Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
DECEMBER 27, 1919
11
The Development of the Player-Grand Has Produced Two Distinct Styles
of Housing the Tracker Bar and Its Accessories, Each of Which Has Its
Own Peculiar Advantages and Disadvantages, Which Are Herein Described
The problems of a technical nature which en-
ter into the design of the player-grand piano are
many and various. It is not possible to discuss
all of them in a single article. But there is one
ot a most outstanding nature which can and now
shall be investigated.
Everybody who looks at a lot of player-
grands of various makes notes almost imme-
diately that one of the special points of indi-
vidual contrast is found in the methods respec-
tively adopted to house the tracker bar and its
accessories. There are, in effect, two broad di-
visions amongst whieh these methods may be
classified. They may be termed respectively
the upstairs method and the downstairs method.
The distinction arrived at in this way is quite
important and has a very distinct bearing upon
the whole problem of design, so much so that
it is impossible seriously to consider the build-
ing of player-grands until one has settled in
one's mind which of these is to be adopted.
The "Upstairs" System
The upstairs housing may be easily described.
It consists of a method of placing the tracker
bar and also the accessories thereto above the
keyboard and on a line with the front of the
position occupied by the front of the fall board
on the ordinary grand piano. On account of this
position it becomes necessary to bring forward
the fall board some three or four inches, which
in turn involves lengthening the case. This
again means that the keys must be lengthened
also to a slight extent. All this, of course, in-
volves building the case and the keyframe of the
piano especially for the player action.
It is thus at once evident that a player action
designed on this plan involves special changes
in the construction of the piano itself. This
is only another way of saying that the system
involves additional care and additional expense.
The "Downstairs" Style
Now, the other system houses the tracker bar
and other parts accessory thereto under the key-
bed of the piano. In this manner it is possible
to avoid any alteration of the case, so that the
piano factory need not build special styles of
case for the player actions. Here there is an
evident point of great value, since the second
system permits the use of stock cases and styles
which may be turned into players at any time
without any other alteration.
It will at once be apparent that there is in
the second system one very great advantage.
For if a manufacturer proposes to make actions
for the trade in general it will be much better
that he should not be compelled to ask his cus-
tomers to build special cases with special keys
and keyframes. In fact, it will be noted on
due observation that the makers of grand actions
for the trade have very generally adopted the
"downstairs" system and have produced their
player actions equipped with various methods
The highest class player
actions in the world
"The
The new "Amphion Accessible Action" is the last word in scientific player
achievement. It has the complete valve action assembled in a "Demountable
Unit'' giving instant accessibility.
AMPHIONWvCTIONS
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Comparisons
The great advantage of the upstairs system
is that it makes a much neater piano. The con-
cealment of the tracker bar and its accessories
behind the fall board of the piano tends to take
away the clumsy appearance otherwise notice-
able. In the case of a specialized player action
this point is worth consideration. The imme-
diate question then arises, How about the
lengthening of the keys? Does this lengthening
injuriously affect the touch of the piano? Care-
ful examination of the question seems to require
a negative answer. If the extra lengthening is,
say, four inches this means that the rear lever
of the key is lengthened by 1 1-3 inches and the
front lever by 2 2-3 inches. The result, of
course, is that the touch is made a little deeper,
but the deepening is not sufficiently great to
be noticeable or to affect the action of the
piano. Apart from this one point one can only
see advantages in the upstairs system. It pro-
duces certainly a better looking piano, pro-
vided only that due care is taken to avoid the
deepening of the case and consequent raising
of the level of the music desk to an undue
height.
Convenience
The advantage, on the contrary, is with the
downstairs system of housing the tracker and its
accessories, if one considers convenience of
manufacture first. With this system the entire
player action can be applied to the instrument
from the outside and the only change necessary
in the case is to cut a groove in the keybed to
pass through the rods which connect the pneu-
matics with the piano keys. But, on the other
hand, it cannot be denied that the appearance
of a sliding arrangement is not so good and
that the person who wishes to play the piano by
hand may be somewhat hampered by the pres-
ence of the bulk under the keybed.
Another point, of course, is that the tracker
bar is not in quite so convenient a position for
the eye of the player-pianist when it is placed
in front of, and below the level of, the keys.
There are, however, some exceptions to this
statement. In one action well known to the
trade the tracker and accessories thereto are
swung up on to a level with the eyes above
the keys from a position underneath the key-
bed. In another type the position of the tracker
is such that it rests immediately beneath the
eye as one looks downwards. In yet another the
tracker box is brought up to a position just
slightly above the keys, where the eye can rest
'{Continued on page 12)
valve unit that made the player famous"
SYRACUSE
for sliding away the tracker bar and its acces-
sories under the keybed.
On the other hand, it is evident that if a
manufacturer is thinking of making player ac-
tions for a single style of piano, as when a piano
manufacturer makes also his own player actions,
he may freely choose his own system. Some
comparison of the strong and weak points in
each case will necessarily be useful.
NEW YORK
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