Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
JANUARY 29,
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
1921
9
Some Suggestions Regarding the Design and Construction of a Utility Player
Action Which Would Be Suitable for Use With a Grand Piano Not Specially
Constructed to Receive [It—A Wide Field for Scientific Experimentation
Can a player mechanism be built under prac-
tical conditions which will be suitable for a
grand piano, old or new, not constructed to
receive it?
The question may at one time have seemed
to be rather academic, but no one can say that
it is academic now. For one thing, the grand
piano has long ago ceas'ed to be the instrument
of the few rich, but has become the desire and
often the possession of the prosperous many.
In its smaller forms it is already extremely
popular, and to-day the grand output is three
times what it was ten years ago.
In a word, the new small grand piano is ex-
actly the sort of piano we have needed in this
country for some years past: a piano novel and
even fascinating, not too high priced, and at-
tractive enough in appearance to win the enthu-
siasm of the prosperous thousands who have
come into being in the last two decades and
whose feelings towards music are constantly
changing for the better.
But, at the same time, the problem of fitting
a player to the grand, whether small or large, is
a problem of much greater complexity than is
generally supposed. If the grand piano without
player be popular, then the grand piano with
player ought to be more popular still; just as the
upright player is more popular than its player-
less archetype. Hut, in fact, the grand player-
piano, foot-pumped, is a rarity. Why .is this?
Mainly, of course, this is because the methods
of production so far achieved are not sufficiently
efficient 'to ensure a fair price. The cost is
too high, and the price runs accordingly.
But there is still another difficulty. Almost
every player grand suffers from one of two
troubles. Either it is built with the roll-box
and certain other elements inside the case, which
involves enlargement of the case and mucfh
greater expense, or else, in the other case, all the
mechanism is housed under the keybed, so that
the case is not enlarged and has not to be
specially built; but at the same time its appear-
ance is just as much, if not more, deranged.
Difficulties and Prejudices
For various reasons, such as restricted out-
put bringing very high price, high prices in turn
restricting demand, queer appearance detracting
from. musical merit, and the public belief that
the player mechanism in some way injures the
pianistic powers of the instrument for hand-
playing, the player grand is not making the
headway one should wish. It would be a very
good thing if an action could be devised for
the grand piano which would meet all these
objections.
As a matter of fact, of course, any action, no
matter how convenient otherwise, would have
to be made to the scale of each grand piano.
But the point we have in mind is as to building
a foot-pumped player-mechanism which should
WHITE, SON CO.
Manufacturers of
ORGAN AND PLAYER-PIANO
LEATHERS
530-540 Atlantic Ave., BOSTON, MASS.
neither detract from the appearance of the piano
nor require a new case.
Let it be said that there are already on the
market some excellent and practical actions
which are being sold to good effect. There is
no intention to quarrel with or belittle any of
them. What is desired here is to set forth
plainly some possibilities of improvement. No
one can object to that.
A Confession
The writer of these words was at one time
strongly of the belief that it was inadvisable
to cut or enlarge the case of the grand piano in
any way. He is now of the opinion, after per-
sonal test and considerable experience, that the
lengthening of keys and pulling forward of case
do not interfere in the slightest with the musical
value of the piano when hand-played. This
confession is not perhaps particularly important,
but it might as well be made.
This being the case, the only objection to
placing the mechanism partly inside the case
is on the score of extra expense. The further
fact that the piano must be specially built, from
the ground up, militates, of course, against the
popularization of the player-grand, by acting to
diminish output. But there are no other objec-
tions.
The "Inside" Action
On the other hand, the mechanism placed
entirely outside the case has the grave disad-
vantage of more or less spoiling the outer
appearance of the piano. It has the further dis-
advantage of placing the music roll at an incon-
venient position with regard to the eye. One
of the most important points to be kept in mind
is this of placing the music roll where it can
easily be seen. The Gulbransen grand action,
which, unhappily, is not being now produced, so
we understand, by its inventors and makers, was
a good example of correct placing of roll and
expression devices. From under the keybed a
framework was pulled out which pivoted on a
hinge and turned over so as to lie back over the
keys until it rested almost like a music-desk.
This was almost an ideal position, although the
writer believes that it would have been still bet-
ter if the expression lever had been housed in a
separate framework pulling out to a position
just below the keybed level.
A scheme such as this can be put into opera-
tion with almost any kind of grand piano, large
or small, without requiring any structural
change, and if an action is to be built for general
placement in grands, old and new, it ought to be
based on something like this.
A Divided Stack
Now that the single-valve system is so gen-
erally used, the pneumatic stack of the grand
piano player action need not be bulky at all.
The job of hiding it from view is not so diffi-
cult as it once was. But even so a good deal
could be accomplished, one thinks, if the stack
were divided into two halves, one half on each
side of the groove through which the pneu-
matics strike, so as to reduce the depth of the
stack and hide it more effectively from view.
The Crucial Feature
But the crucial question always is the ques-
tion of the bellows. The writer expects that
some day all player grands will be fitted with
electric power for the non-speaking parts of the
work. But until this happens we shall always
have to deal with the housing of a bellows
system.
Could an action designed for general use on
pianos, old and new alike, be built with the bel-
lows housed under the bottom framework in-
stead of in a pedal box? If the pedals can be
disposed of neatly, one cannot see what other
serious difficulty can exist. For one thing, the
pedal box is, of course, much simpler, but many
prospective buyers object to its bulky appear-
ance. On the other hand, there can always be
room to house the bellows under the sound
board of the piano. Nor does this apparently
do any harm to the musical value of the instru-
ment. The principal difficulty is that of housing
the foot-pumping pedals.
The efficient factory men of the Hardman,
Peck factory in New York have devised an in-
genious method of detaching the pedals from
the lyre box and putting them aside when not
wanted in a separate box which is left on the
floor. This leaves the lyre box indistinguishable
in appearance from the one which is used for
the three small pedals of the straight piano.
Could not something like this be done in all
the cases we are considering?
The requirements for an all-round utility action
for grand pianos would include (1) a music roll
box to slide under the keybed and come out
above the keys, (2) a bellows system housed
under the sound board, (3) a divided pneu-
matic stack with the pneumatics in horizontal,
not in vertical, rows and (4) a detachable pedal
set.
With a system like this any grand piano, old
or new, could be transformed into a player
grand without spoiling its appearance.
It may be added in conclusion that these
considerations do not, generally speaking, apply
to the reproducing grand player-piano.
DEMAND FOR KLEERNOTE PUMP
W. F. Wemhoener, of American Device Mfg. Co.,
Says It Is Evident Purchasing Public Sees
Value of Keeping Player Clean
ST. LOUIS, MO., January 20.—A concern which
has had marked success since the inception of
the Kleernote player cleaner is the American
Device Mfg. Co., 4523 Shaw avenue, this city.
According to W. F. Wemhoener, secretary
and treasurer of the company, the demand for
this simplified pump is growing daily. "It is
evident," said Mr. Wemhoener to a representa-
tive of The Review this week, "that player own-
ers are beginning to realize the fact that a clean-
ing device to remove the dust and lint from the
tracker-bar mechanism is a very essential house-
hold necessity to maintain their instrument in
playing condition and thus obtain the full bene-
fits of the music they desire to render through
the aid of player rolls. Piano manufacturers
likewise appear to be taking renewed interest
in the advisability of supplying their players,
when leaving their factory, with tracker-bar
cleaners as standard accessory equipment, indi-
cated in recent orders placed by some of these
concerns for our product. We are also in receipt
of a large number of testimonials from tuners,
dealers, etc., declaring the Kleernote to be the
most practical device of its kind."
Among the wholesale distributors who are
successfully handling the Kleernote pump are:
Charles H. Ditson & Co., New York City;
H. A. Weymann & Son, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.;
Melodee Music Co., Chicago, 111.; J. W. Jen-
kins' Sons Music Co., Kansas City, Mo.; Sher-
man, Clay & Co., San Francisco; Music Products
Export Corp., New York City.