installed.
 [ Holes had been drilled at the factory to pass large hoses through
 [ the parallel beams, but the piano was sold without ever having had
 [ player mechanism in it.  -- Robbie