Music Trade Review
Issue: 1917 Vol. 65 N. 13 - Page 12
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
12
What does
a Popular Price"
Mean?
Here is a "popular-priced"
player-piano — that is, it's in
the price-class which most
buyers seek.
There are a good many
player-pianos in that class.
Ordinarily competition is fast
and furious.
You—as a dealer—are in-
terested in two things when it
comes to p o p u l a r - p r i c e d
player-pianos—first, how much
you're affected by competi-
tion, and, secondly, how much
money you can make out of
an instrument.
Dealers who sell our Playotones tell
us that competition is a small factor in
Playotone sales. The Playotone is so
much like higher-priced instruments
that value is written all over it — the
wonderful tone, the flexible action, the
beauty, the extra features make its
music so human and nearly perfect.
VACUUM CLEANER FOR PLAYER=PIANO
APOLLOPHONE SALE A SUCCESS
Philadelphian Invents Device for Utilizing Suc-
tion Power of Player Bellows for Cleaning
Purposes—Plan Has Great Possibilities
Prominent Detroit Dealer Has Special Sale
Lasting Two Weeks, and Closes Some Good
Orders for This Combination Instrument
In future the live piano salesman will have
something besides musical value to offer the
.customer in putting through the sale of a player-
piano. A Philadelphian is credited with a new
patent on a dust filtering attachment which is
designed to turn the player-piano into a vacuum
cleaner, and thereby make available a suction
system already at hand. According to the de-
scription of the patent, the tube running from
the bellows to the player action proper is dis-
connected and a special vacuum cleaner attach-
ment is connected in its place. Then someone
works the player-piano pedals in the usual way
and the housewife proceeds to remove the dust
from the furnishings. It sounds like a beautiful
scheme, and the only drawback appears to be
that a roll cannot be played while the cleaning
is going on. The vibrations from a good jazz
roll should serve to loosen the dust from the
heaviest rugs without difficulty. Inasmuch as
some dealers still persist in throwing in every-
thing but a suite of furniture with the sale of
a player-piano, maybe some enterprising mer-
chant will add the vacuum cleaner to his list
of free inducements.
DETROIT, MICH., September 24.—The Apollo-
phone sale at the J. L. Hudson store was con-
cluded last Saturday after it had run .two weeks.
Figures shown by Manager E. P. Andrew prove
that the sale was a phenomenal success. Con-
sidering that it was something absolutely new
in the way of a musical instrument, and that
the price was not cheap—$700—Manager An-
drew has every justification for patting himself
and his organization on the back in view of the
sales during the two weeks. The instrument
was in the window the entire two weeks, and
all the time there was a crowd looking at the
instrument from the street. Most of the day
there were at least seven or eight people in-
side the store talking with salesmen about the
instrument, asking questions and getting fur-
ther information. Many people said: "It's
just what our family has often spoken of," and
they made purchases, because they had neither
a talking machine nor a player-piano, and here
was an opportunity to get them both in one in-
strument, and at a very reasonable price. Charles
Howes, of the Melville Clark Piano Co., Chi-
cago, who was in Detroit quite a bit of the two
weeks, left on Friday last with a substantial
order for electric automatic Apollos, and some
Apollophoncs.
SHORTENING TERMS ON PLAYERS
Detroit Trade Tightening Up On Instalment
Sales of Player-Pianos
September 24.—A leading
Woodward avenue piano dealer told The Re-
view correspondent this week that he was
shortening the terms on both player-pianos and
talking machines. "Our terms on pianos are
being shortened from thirty months to twenty-
four and twenty-six months, while on talking
machines we are shortening the terms from fif-
teen to ten and twelve months'," he said. "The
result will be that we may lose an occasional
sale, but on the other hand we will get a better
grade of business, and our money will come in
quicker, and we are sure that the people will not
overbuy. Large monthly payments are certain
to keep out the man or woman who is living up
to every penny, and will put all selling on a
more careful basis."
DETROIT,
PLAYOTONE
MICH.,
THE VALUE OF P j ^ E R KNOWLEDGE
Dealers Should Become Familiar With the
Principles of Player Construction
From the very beginning Playotone
sales have been big. Dealers make
money on Playotones. The profit is
high on individual instruments. It's
very high on large numbers — and
production in large numbers makes the
price so low.
Write us today. We'll tell how you
can get a large share of this profitable
business.
HardmanJPeck&Go.
Established 1842
4 3 3 FIFTH AVENUE - NEW YORK
HARDMAN HOUSE
Chicago Office and Warerooms, where there's a
Complete stock of Playotones, Republic Building,
Corner Adams and State Streets.
The Gulbransen-Dickinson Co., in its Sep-
tember "Bulletin," has issued a very pertinent
article on the value of a thorough understand-
ing of the construction of the player-piano. The
article is entitled "Understanding Tt," and is as
follows:
An "expert from the factory" is often nothing
more than a good mechanic who understands
the player action. The dealer who sends for
"a factory expert" may have better mechanics
in his own tuning room or repair shop.
But the factory man understands and, be-
cause he understands, he locates and remedies
the trouble in a few minutes. The local man
could have done the work just as quickly and
as well if he had understood.
Listen to this, you dealers: One of the great-
est obstacles to player trade growth is the fact
that so few bosses understand even the rudi-
ments of player construction. If you bosses
knew more about players, your workmen would
soon learn more, because they would appreciate
the necessity of studying player mechanism.
"Oh," says somebody, "we haven't time for
that; it's up to you manufacturers to give us
'service.' "
Don't fool yourself. No manufacturer can
give actually "free" service. He must charge
its cost into his "overhead" if he doesn't make
a specific charge. And no manufacturer can
supply service cheaply, because of railroad
tickets and hotel bills.
EXPRESSION CONTROL FOR PLAYERS
Details of Patent Covering the Above Device
Granted to Joseph Bremont
WASHINGTON, D. C, September 24.—Joseph
Bremont, New York, is the patentee of an ex-,
pression controlling device for mechanical mu-
sical instruments, Patent No. 1,240,412 for which
was granted him last week.
An object of the invention is to provide an ex-
pression or tempo controlling device for piano
players of the type where a line marked on the
perforated music sheets indicates different ef-
fects to be produced in playing.
Another object of the invention is to provide
a tempo controlling device which is economical
to manufacture and which is simpler in opera-
tion than the other means heretofore used for
this purpose.
Another object of the invention is to produce
a tempo controlling device which is attachable
or detachable at will from the piano player and
can be used to indicate the tempo on various
types of music rolls.
TO "JAZZ" OR NOT TO "JAZZ"
To "Jazz" or not to "Jazz" seems to be the
paramount problem of the dancing teachers,
says the Knight-Campbell Music Co. Echo.
Whether 'tis best to suffer the slings and ar-
rows of outrageous crowhopping and sugges-
tive posing for another season, or by oppos-
ing end them, is now fomenting under their
bulging brows. As a war time solution of this
momentous and absorbing question, it has been
suggested that we replace the "Jazz" by the
Submarine Slouch, the Ruthless Wriggle, the
Hoover Hunch, the Slackers' Slide, the Goose-
step Glide, the Draft Dodge and the Frightful-
ness Frazzle.
OU ought to see the Schaff
B r o s . Style 23 Solotone
Y
Player, for it is the most mod-
ern player. The price is right, too.
WANT OUR SPECIAL PHOTO OF IT?
HUNTINGTON, IND.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
12
What does
a Popular Price"
Mean?
Here is a "popular-priced"
player-piano — that is, it's in
the price-class which most
buyers seek.
There are a good many
player-pianos in that class.
Ordinarily competition is fast
and furious.
You—as a dealer—are in-
terested in two things when it
comes to p o p u l a r - p r i c e d
player-pianos—first, how much
you're affected by competi-
tion, and, secondly, how much
money you can make out of
an instrument.
Dealers who sell our Playotones tell
us that competition is a small factor in
Playotone sales. The Playotone is so
much like higher-priced instruments
that value is written all over it — the
wonderful tone, the flexible action, the
beauty, the extra features make its
music so human and nearly perfect.
VACUUM CLEANER FOR PLAYER=PIANO
APOLLOPHONE SALE A SUCCESS
Philadelphian Invents Device for Utilizing Suc-
tion Power of Player Bellows for Cleaning
Purposes—Plan Has Great Possibilities
Prominent Detroit Dealer Has Special Sale
Lasting Two Weeks, and Closes Some Good
Orders for This Combination Instrument
In future the live piano salesman will have
something besides musical value to offer the
.customer in putting through the sale of a player-
piano. A Philadelphian is credited with a new
patent on a dust filtering attachment which is
designed to turn the player-piano into a vacuum
cleaner, and thereby make available a suction
system already at hand. According to the de-
scription of the patent, the tube running from
the bellows to the player action proper is dis-
connected and a special vacuum cleaner attach-
ment is connected in its place. Then someone
works the player-piano pedals in the usual way
and the housewife proceeds to remove the dust
from the furnishings. It sounds like a beautiful
scheme, and the only drawback appears to be
that a roll cannot be played while the cleaning
is going on. The vibrations from a good jazz
roll should serve to loosen the dust from the
heaviest rugs without difficulty. Inasmuch as
some dealers still persist in throwing in every-
thing but a suite of furniture with the sale of
a player-piano, maybe some enterprising mer-
chant will add the vacuum cleaner to his list
of free inducements.
DETROIT, MICH., September 24.—The Apollo-
phone sale at the J. L. Hudson store was con-
cluded last Saturday after it had run .two weeks.
Figures shown by Manager E. P. Andrew prove
that the sale was a phenomenal success. Con-
sidering that it was something absolutely new
in the way of a musical instrument, and that
the price was not cheap—$700—Manager An-
drew has every justification for patting himself
and his organization on the back in view of the
sales during the two weeks. The instrument
was in the window the entire two weeks, and
all the time there was a crowd looking at the
instrument from the street. Most of the day
there were at least seven or eight people in-
side the store talking with salesmen about the
instrument, asking questions and getting fur-
ther information. Many people said: "It's
just what our family has often spoken of," and
they made purchases, because they had neither
a talking machine nor a player-piano, and here
was an opportunity to get them both in one in-
strument, and at a very reasonable price. Charles
Howes, of the Melville Clark Piano Co., Chi-
cago, who was in Detroit quite a bit of the two
weeks, left on Friday last with a substantial
order for electric automatic Apollos, and some
Apollophoncs.
SHORTENING TERMS ON PLAYERS
Detroit Trade Tightening Up On Instalment
Sales of Player-Pianos
September 24.—A leading
Woodward avenue piano dealer told The Re-
view correspondent this week that he was
shortening the terms on both player-pianos and
talking machines. "Our terms on pianos are
being shortened from thirty months to twenty-
four and twenty-six months, while on talking
machines we are shortening the terms from fif-
teen to ten and twelve months'," he said. "The
result will be that we may lose an occasional
sale, but on the other hand we will get a better
grade of business, and our money will come in
quicker, and we are sure that the people will not
overbuy. Large monthly payments are certain
to keep out the man or woman who is living up
to every penny, and will put all selling on a
more careful basis."
DETROIT,
PLAYOTONE
MICH.,
THE VALUE OF P j ^ E R KNOWLEDGE
Dealers Should Become Familiar With the
Principles of Player Construction
From the very beginning Playotone
sales have been big. Dealers make
money on Playotones. The profit is
high on individual instruments. It's
very high on large numbers — and
production in large numbers makes the
price so low.
Write us today. We'll tell how you
can get a large share of this profitable
business.
HardmanJPeck&Go.
Established 1842
4 3 3 FIFTH AVENUE - NEW YORK
HARDMAN HOUSE
Chicago Office and Warerooms, where there's a
Complete stock of Playotones, Republic Building,
Corner Adams and State Streets.
The Gulbransen-Dickinson Co., in its Sep-
tember "Bulletin," has issued a very pertinent
article on the value of a thorough understand-
ing of the construction of the player-piano. The
article is entitled "Understanding Tt," and is as
follows:
An "expert from the factory" is often nothing
more than a good mechanic who understands
the player action. The dealer who sends for
"a factory expert" may have better mechanics
in his own tuning room or repair shop.
But the factory man understands and, be-
cause he understands, he locates and remedies
the trouble in a few minutes. The local man
could have done the work just as quickly and
as well if he had understood.
Listen to this, you dealers: One of the great-
est obstacles to player trade growth is the fact
that so few bosses understand even the rudi-
ments of player construction. If you bosses
knew more about players, your workmen would
soon learn more, because they would appreciate
the necessity of studying player mechanism.
"Oh," says somebody, "we haven't time for
that; it's up to you manufacturers to give us
'service.' "
Don't fool yourself. No manufacturer can
give actually "free" service. He must charge
its cost into his "overhead" if he doesn't make
a specific charge. And no manufacturer can
supply service cheaply, because of railroad
tickets and hotel bills.
EXPRESSION CONTROL FOR PLAYERS
Details of Patent Covering the Above Device
Granted to Joseph Bremont
WASHINGTON, D. C, September 24.—Joseph
Bremont, New York, is the patentee of an ex-,
pression controlling device for mechanical mu-
sical instruments, Patent No. 1,240,412 for which
was granted him last week.
An object of the invention is to provide an ex-
pression or tempo controlling device for piano
players of the type where a line marked on the
perforated music sheets indicates different ef-
fects to be produced in playing.
Another object of the invention is to provide
a tempo controlling device which is economical
to manufacture and which is simpler in opera-
tion than the other means heretofore used for
this purpose.
Another object of the invention is to produce
a tempo controlling device which is attachable
or detachable at will from the piano player and
can be used to indicate the tempo on various
types of music rolls.
TO "JAZZ" OR NOT TO "JAZZ"
To "Jazz" or not to "Jazz" seems to be the
paramount problem of the dancing teachers,
says the Knight-Campbell Music Co. Echo.
Whether 'tis best to suffer the slings and ar-
rows of outrageous crowhopping and sugges-
tive posing for another season, or by oppos-
ing end them, is now fomenting under their
bulging brows. As a war time solution of this
momentous and absorbing question, it has been
suggested that we replace the "Jazz" by the
Submarine Slouch, the Ruthless Wriggle, the
Hoover Hunch, the Slackers' Slide, the Goose-
step Glide, the Draft Dodge and the Frightful-
ness Frazzle.
OU ought to see the Schaff
B r o s . Style 23 Solotone
Y
Player, for it is the most mod-
ern player. The price is right, too.
WANT OUR SPECIAL PHOTO OF IT?
HUNTINGTON, IND.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).