I would like to contribute my opinion to this discussion.  This is
of course not a question that can be answered in such a way that it
applies unequivocally to all instruments.  That said, I can't help but
agree with Thomas West, who said he felt that disc player pianos are
"glorified and expensive jukeboxes."

I enjoy having the MIDI files from several roll scans on my computer,
but when I am able to own instruments I intend to own roll-operated
instruments.  It's somewhat intangible, but I feel that being able to
watch a roll is a large part of the "experience" of many instruments,
and anyway, I can play a MIDI file on my computer any time I want to.
Another large part of the "experience" for me is realizing and thinking
about the incredible technological sophistication these instruments
displayed when they were introduced.

For certain I think that publicly-operating instruments, the roll
mechanisms of which are visible, must use those rolls, because they
really serve to attract attention and closer inspection by casual
observers.

A philosopher once said that one of the commonalties that unites
humans is the capacity for wonder.  If I were an average person
rather than a mechanical music enthusiast, I probably would glance
for about five seconds at a disc-operated piano and then move on,
because such an instrument would present nothing new.  If that
instrument had a roll visibly operating, however, especially since
there is such exponentially decreasing familiarity with such
instruments, the instrument would present something new to me and
I would be far more likely to stop and spend more time observing the
instrument.

The last applies not only to orchestrions and other instruments the
case design of which is intended to make the roll visible but also
to larger instruments such as band organs housed in such a way that
the roll mechanisms can be seen.  At my "hometown carousel," (in
Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, Maryland), for example, the roll frames
and other mechanics can be seen through a window facing a widely-used
path through the park.  I have not been to that carousel once when the
window has been open and at least one person has not stopped to look
through this window for a minute or more.

There are, of course, plenty of publicly-displayed instruments to
which none of the above applies.  I have seen, to my knowledge, two
MIDI-operated instruments.  The Bruder 107 at Knoebels Amusement
Park was (so I hear) converted to MIDI after being severely damaged
in one of the many floods that plague that area.

For one thing, of course, if restoration to the books and keyframe was
impossible or too difficult, it is preferable to have the organ operate
by MIDI than not operate at all.  For another, the mechanism is in no
way visible, so it is not as if an opportunity to display a roll (or in
this case, a book, which I have never seen and which I imagine would be
absolutely fascinating) is lost.  The Bruder organ sounds very good and
is a real pleasure to hear.

The Artizan 560 at Holyoke Heritage State Park is the other.  Only
a discerning eye can observe that the roll frames (which both had
rolls on them and, I presume, may still be operable) are still
installed but are not being used in deference to the MIDI system.
The operators (at least the ones we ran into) prefer using recordings
to operating the organ because they find it obnoxious, and the organ
was not in good shape, either cosmetically or as far as the instrument
itself.

One of the numerous problems it displayed was that MIDI systems do not
always function as planned; for example, I suppose the file must have
been duplicated in their database but, for whatever reason, the exact
same arrangement of "Ramona" played twice in a row.  I suppose that
many people might not have noticed this or might have interpreted it
as a continuation of the song after a pause, but I certainly noticed
this and it serves to demonstrate that, despite the problems rolls may
cause, using discs is no silver bullet.

Of course, ultimately the decision of whether to use paper rolls or
a disc system is up to each instrument's owners.  I really enjoy
instruments operating from rolls and when I am able to own instruments
I would like to operate them with rolls, which will hopefully continue
to be available with relative ease.  In the end, what's really most
important is that instruments' owners keep them running, however they
choose to do so.

Thank you as always to all of you who keep your instruments in shape
so that they can continue to be enjoyed in the future.

TJ Fisher