Over the course of the pandemic and late 2021, the Kings Island Grand
Carousel (PTC #79) with its Wurlitzer 157 band organ (once owned by the
notorious Paul Eakins) underwent a minor restoration in time for the
park's 2022 season, thanks to Cedar Fair's generous help.

However, there is one obstacle with the organ's restoration: they went
the wrong way in choosing to remove the duplex roll frames and deciding
to follow in the footsteps of other corporate parks and install a MIDI
control system in the organs cabinet -- all because they care about
being "maintenance-free" and being new and improved.

I also, like Mikey Mills, prefer paper music rolls over MIDI myself
because it has tradition and nostalgia that can't be replicated with a
MIDI system. I also must add that both of the band organs drums aren't
playing at all since the installation of MIDI control, and that the
bell bars are the only percussion rank functioning since the conversion
as well.

On top of this detrimental disappointment for roll enthusiasts like
myself, the facade has been lovingly painted and given a new face lift
and is looking like $1,000,000 in addition to sounding like factory
condition.

There is, however, one silver lining in the fact that this is just
one of many band organs across the country that has been moved to MIDI
conversion post-restoration -- these large, corporate parks like Kings
Island now have the option to purchase newly MIDI exclusive arrangements
that have been completed for the 165 scale by highly skilled young
arrangers like, say, Mikey Mills and Andy Park, to name a few.

This is almost like a "Video Killed The Radio Star" in the band organ
and mechanical music world!

Andrew Lardieri
Voorhees, New Jersey

 [ Kings Island amusement park, in Mason, Ohio, is owned
 [ and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company since 2006.
 [ Ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Island -- Robbie