Music Trade Review
Issue: 1921 Vol. 72 N. 26 - Page 10
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
10
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
PNEUMATICS
(Continued from page 9)
and narrow selling methods, that the public do
not want sensitive pedaling. To-day we see
more clearly, but it is still unfortunately true
that our engineering practice is not up to our
new convictions.
Smaller equalizers, smaller pumpers and less
waste of valuable air-space in the general design
will transform almost any bellows system com-
pletely so far as concerns sensitiveness in the
player mechanism.
Music vs. Mechanics
Another point should be noted. Very few
pneumatic engineers seem to have grasped the
finer points of piano playing. Any player can
play loudly and rapidly. But the right player
is the player which will play softly and
rapidly with good repetition. The defects
in bellows and action design, of which I
have been speaking, are primarily respon-
JUNE 25,
1921
sible for the inability of many players to
act well on soft pressure. Moreover, it is not
often noticed that opportunities for developing
destructive friction exist in all the details of the
junction between pneumatic stack and player
actions. There is much room for further study
here in this so neglected region.
The Clumsy Lay-out
Still another point is worth study. The work
of even the most skilled player-pianist is ham-
pered and sometimes rendered quite nugatory by
the miserably bad lay-out of the expression de-
vices. It sometimes should seem that the de-
signers of player-pianos had never played their
own instruments intelligently or did not know
how to do so. The clumsy inconvenience of the
arrangements of levers and buttons is almost in-
credible and one wonders how it has so long
been tolerated. The only reason can be found,
one supposes, in apathy and ignorance. Let the
engineers consult some good player-pianists and
they will soon see what we mean.
And let us conclude by remarking that the use
of pneumatic power when hand power is better,
as, for instance, in lifting the dampers, is fatal
to responsiveness and musical efficiency.
THE NEW W. T. S. PLAYER ACTION
New Foot-power Player Action for the Trade
Produced by Wilcox & White Co. Interests
Manufacturers—Deliveries to Start in August
of our types of twenty-five
S OME
years ago. On motors such as these
Holtzer-Cabot reputation was built.
During the long intervening years we
have taken part in the development
of many varied and difficult motor
applications.
This experience we place at the service
of our patrons in expert advice and in
motors having a low percentage of failure.
Low-trouble-factor motors conserve prof-
its and reputation.
THE HOLTZER-CABOT ELECTRIC CO.
BOSTON, MASS.
The new W. T. S. foot-power player action for
the trade, manufactured by the Wilcox &
White Co., of Meriden, Conn., and New York,
which was first formally presented to the trade
during the conventions in Chicago early in May,
has made a distinct impression upon player-
piano manufacturers, a substantial number of
whom have placed sample orders for the new
action for installation purposes. The Wilcox
& White factory is now engaged in manufac-
turing the new action in quantities, and it is
announced that deliveries will begin shortly
after August 2.
The new action is particularly interesting for
the artistic expression devices incorporated
therein to provide for individual interpretation
of music. A sensitive pumping bellows also aids
materially in attaining that end. In the produc-
tion of the new action simplicity of construc-
tion has been combined with sturdiness, and the
combination itself has likewise made a distinc-
tive appeal to the player-piano manufacturers.
The Wilcox & White Co., ranking with the
pioneers in the player field, has been noted for
its gifted technical and inventive staff, and the
experience of the organization has been reflected
in the final development of the new W. T. S.
player action.
Some interesting literature illustrating and
describing the new action and its various details
has been prepared for distribution to the trade.
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
10
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
PNEUMATICS
(Continued from page 9)
and narrow selling methods, that the public do
not want sensitive pedaling. To-day we see
more clearly, but it is still unfortunately true
that our engineering practice is not up to our
new convictions.
Smaller equalizers, smaller pumpers and less
waste of valuable air-space in the general design
will transform almost any bellows system com-
pletely so far as concerns sensitiveness in the
player mechanism.
Music vs. Mechanics
Another point should be noted. Very few
pneumatic engineers seem to have grasped the
finer points of piano playing. Any player can
play loudly and rapidly. But the right player
is the player which will play softly and
rapidly with good repetition. The defects
in bellows and action design, of which I
have been speaking, are primarily respon-
JUNE 25,
1921
sible for the inability of many players to
act well on soft pressure. Moreover, it is not
often noticed that opportunities for developing
destructive friction exist in all the details of the
junction between pneumatic stack and player
actions. There is much room for further study
here in this so neglected region.
The Clumsy Lay-out
Still another point is worth study. The work
of even the most skilled player-pianist is ham-
pered and sometimes rendered quite nugatory by
the miserably bad lay-out of the expression de-
vices. It sometimes should seem that the de-
signers of player-pianos had never played their
own instruments intelligently or did not know
how to do so. The clumsy inconvenience of the
arrangements of levers and buttons is almost in-
credible and one wonders how it has so long
been tolerated. The only reason can be found,
one supposes, in apathy and ignorance. Let the
engineers consult some good player-pianists and
they will soon see what we mean.
And let us conclude by remarking that the use
of pneumatic power when hand power is better,
as, for instance, in lifting the dampers, is fatal
to responsiveness and musical efficiency.
THE NEW W. T. S. PLAYER ACTION
New Foot-power Player Action for the Trade
Produced by Wilcox & White Co. Interests
Manufacturers—Deliveries to Start in August
of our types of twenty-five
S OME
years ago. On motors such as these
Holtzer-Cabot reputation was built.
During the long intervening years we
have taken part in the development
of many varied and difficult motor
applications.
This experience we place at the service
of our patrons in expert advice and in
motors having a low percentage of failure.
Low-trouble-factor motors conserve prof-
its and reputation.
THE HOLTZER-CABOT ELECTRIC CO.
BOSTON, MASS.
The new W. T. S. foot-power player action for
the trade, manufactured by the Wilcox &
White Co., of Meriden, Conn., and New York,
which was first formally presented to the trade
during the conventions in Chicago early in May,
has made a distinct impression upon player-
piano manufacturers, a substantial number of
whom have placed sample orders for the new
action for installation purposes. The Wilcox
& White factory is now engaged in manufac-
turing the new action in quantities, and it is
announced that deliveries will begin shortly
after August 2.
The new action is particularly interesting for
the artistic expression devices incorporated
therein to provide for individual interpretation
of music. A sensitive pumping bellows also aids
materially in attaining that end. In the produc-
tion of the new action simplicity of construc-
tion has been combined with sturdiness, and the
combination itself has likewise made a distinc-
tive appeal to the player-piano manufacturers.
The Wilcox & White Co., ranking with the
pioneers in the player field, has been noted for
its gifted technical and inventive staff, and the
experience of the organization has been reflected
in the final development of the new W. T. S.
player action.
Some interesting literature illustrating and
describing the new action and its various details
has been prepared for distribution to the trade.
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).