I was about twenty years old when I attended my first MBS meeting at
Harvey Roehl's.  I was fascinated with his single Mills and had dropped
a nickel in just as the meeting was called to order.  It played along
as everyone sat quietly waiting for the meeting to start.  It's always
been a vivid memory for me.  I always thought they were great machines
and through the years I've owned a number of them.

On my first trip to Jasper Sanfilippo's I heard a bow front model that
Terry Haughawout had just restored.  When I heard the music produced by
the early machine I decided that's what I wanted for myself.  I couldn't
afford a bow front but I was able to buy a basket case with an early
"bow front" mechanism.  I spent many hours restoring it and I'm very
pleased with the music it produces.  Terry is a great guy and offered
endless help.

I'm very impressed with the musical arrangements for the Violano MIDI
by Dave Wasson.  His full arrangements make the Violano play to it's
fullest musical capability.  I'll probably have a unit installed in my
machine this summer.  Thanks to Dave, Terry, Mike Ames, Dick Hack and
others, the Mills Violanos remain great collectibles.  Do they make
great music?  A well restored example can play very well but they are
mechanical instruments.  I'm sure I have one of the best sounding
singles in the country but my comment to people visiting my collection
is as follows: "If a musician ever auditioned for a job sounding like
this no one would ever hire him."

If you'd like to see photos of the Mills single from the Morris Museum
being restored you can visit my web site.  My oak single is the last
photo at the bottom of the page.  And of course you're welcome to stop
by to hear my Violano in person.

  http://antiquemechanicalrestorations.com/Violin_Machine.html 

Paul Manganaro

 [ Paul writes about the Violano he is restoring, "This piano was
 [ subjected to a great deal of moisture during its life.  On top of
 [ that, someone stripped the finish from both sides of the soundboard
 [ not doubt to make it look better for a sale.  Without the protection
 [ of a finish, the wood flexed in every direction and broke down most
 [ of the glue joints."  -- Robbie