I sent this to a piano tuner at the PTG (Piano Tuners Guild) listserver
who hates tuning the tall old player pianos.  He is short and has back
aches.  I thought it might be helpful to some of you on this list as
well.

 -- Original Message posted to PTG --

 Subject: Tuning old upright players

Since you are not a player tech, perhaps I should let you in on some
secrets to tuning them.

They are often designed for the head of the player (spoolbox,
windmotor, tracker, and everything mounted on the long top board) to
fold down.  Gulbransens, have two thumbscrews at the ends you loosen
and it all folds forward.  There is even an expandable bracket attached
to the plate to hold it up.

Amphion and Ampico systems will also fold down in a similar way.  You
only need something to prop the spoolbox on while it is down.  Several
others have this arrangement as well.  If they do not have this, like
the Standard systems, you can remove the player with four screws at the
bass end and one long one going down at the treble end.  Or you may
remove only the wind motor for better access.

Or you could find a local player tech and send him all your player
tunings.  That way he can take care of the player as well since they
need occasional tweaking which is best done with a tuning.

I refer, of course, to player pianos that have been correctly restored.
If they have not been restored correctly, then they are nothing but
trouble.  I restore players so that I don't have to constantly go out
for service.  Since I give a 5-year warranty on the player, I want to
make sure I don't have to make many warranty calls.  I only go out on
about one in three players, but often the warranty call is just
reminding the customer how this or that works.  It is best when I tune
and check out the player regularly.  About every two or three years I
have to spend 15 minutes tweaking the player, but I check it with every
tuning.

Oh, should you ever be required to regulate or repair the action on a
Duo-Art grand (with the roll above the keys), don't bother unless you
take a real player tech (preferably a Duo-Art man) with you.  It takes
me about 45 minutes to extricate the action for work on a Duo-Art.
There is lots of stuff to break.  These are found in Steinway, Weber,
Steck, Stroud, Aeolian.  There were a very small number of Duo-Arts
built into a drawer after 1932.  They are same as normal pianos to get
to the piano action.

D.L. Bullock    St. Louis
www.thepianoworld.com