Thanks for the reply, Art.  I think there might be one factor more
in question.  We know that there were two 'camps' in 88-note rolls:
QRS and Supertone (Capitol) rolls.  They both sound entirely different.
If you drag out a Capitol roll from 1927 and compare it to a Clark roll
from 1927, they will sound _totally_ different.

Clark produced some A rolls in the 1920s with musical arrangements that
had nothing to do with QRS 88-note arrangements.  These early '20s "A"
rolls were special because the arrangements were hot, and they were
recorded specifically for the hot coin piano rolls of the time.  You
just have to search them out to realize their rarity.

There is the familiar 88-note roll, and then there are other piano
arrangements.  The Supertone roll is performed by unknown performers.
It deviates greatly from the standard QRS roll.

I think its funny that most people assume that there is only one
producer of 88-note player piano polls in the 1920s -- Q.R.S.  You see
QRS everywhere you go on boxes, boxes into infinity.

In the early 'twenties there were very talented pianists, names to
be concealed, who arranged some of the most complicated and catchy
tunes ever.

So, Capitol "O" rolls sounded much different than Clark "A" rolls,
which is why mechanical music from the 1920s is so fascinating!

Brian Smith
Redlands, California

 [ More on this topic in articles indexed at
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/C/capitol.html 
 [ -- Robbie