I have made a number of postings in the past relative to my project
of converting a Seeburg Style MO piano-organ into a working music
machine that plays style "A" music rolls and is MIDI operational.
The project was started in 2003.  The result is a wonderful-sounding
machine that can play an almost limitless source of music, either from
MIDI files or Style "A" music rolls.  It provides a rich bass sound
because of its large cross-section flute pipes -- essentially the same
as the Reproduco piano-organ.  I never intended to do a restoration,
but instead a conversion.

It seems that very few of these machines have been restored, I believe
because it is an enormous task and the final product is not much of an
asset.  Also, there is very little music available - mainly because the
roll frame plays a very limited availability 15 1/4 inch MSR roll on a
90-hole tracker bar.  It is a single keyboard design, and because it
has octave coupling and can play the organ by itself or with the piano,
each and every note involves a total of 7 different pneumatic valves.

In a conversation with Mr. Randall Hayno in Louisiana in 2003, he said
that he would not like to restore another MO beyond the one that he
already has.  As a good example of the value in sharing information,
Randy informed me that the MBSI Bulletin of Autumn 1973 contained a
very well done technical article dedicated to the Seeburg Mortuary
Organ.  The author was Thomas G. Beckett III.  (Does anyone know what
has become of Thomas G. Beckett III?  He had a Dallas address when he
wrote the article.)  This was a valuable source of information for me,
because the MBSI library sold me an extra copy at a reasonable cost.
(After I purchased my copy, a PDF file of scanned-in pages became
available from the MBSI Library archives.)

The previous owner of my MO had already begun its conversion.  All of
the primary valves had been stripped out and the roll frame was already
changed to a type compatible with "A" rolls (but without any roll drive
motor).  The important assets were all there, including 98 good pipes
and a Pratt Read piano works with its pneumatic stack in good condition.
With the conversion, the machine now plays by pneumatically scanning
the music roll, or from manual keystrokes or by responding to a MIDI
data stream.

The roll is driven by an electric motor.  The pipes are now operated
by direct-acting magnets (the same type used in modern pipe organs).
The piano is played by the original (restored) stack, but the piano
stack valves are piloted by electromagnetically activated pallet valves
instead of tracker bar tubes.  These pallet valves employ flexures,
so that there are no pivots to wear out.

To learn more about the machine and to hear it play, there are added
details in the two videos to be seen by following the links below.
I apologize ahead of time for the video choreography and quality.  The
first video demonstrates how it sounds playing from both MIDI and music
rolls.  The second video gives an overview of the workings of the
machine, with internal views.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QHA9CY9dik 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVpLittvz0M 

Bill McKeown
Euless, Texas