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MMD > Archives > December 2009 > 2009.12.31 > 01Prev  Next


Source of Musical Box Movements
By Matthew Caulfield

There are two manufacturers of musical movements for cylinder music
boxes in business today.  There used to be dozens of them, mostly
located in Switzerland around Geneva and Ste.-Croix, but they are long
gone except for Reuge.

Competing with Reuge is Sankyo Shoji in Japan.

Reuge has a web site, but when I try to use it, to me it never seems
very practical or well-organized.  Sankyo used to have a very nice
English-language web site, listing hundreds of tunes available on the
various sizes of movements it makes.  But that web site was taken down,
because of some legal copyright issues, I believe.

Reuge does not stock nearly the number of tunes that Sankyo does.  Both
sell movements ranging in size from the small 18-note novelty movement
upwards.  You can find Reuge's contact information on its homepage,
http://www.reuge.com/ 

As I said, I don't think much of their web site.  It is heavy on the
glitz, which tends to obscure the hard information.  It has been
redesigned since I last saw it, and there are links for ordering direct
and for seeing their tune lists.  But neither of those links worked for
me, just now when I tried them.  So much for glitz.

Finding out what is available from Sankyo (which is the way I would go,
if I were looking for particular tunes at a reasonable price) can be
done by contacting a local music box service person like these in USA --

  Don Caine, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
  email: mbrcu@aol.com.geentroep

  Tony Ciuffini, also in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
  email: msi@dslextreme.com.geentroep

  Nancy Fratti, Canastota, New York
  email: musicbox@frontiernet.net.geentroep

or by direct contact to Sankyo in Japan --

  Shuichi Tezuka, Overseas Sales Manager,
  Sankyo Shoji Co., Ltd.,
  2-3-1 Bakurocho, Nihonbashi, Chuo-Ku,
  Tokyo 103-0002, Japan
  http://www.nidec-sankyoshoji.co.jp/ 
  email: myorgel@nidec-sankyoshoji.co.jp.geentroep

[As usual, delete ".geentroep" appended to the email address.]

Matthew Caulfield
Irondequoit, New York

 [ National Artcraft Co. also sells musical box movements
 [ that play contemporary (copyrighted) music under license;
 [ see http://www.nationalartcraft.com/group3.htm  -- Robbie



(Message sent Thu 31 Dec 2009, 15:01:04 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Box, Movements, Musical, Source

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