Hi folks, as many of you will know I am very keen on organ rolls as
well as piano rolls, and recently I decided to get my 116-note organ
player ready for the coming months.  This is the player inside the
console of my Aeolian pipe organ which, because the original player had
been removed, I replaced with one of the same vintage when I restored
the organ several years ago.

To be honest, the automatic tracking device never really worked very
well and, as foolish as it sounds, I gradually became convinced that
these devices were unsuccessful when new.  Rubbish!  Of course they
worked, but no matter what I seemed to do, I never really made much
difference.

Most of the time the roll tracked reasonably well, then for some reason
it would miss-track.  This would usually happen when a whole bunch of
stops had to be drawn, and others thrown off, whilst closing the swell
shades, opening up the tonal pedal, and probably going from
"normal" to "grand" during a tempo change.

Owners of these instruments will know what I mean, and probably allow
themselves a wry smile.  The point is that the music was destroyed
and all enjoyment lost.

A closer look at the problem today seemed to suggest that the tracking
trigger was bent in such a way as to present a _non_ perpendicular
face to the roll edge.  In effect this was like trying to stop somebody
running towards you whilst fending them off with your hands pointing to
one side rather than directly at them -- if you see what I mean (not
that I've ever had much experience of that sort of thing).  The paper
being flexible also meant that sometimes it would curve, rather than
move the trigger.

Bending the trigger was worth a try, and it _seems_ to have solved the
problem.  Hope this makes sense, and is of use to someone else.  It
does mean that a lot of lovely music can now be recorded onto CDs for
other people to enjoy.  Watch this space!

Paul Morris
Exeter, UK
http://www.paulmorrismusic.co.uk/