Dear MMDers,  I'd like to put in my 2 cents worth on this subject
if I may.  As several people have noted, there is a very wide variety
of sounds produced by the different types and makers of automatic
organs.  It has been suggested that it isn't helpful to read about
them or listen to recordings to be able to make judgements on the
sounds.  This is, in fact, exactly how I first became acquainted with
band organs, fair organs, street organs, dance organs and their many
variations.

I had a deprived childhood.  There were no parks with carousels in
my community, no band organs of any kind.  I had  no relatives or
friends who had player pianos or even music boxes.  While my father
did take me to the Deansboro Musical Museum around 1951 or '52, my
first real introduction to these marvelous machines came when
a friend at work gave me a cracked, but playable, vinyl LP disc of
"De Grote Gavioli" around 1972.  I wore the grooves out on that disc,
pops, cracks and all.

It was that same year that I met Harvey and Marion Roehl and the
Vestal Press.  At the time, the Vestal Press had a considerable
catalog which included many records and cassette recordings.  I began
purchasing everything I could and after listening to many, I began to
distinguish not only the different types of organs but also many of
the characteristic sounds of the different brands.

At the same time, I purchased a number of books including Eric
Cockayne's "The Fair Organ" and Romke deWaard's "From Music Boxes
to Street Organs".  These two books, along with Bower's "Encyclopedia
Of Automatic Musical Instruments," gave me much insight into _why_
various organs sounded the way they do.  It was only after I had
absorbed much of this material that I began to go to the organ rallies
and visit collections to hear many of these instruments "in the flesh".

My conclusion is that it is very useful to listen to and study
recordings to help develop personal preferences in tonal sounds
and the kinds of music rendered.  Certainly it is better to hear
these instruments in person but when this is not possible and when
comparisons of music is desired, recordings can be very helpful.
Once a person's preferences are established, then is the time to
figure out how to design the instrument to implement this.

One thing to remember is that the music itself is the primary
ingredient.  If you are going to build an instrument and then play
it all day long at a rally or other venue, you really need to like
that music and the sound of that organ.

Regards,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, Florida