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Wes Bischel
01-23-2006, 12:18 AM
Since there is a great diversity here on the Creek, I was wondering if there was anyone here who knows about player pianos - the old scroll/roll type, not the CD run units?
If so, are there any major pros or cons to them versus a standard upright? Would one be OK to learn to play on? Is the action/feel similar to a standard piano? What would be the key things to look for - like leaks, pump action, timing? Anything else I should know about them before buying one - or not:rolleyes: ?

We have been thinking of getting one for a while now, so I thought I should start doing some homework.

Thanks, Wes

Doug Jones
01-23-2006, 12:30 AM
Wes,
you could try the same thing I do when I dive into a new adventure. Search for forums that pertain to the subject. I did a Yahoo search for "player piano forum" and it showed a number of sites.
Hope this helps. If not,,,, I tried.

Mark Patoka
01-23-2006, 8:51 AM
Wes,
I grew up learning/playing on an old roll type "reproducing" upright player piano that used to belong to my great-grandfather. It's just like any other piano and would be good to learn on. Ours seemed to have more of a "honky-tonk" sound. If you check out new pianos, you'll notice that each one has a different action, feel, sound quality, etc. based on manufacturer and price. Even the baby grand pianos have their differences. Picking a piano out would be a personal preference. If you're just looking to learn, an electronic keyboard would also suffice, as long as it has "normal" sized keys.

My mom recently had it restored as the bellows were shot/leaked. Now that it works its a lot of fun to play the old rolls. The rolls only work by pedal power so you also get a little workout at the same time. As far as I know, the player mechanism is separate from the sound board, keys, etc so it shouldn't affect the regular playability of the piano.

Hope my limited knowledges helps.

Jim Becker
01-23-2006, 9:31 AM
I learned to play the piano on an olde upright (full height) player piano. At some point, the player mechanisim was removed, but it worked like any other piano. Sounded nice, too...'cause it was a BIG piano!

Bill Lewis
01-23-2006, 12:14 PM
Jim, that's interesting we too had a full upright piano that used to be a player. My parents sold it when we moved form NC to VA in '71. I never got a chance to learn how to play it. It makes we wonder if there wasn't a glut of these pianos about.

Jim O'Dell
01-23-2006, 12:54 PM
Wes, my wife is a music education major and teaches piano for a living. The first piano she bought when we got married was a 6 foot grand player piano which is rare. She said she loved it. Wore it out. It won't affect the normal playing of the piano. Good luck! Jim.

Wes Bischel
01-23-2006, 1:08 PM
Thanks for the replies guys. That puts my mind a little more at ease. We have a line on one but I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting into if we go with it. My parents have a regular upright that was my Grandmother's - more sentimental than a good piano, but they are in Illinois and I'm in PA. That means a lot of money or time to get it here. Versus picking up this other piano close by - with the added bonus it's a player - which feeds my mechanical gizmo addiction.:rolleyes:

Thanks for the heads-up Doug. I had found a few forums and a few informational sites - plus I got a line on a good book for refurbish/rebuilding player pianos. I just though some of the gang here might have a good layman's take on the subject.

Thanks again,

Wes

Bill Webber
01-25-2006, 10:12 AM
As others have stated, the old upright player pianos are nearly identical to a non player upright. On the player pianos the cabinet was made 4 - 5 inches deeper to accomodate the player mechanism. The player mechanism operates the piano in a manner similar to someone playing it.

There are a lot of problems associated with those old pianos, player or not. Basic piano problems run to cracked/broken sound boards and bridges to tuning pins, loosened with age, that won't stay tuned. The player mechanisms deteriote significantly from time, weather and bugs. Rebuilding them is not particularly expensive. It's really quite interesting but incredibly time consuming.

If the objective is to learn to play the piano, a modern piano or keyboard would provide more predictable outcome.

There's some player piano discussion and stories on my web page.

Bill W.

forgot this: http://users.erols.com/hihouse/Peabody.html