Claims that quality reproducing piano rebuilding can only be done with
a certain glue is comparing apples and oranges.  I've heard lots of
lousy player pianos with perfectly functioning player actions.  The
failure is almost universally in the treatment of the _piano_ repairs.

My philosophy on rebuilding: If a living, human, artist cannot produce
fine music on the piano, there is no way the player mechanism can.

The piano action must be in very good repair, and the regulation must be
concert quality.  This is a prerequisite to the ability of a reproducing
action to perform musically.   If the touch weight and friction vary from
note to note, the letoff is sloppy, action ratio is wrong, hammer weights
are wrong and/or uneven, it will be impossible to play evenly at any
volume, especially at the quiet end of the spectrum.  (Most players,
human or mechanical, are too darn loud!)

The regulation of the action is the main thing, standing directly between
the reproducing player action and the musical instrument.  If you don't
rebuild the piano to high standards, the quality of the player action
rebuild will never reach it's potential.

The debate over what glue holds on the pneumatics is about as far as you
can get from the real issue.  The glue is not nearly as important as
the piano.  I don't care how nicely your expression unit functions, the
piano itself has to work first.

I do not accept a nice sounding recording as justification for using
RTV adhesive because it tells us much more about the quality of the
piano than the quality of the glue.  But, it is valid to discuss a
track record of success.

Thanks,
Greg Graham, RPT