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MMD > Archives > August 2008 > 2008.08.20 > 01Prev  Next


Unusual Aeolian Themodist Tracker Bar
By Paul Rumpf

Recently several postings were made on the Solo Carola tracker bar.
Seeing the tracker bar picture reminded me of a tracker bar I saw in
an English-made Themodist Pianola with the usual Themodist tracker bar
ports.  However, this particular tracker had 16 Solo Carola slots
located centrally on the tracker bar, 8 each side of the centre line.

The piano was in a repair shop undergoing restoration and there was not
much evidence of anything extra in the pneumatic system.  The workshop
was puzzled by the slots.  It was my conjecture that the slots were an
early attempt by Aeolian in England to develop a 'Duo-Art' type system
using the Solo Carola scheme of slits and holes to use the music note
holes as both note playing holes and also intensity control holes.  Such
a system would allow a full 88-note scale.

Does anybody know what this tracker bar was used for?  Have any of our
England friends seen such a tracker?

Paul Rumpf


(Message sent Wed 20 Aug 2008, 12:06:28 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  Aeolian, Bar, Themodist, Tracker, Unusual

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