Does electrification affect player piano value? The answer depends
upon many things. If the player has an electric suction system
installed in a non-intrusive way, so that the piano can be returned
to 100% original, then it should actually increase the value.
Some people use electrification to make a leaky player play reasonably
well. We have all seen those. There is nothing wrong with that, and
it allows the owner to enjoy their player piano until a rebuild can
be afforded. The drawback to this is the high suction required to
operate the leaky stack, which will cause the roll to rewind at "warp
nine" speed unless a separate control is provided. Also, the high
suction and leaky pouches cause the roll to suck so tight against the
tracker-bar that the roll tracker system cannot do its job.
Personally, I love to pedal a player piano -- I have more control over
the music. If the suction kit is installed in such a way as not to
butcher the piano, it should not affect the value of the piano in a
negative way.
Andy Taylor
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