[ Ref. "Rolls for Peerless Wisteria Orchestrion"

I thank Spencer Chase and Carl Zwanzig for their considered responses
to my recent posting on the Wisteria question, whether to restore to
the original or convert to a more common roll style.  I will respond
to their questions with my own opinions but firstly I will lay down
my own restoration ethos.

I have been restoring mechanical musical instruments for over thirty
years, which is more than half my lifetime, and have always tried to
be responsible to the past, present and future.  We must retain as much
as possible of the original, for the benefit of future generations,
whilst ensuring that the instruments continue to play as originally
intended and do so in a safe manner.

For the working parts I will always use the best materials available
today, which are usually the same as originally used, such as the best
rubber cloth, leather, felt, animal glue and shellac, but I will use
silicone or neoprene tubing in place of the original rubber tubing
because history has shown it will last longer with no ill effects.
I will never use mastics, RTV's or similar adhesives/fillers.  The
objective must be to return the instrument to its original playing
condition.

For the casework, I prefer to not return the instrument to showroom
condition.  I believe that the instrument should look as if it has
been well cared for over its life.  Even a few cigarette burns on
a nickelodeon are acceptable as they give a hint to its past life.

Moving to the issue of the use of MIDI, and other computer systems,
either being used in conversions or for the modern day benefit of the
hobby, I am consistent in my approach.  I have worked with computers
for as long as they have been in the workplace, and I fully support
their use in the furtherance of mankind.  I said in my posting 'keep
MIDI for new instruments' and I include in that all computer usage
for the benefit of the hobby.  I fully support the use of MIDI in new
instruments, be they organs or pianos.  We must all support developing
technology.

Where I stray from some others is in the oft repeated statement, 'if
Gavioli had had a computer, he would have used it to drive his organs.'

Actually, Gavioli did have a computer.  It is called a cardboard book
and keyframe.  It is our duty to retain these elements within old
instruments in order to inform, educate and give pleasure to future
generations.  If Gavioli had had a modern MIDI system he would also
have had an MP3 player and an electronic organ so would never have
needed to build his magnificent musical machines.

I often take an organ out in public and without fail, the part of the
organ that gets the most attention is the roll frame or keyframe.  With
the public so involved in all things electronic and digital these days
it comes as a surprise to most that digital systems were being used over
100 years ago to create music.  Youngsters, particularly, are surprised
to learn that theirs is not the first generation able to create
ingenious mechanisms.

The people involved in scanning and recutting rolls are to be
congratulated and encouraged.  Many years ago people like Gordon Iles
and Ed Freyer had to use mechanical copiers and punchers but with
modern technology it is possible to scan a roll on a portable scanner
no larger than a small suitcase and cut the rolls with a laser and thus
allow any tracker bar pitch to be copied.  There is no contradiction
for a purist to buy laser-cut rolls.  The rolls are being made today
so it is appropriate for them to be made using modern technology.

Six multi-tune rolls may not sound like much of a repertoire for
a Wisteria, but it is a good start.  The number of rolls could be
increased by the generosity of fellow owners and this could be helped
by the use of a portable scanner where the owner of the original roll
is understandably unwilling to send the roll through the post.  I know
many collections where the same roll remains on an instrument for years
on end.  The larger one's collection gets, the fewer rolls one needs
per instrument.

We can now move on to electrical originality.  Here, safety must come
first.  Old reproducing pianos were often fitted with a twin core flex
and a plug/socket where the pins were on the live side and the sockets
were on the piano side.  Only an idiot would retain this arrangement.
How many old instruments were earthed (grounded)?  I always rewire my
instruments to modern standards.  I will retain the original mercury
switches but without the mercury, and bypass them with a micro-switch
and relay as required.

I have two American instruments with original electric motors.  Rather
than install a 110-volt 60 Hz supply to my music room it is easier, and
in my view perfectly acceptable, to fit the instrument with a step-down
transformer and make a small change to the motor pulley diameter so the
crankshaft rotates at the correct speed.

I have further opinions regarding the use of 'stock' MIDI arrangements
on all sorts of converted instruments, which ruin the originality of
the musical performance but I will leave those to another time.

Kind regards from Great Britain,
Nicholas Simons