Part One: The Tushinsky Vorsetzers

Having now just passed the 51st anniversary of the premiere radio
broadcast of "Keyboard Immortals Play Again - In Stereo!," first
presented on Los Angeles radio station KFAC-FM the Sunday evening
of October 2, 1966, I thought it might be of interest to some in order
to make clear for the record of just which Vorsetzers came into, and
passed out of, the possession of the Brothers Tushinsky and, as well to
clear-up some misinformation that has crept-in as suspect apocrypha,
over the many decades since.

The plumbing of misty Reproducing Piano legend and lore reveals that,
knowledge of and interest in M. Welte & Sons' _Mignon_ was first stoked
within Joseph S. Tushinsky (hereafter J.S.T.) by a certain catalog of
its music rolls he had been given in 1964 by a pianist friend, one
Mr. Ted Sadlowsky.  Almost immediately the hunt was on, and soon after
J.S.T. was to discover in New York his first instrument, along with a
cache of rolls.

This first player (No. 0) was an earlier style American-built Vorsetzer
(having the lower bottom end trim) in a mahogany case.  It featured a
very early Holzer-Cabot, exposed-brushes type D.C. motor.  (I designate
this first player as "0" because it was never used by J.S.T. or rebuilt
until much later, being put aside to make-way for No. 1 -- the workhorse
that was responsible for most of the Keyboard Immortals program material
that was to appear.)

Now encouraged and forever searching for additional roll titles, J.S.T.
uncovered yet another quantity in Germany along with a Vorsetzer (No. 1),
this model being of the later style, featuring the two-tiered stack
with separately regulated primary valve vacuum supplies and box type
pump.

The genesis of the third (No. 2) has an interesting story behind it.
Some of it was published within Superscope's second "Keyboard Immortals"
publicity booklet.  In-part, I here reproduce it:

  "In December, 1967, Joseph Tushinsky was meeting with a group of
  people from the Los Angeles area who rebuilt player pianos as a
  hobby.  He mentioned that it would be truly incredible if there
  were such a thing as an Ampico Vorsetzer in addition to the Welte
  Vorsetzer.

  "You can imagine Mr. Tushinsky's surprise when, almost a year later,
  he received a phone call from one of those technicians, requesting
  an appointment to demonstrate an Ampico Vorsetzer.  He had been
  working on it during the entire year since that meeting.  Mr.
  Tushinsky heard the Ampico Vorsetzer in his home that evening, and
  bought it on the spot.

  "What the technician had done was take an Ampico reproducing system
  and, using the Welte technique, built it into a Vorsetzer.  As a
  result Mr. Tushinsky was able to offer both Ampico and Welte rolls
  on 'Keyboard Immortals'.  (Ampico rolls are incompatible with the
  Welte system.)"

The "technician" was Melvin D. Shores, who at that time worked for
the Carty Piano Company, located then at Inglewood in California.
This writer was present on the occasion of both meetings referenced
above, and incidentally supplied the custom-ordered finger set pro
rata, for Mel's project.

In all the world the instrument was unique.  It featured an Ampico
drawer unit mounted atop, slanted, and stood some five-feet-plus-inches
high.  At the case's ends were placed meaningfully large cast aluminum
Devil's Head door knockers, or casket handles.  To amp-up what was
already lugubrious, the whole was painted a midnight black, and bedecked
circumferencially with gargoylish, carved wood moldings.

Truly, it was a virtuoso display of fantasized reproducing Vorsetzer
madness, such might have been inspired from The Pit, in some roll
nightmare gone wrong, all being set solidly into strangest, actual
reality.  (To this day, I think one really cannot fathom how or why
a mind might possibly conceive such a thing, much less bear it into
our three-dimensions.)  Upon first glance without hint, doubtless-so
Mary Shelly would have understood the origin of it's form, if not
intended function.

However, that said and in all fairness, it -- the Frankensteinian
assemblage -- played very well indeed!  And so, it's otherwise untoward
visual impact was made on account more than moderately bearable,
especially when playing as-hidden from somewhere behind.

This creature-peculiar netted for Mel a cool six-thousand dollars(!),
as I recall.  This looming fact was not missed by this writing viewer,
and so I determined to trump Mel, and set myself to it, the result
being . . . The fourth instrument, which was to be J.S.T.'s last and
final one.

It was designed and built by this writer to play four types of
record-roll, and did: Ampico, Duo-Art, Welte-Mignon (T-100) and
Welte-Mignon (Licensee), all made to be accomplished with a simple turn
a single knob.

This instrument (No. 3) took a year on-and-off to construct, all done
at the organ building shop where I worked at the time.  When finished,
it was delivered in April of 1970.  That it all worked and played
rather well was a miracle.  For ten years following, I toiled like an
underpaid, beaten demon's apprentice to perfect it's play.

Tushinsky's two brothers, Irving and Fred, took note of all this
activity, and at some point unknown, determined that they too were to
have their own instruments.

Having been well worn-out by the struggle, and ever-continuing plan for
the attaining of ever-elusive musical perfection, this writer declined
the tempting possibility, and suggested that Mel Shores, once again,
might be convinced to rise to Necessity's new occasion.

They were not to be disappointed, and resultantly, two Duo-Art
Vorsetzer instruments born of Mel Shores' most creative enterprise
were presented to the world, equipped, as usual, with this writer's
finger sets.  (Most wisely, this time, he omitted the Devil's-head door
knockers feature and, all the like-rest, his nice casework appearing
much like a Mignon's later style.)

These instruments (Nos. 4 & 5) went to Irving and Fred, respectively.
The remaining brother of the four, Nate Tushinsky, being apparently
satisfied with owning some type-or-other of inbuilt instrument.
(Oddly, sadly, I don't think I ever spoke a single word to the kindly,
very quiet fellow.)

To be continued . . .

Jim Miller
Las Vegas, Nevada

 [ Short biographies of Joe Tushinsky are at
 [ http://articles.latimes.com/1988-03-23/news/mn-1714_1_joseph-tushinsky
 [ http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/23/obituaries/joseph-s-tushinsky-78-inventor-musician-and-first-to-import-sony.html
 [ -- Robbie