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THE!
MU3IC
TRADE
RE1VIEIW
ishness to the unprejudiced observer. And ap- Those who have read the player section of this
parently the trade is beginning to think the same paper with any attention during the year and more
wav.
of its existence will not be disposed to withhold
admiration from the advertising pages. It can be
Elsewhere in this section will be found an inter- said without a shadow of reservation that the gen-
esting and valuable analysis of the player trade eral atmosphere of player advertising has wonder-
during the year just closed; that is to say, since the fully improved during the year just past. Player
lf)ll convention. The attention of readers is in- advertising to-day is better than ever. It is writ-
Published Every Saturday at 373 Fourth Avenue. New York
vited to this, especially as it indicates a direction ten with a finer understanding of trade and public
SUBSCRIPTION, (including postage ), United States and
in which the extraordinary—in fact, unique—posi- needs. It is less equivocal, more accurate, less
Mexico, $3.00 per year; Canada, $3.50; all other coun-
tries, $4.00.
tion which The Review holds in the player trade noisy, more informed. In the reform which has
come about The Review has taken high ground
Telephones—Numbers 5982 and 5983 Madison Sq. may be perceived. The fact of the matter is that
and its influence has been for the best. We can
no
other
trade
newspaper
is
as
well
equipped
as
is
Connecting all Departments
The Review for the work of making an adequate properly assert that the influence of the player
arnual survey of player doings, since no other section and of our general editorial policy has been
NEW YORK, MAY 25, 1912
paper devotes as much time, labor and money to no small factor in determining the present position
In a physical sense, at least, the piano and player the player trade. By this paper the player business of player publicity. And a glance at the advertising
trades have been "getting together" very markedly is regarded as of immense importance and signifi- pages will bear out the statement that this position
during the week just drawn to a close. These an- cance ; a state of affairs in which we are pioneers is now higher than ever.
nual affairs are in every way to be commended, but absolutely. We were the first to recognize the im-
NEW MOTOR FOR PLAYER=PIANOS.
it is not always possible to say that they accom- portance of the player trade and the first to give
that
trade
adequate
editorial,
news
and
technical
plish all that might be hoped for them. Especially
New Five-Point Motor, Manufactured by the
one might wish that the large problems now loom- treatment. The Review, during the third of a cen-
Worcester Wind Motor Co., Has Many
tury
which
it
has
been
published,
has
been
ever
a
ing forth through the clouds that have obscured
Points to Recommend It to the Trade.
pioneer,
ever
on
the
firing
line,
ever
in
advance
of
the player situation might be met with somewhat
the
crowd.
The
position
thus
voluntarily
assumed
more of determination. Perhaps it is too much to
(Special to The Review.)
expect that everything be done all at once, and and retained has at times been less comfortable
Worcester, Mass., May 16, 1912.
than
it
might
have
been.
But
it
has
been
a
posi-
perhaps it is as well that everything is not done at
The
illustration
below shows the new five point
tion of honor. Knocks, and hard ones at that, have
once. But the very idea of the annual gathering of
Worcester Wind Motor Co., of this city. The
been
cheerfully
received
when
they
have
come
the clans has within it big suggestions for those
along. But the fundamental belief of this news- inventor of it, as well as the owner of this plant,
who are interested in the larger development of
is Victor J. Johnson, who by experience and train-
the player. Some of these suggestions are of ut- paper has ever been that to do good work, to give
most value. In one sense, however, the most sig- right service, one must see ahead of the crowd, and
nificant lesson that can be drawn is that of "get- discern the needs of to-morrow as well as those
of to-day. This has been The Review's creed. It
ting together" ; that and nothing else.
will always be so.
We of the player trade greatly need to "get to-
Some valuable thoughts are expressed in the
gether" in a good many different ways, and from
article
on "Tone-Color in Connection with the
a good many different directions; towards a com-
mon center. We need more of a common under- Player-Piano," which will be found elsewhere in
standing, more of a common sympathy. It is all this issue of the player section. The functions and
very well to repeat the well-worn truth that all of value of the sustaining pedal device are so little
us are competitors engaged in a life and death understood, and its significance is so little appre-
struggle. But there is a deeper side to the ques- hended, that some wise and well-considered words
tion. Tf we are competitors we are also common on the subject are especially useful. At present
exploiters of a device which requires a national one of the sharpest criticisms brought against the
campaign of education, of appreciation and of de- player-piano is that its rendition of music is thin,
mand. Our common interests are as great as our staccato and hard. If more were known of the
common hostilities. Our points of mutual attrac- functions of the sustaining device in the produc-
tion are as numerous as our points of repulsion. tion of color effects this charge would lie with far
Worcester Co.'s Five-Point Motor.
Tn every sense, from every direction, men in the less of significance. The attention of readers is
player trade see common desires, common aims, therefore besought to what is an adequate treat- ing is particularly adapted for the enreful work
common lines of operation. We may be competi- ment of a most important subject.
required in the construction of player-piano
tors, but we also should be friends. For only by
motors.
Readers
who
are
interested
in
the
technical
side
being friends can any of us realize the commercial
Mr. Johnson claims as follows: "Worcester
success towards which we aim and for which we of the great player industry—as who should not wind motors are made to look well, to work per-
be?—are
invited
to
note
that
the
technital
depart-
so continually strive.
fectly, and to last a lifetime. They are durable
ment of this paper now is devoted solely to the
in every sense, and the part that interests the
player
during
player
section
week
each
month.
The
Already, happily, one perceives growing recog-
player-piano manufacturer, the price, is very
nition of this truth. The enmities which have ex- decision to make player section week also a player reasonable."
isted between different branches of the trade be- week in the technical department is seen to be in
The company recently acquired additional floor
gin to appear less acrid. Manufacturers of play- every way wise and commendable, for the interests
space
to care for its rapidly growing business, and
ers begin to see that the makers of rolls must be of the two are so closely bound up together that a
is prepared to take on more business.
their friends, not their enemies. Roll manufac- closer communion once a month is only logical. It
Mr. Johnson is a firm believer in the five-point
turers see the necessity for co-operation with those is also necessary. The technical department ap-
who make player mechanisms. Manufacturers be- peals especially to the tuner and practical man. No type of motor. He doesn't recommend the three,
gin to observe that the education of a public into one needs player knowledge more than does the four or six point, saying that the five-point motor
proper appreciation of the player as a desirable tuner. It is the aim and business of the technical runs the smoothest and there is no trouble with
acquisition is as much their business as it is that department to supply him with such knowledge. dead centers.
REVIEW
of the retailer himself. It is becoming seen that
nothing is more foolish than to load an almost un-
known and quite certainly misunderstood proposi-
tion on a retail trade, with instructions to go ahead
forthwith and make a lot of money out of it. This
may be wisdom, but it looks a good deal like fool-
Instead of spreading this over the month, as has
SECITEE TEL-ELECTRIC AGENCY.
been done before, the player articles in the technical
department are now brought together during player
W. L. Thornburgh, a piano dealer of No. 422
section week, thus concentrating them in a manner South Broadway, Los Angeles, Cal., has secured
very useful to the reader and very much more the agency for the Tel-EJectric piano-player, for
logical.
which he is planning a vigorous campaign.
The Master Player-Piano
is now equipped with an
AUTOMATIC TRACKING DEVICE
Which guarantees absolutely correct tracking of even the most imperfect music rolls
W I N T E R & CO., 220 Southern Boulevard, New York City