Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
PNEUMATICS
(Continued from page 7)
a. most reprehensible practice of what can only
he called pneumatic "buck passing." Any stray
piece of work which it is believed the player-
pianist ought to be saved the labor of doing by
hand is pushed on to the unfortunate bellows
system. A pneumatic and valve are designed, a
channel is run into the bellows somewhere and
the thing is done. It looks very convenient, but
the effect upon the playing is, of course, disas-
trous. What with the motor, a pneumatic track-
ing device, a pneumatic for the damper, pneu-
matics for the hammer-rail, pneumatics for the
rewind, and what not, the bellows sustains such
a load that the player-pianist becomes simply
a treading machine. To obtain expression or
flexibility through the .bellows is in such circum-
stances virtually out of the question. A reform
must be undertaken here and the sooner the facts
are understood the sooner the reform.
Just as soon as we realize that we cannot
design without first knowing what the conditions
are we shall begin to have scientific methods in
our shops. At present we carve out a design to
h't a given space and guess at the power require-
ments in the light of our experience. It is a
tribute to the breadth of that experience that, on
the whole, the guesses come out very well, but
guess-work at the best is a very poor sort of
weapon. After all, to adopt the methods which
reign in every other mechanical industry of any
importance is not a difficult matter. It requires
only a slight change in the point of view. It is,
in fact, solely a matter of coming to realize that
we cannot attain to the levels we are aiming at
until we clear our ground and know what we are
aiming at. Flexibility is a quality which repre-
sents those aims as well as they can be repre-
sented in one word. The attainment of flexi-
ble, instantly available, playing power can never
be possible until we have learned to figure before
we whittle.
SIMPLEX PLANT ENLARGED
Simplex Player Action Co. Has Found Addi-
tion to Main Factory None Too Large—Full-
time Schedule in Vogue Assured for Fall
The new addition to the factory of the Sim-
plex Player Action Co., Worcester, Mass., which
was recently erected, has been found none too
The Extensive New Addition to the Simplex
large to meet the demand for the Super Sim-
plex, which has increased steadily since the first
6)f the year.. This new addition is shown in the
accompanying illustration. It is devoted to the
inanufacture of the metal parts of the player
and Jhe plating department. It is here that the
AUGUST 27,
1921
PROTECT THE REPRODUCING PIANO, SAYS F. 0 . GAMBt|
Well-known Member of Trade in Endorsing Recent Review Editorial Protests Against Continued
Misuse of the Term "Reproducing Piano"—Offers Interesting Comments
•
are now consciously or unconsciously misusing
and abusing the name 'Reproducing Piano' care-
lessly or indifferently do so without meaning to
degrade or misuse the term in question.
"I thoroughly agree with you that any kind
of a player-piano which may be equipped with
automatic expression devices is not necessarily
a 'Reproducing Piano.' The trade, in justice
to those who are—or may become—entitled to
use it, should unqualifiedly condemn the use of
the term 'Reproducing Piano' in connection with
any instrument save one which is guaranteed
to give personally authorized and edited trans-
lations of the playing of the artists and to music
rolls to which are attached the names of the
men and women responsible for them in their
entirety.
"In further accord with your editorial, then,
the public must be guarded against the mani-
fest error of supposing that the term 'Reproduc-
ing Piano' is an elastic term. On the contrary,
it should be a very restricted term—a term
rigidly limited in its meaning. You have put it
none too forcibly when you say, for the sake of
all concerned, and of every interest the music
industries have in preserving values, let the in-
accurate use of the term 'Reproducing Piano'
be forthwith abandoned.
"There is another term in connection with
reproducing pianos and actions which has been
used more or less during the last few years which
I would decidedly like to see eliminated from our
reproducing piano vocabulary, and that is the
inartistic and rather slangy-sounding term 'Re-
producer.' The term 'Reproducer,' in the music
world especially, belongs distinctly to the talking
machine trade, in that it is, as we all know, the
dignified and appropriate title of a small but
specific and necessary part of the talking ma-
chine mechanism. Consequently, if it belongs
transmission and other exclusive metal devices to the talking machine trade and is the rightful
are manufactured. The structure is thoroughly name of a special part of the mechanism, why
modern in every respect, built of re-enforced not leave it where it rightfully belongs and not
concrete and comprises 60,000 square feet of endeavor to use it in connection with an instru-
floor space, every inch of which is being util- ment to which it is neither sufficiently dignified,
ized to good advantage. It is connected with, thoroughly adapted nor overly euphonious.
Furthermore, why ever desire to appropriate the
the main factory at the rear.
The Simplex factory has been one of the busi- legitimate name of a small part of a talking
est in the East all during the Summer months. machine mechanism by applying it to such a
wonderful and complete instrument as the 'Re-
producing Piano'?
"Some might say that the word 'Reproducing'
is not in itself dignified, but it is at least thor-
oughly descriptive, and, if not so formerly, it has
now become dignified through its continuous as-
sociation in completing the common and well-
known term, 'Reproducing Piano.' Therefore, th*
term 'Reproducing Piano' is thoroughly descripr
tive, it is original—which should always be cori;
sidered when naming a musical instrument—ami
it is distinctive in that it has been generally ap-
plied to one of the highest-class musical instru-
ments ever created and offered to humanity at
large.
"Your editorial, therefore, interested me from
these two points of view: first that no instru-
ment unworthy of the name should be known as
a 'Reproducing Piano,' and second, that you so
faithfully made use therein of the rightful term
'Reproducing Piano,' instead of the rather slangy
and undignified derivative, 'Reproducer.'
"Let us have more editorials along the line of
that entitled 'What Is a Reproducing Piano?'
The trade at large needs such good food for
thought in order that these wonderfuf instru-
ments may be rightfully classified and thereby
awarded their rightful distinction."
The editorial, "What Is a Reproducing
Piano?", which appeared in The Review on July
23, has attracted widespread attention from both
manufacturers and retailers who realize the im-
portance and standing of the genuine reproduc-
ing piano of to-day and deplore the attempts
to have that name cover a multitude of simply
automatic player-pianos.
One of the most interesting communications
received in reference to the editorial comes from
Fred. O. Gamble, vice-president of E. Witz-
mann & Co., Memphis, Tenn., who takes occa-
sion to express some of his own views regarding
the dignity that should attach to the genuine
reproducing piano. In his letter Mr. Gamble
says:
"I am very much interested in your editorial
in the issue of July 23, 1921, entitled 'What Is a
Reproducing Piano?' As a decided impetus in
the defense of the most worthy name in the art
oi reproduction this editorial is certainly one of
the most timely, to my mind, which has appeared
in a long time.
"As you say, the name 'Reproducing Piano' has
by common consent become attached to an espe-
cially artistic class of instrument—a class which
has been developed about as far as is mechan-
ically possible at the present time. In every
case the manufacturers and the worthy inventors
who so diligently worked with the manufactur-
ers to produce these artistic instruments should
now be protected in the exclusive use of the
name 'Reproducing Piano' by every means avail-
able throughout the entire trade, both wholesale
and retail. This should be done also in all fair-
ness to the artists who desire to perpetuate their
wonderful recordings, after having spe'nt so
many long and strenuous years in preparation.
"As you surmise, likely those of the trade who
Player Action Plant in Worcester, Mass.
At the present time it is working on full-time
schedule and the orders which have been re-
ceived, according to W. R. Crippen, sales repre-
sentative of the company, are of such volume
that the plant is assured continuous operation
through the FalJ months,
NEW INCORPORATION
The Rivola Mfg. Corp., New York City, man-
ufacturer of musical instruments, has been
granted ^charter of incorporation, with a capi-
tal of $20,000. Incorporators are; Q, and H£
and J.^ Schwartz,
'*