Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
FEBRUARY 6,
1926
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
The Miniature Upright Player-Piano—
Its Cost and Its Design
Small Upright, So Popular at the Present Time With the Piano-Buying Public, Has Not as Yet Come
to Make Any Great Impression on the Player End of the Industry—Reduction in Size Does Not
Necessarily Mean Reduction in Cost—Some Considerations on This Instrument's Design
MONG the most interesting of the recent
developments in the piano industry has
been the very small upright, meaning by
that the miniature of less than four feet high.
Originally started as a piano for schools, the
little upright has gradually found a place for^
itself in the city home, in the children's nursery
or playroom, in the music studio and in many
other places. It is already a definitely estab-
lished feature of the piano industry, and as such
has a place all its own.
Now the question of putting a player action
into the miniature upright has often been raised
and some work has been done along this line.
Nevertheless, in general the idea has not caught
on with any great rapidity, so that the minia-
ture upright has hardly yet come to make any
great impression upon the player end of the in-
dustry. Yet for a good many reasons, it must
be evident that there is a great deal to be said
for a player-piano of this relatively tiny size.
The commercial considerations may be briefly
discussed and dismissed. They rest mainly up-
on the obvious fact that a small piano fits in
best in the contracted living quarters of city
flats in which to-day so many millions live.
There is also the considerations of bulk and
handiness. In fact, although the larger up-
rights will continue to sell and probably will
always have the lead in the player field, there
should be a place for the very small player. The
question now is whether the technical problem
of design thus put before us is really too dif-
ficult.
Cost
Speaking first of cost, no one need suppose
that the reduction in size will necessarily in-
volve any reduction in cost. The small piano
looks a good deal less than the larger one, but
in fact the only saving is in the quantity of
lumber and of wire used. Action, soundboard,
hammers, are much the same, and the work of
assembly is not in the least lessened.
Design
On the other hand, with the installation of the
player action there spring into being several
problems which otherwise have no existence
at all. The first of these relates to the bellows
system. It will at once be evident of course
that the pneumatic stack of the little player
must have just about as much power as the
stack in a larger player. In other words, it is
not possible to have the pneumatics any smaller
unless they are to be operated at higher pres-
sure. On the other hand, the pneumatics re-
quire valves and the valves in turn call for
chambers and air passages. These all can indeed
be cut down to a certain extent, and in one way
the necessity for compressing and compacting
everything has its advantages. When every-
thing has to be reduced to the smallest com-
pass, there is every reason for watching the
sizes of the air passages and the chambers.
Since these latter are, pneumatically, no more
than holders which entrap a quantity of air that
is of no use but which has to be moved, it is
evident that any reduction which can be made
in size furnishes in itself very much of an ad-
vantage. Thus, the small player action may
even have advantages over its larger brother.
Since, however, the bellows must also be small
in proportion, the question of producing a de-
sign which shall combine power with the neces-
sary small size of the units is vastly important.
Nor is it one of those questions which can be
A
settled merely by inspection. There is a great
deal of it which can only be completely settled
by experiment. For instance, it is evident that
if the size is to be smaller, the pressure capacity
must be larger. It is likewise evident that if
the pressure capacity is to be greater the leakage
margin inust be cut down before anything else
is done. This means non-porous material and
tight joints throughout. That in turn means
increased cost.
Again higher pressure involves better design,
with a view to moving more air in a given time,
or with a given number of strokes of the pedals.
Mainly the question of how much air can be
moved in a given time is a question of the size
of the units; but also it may be a question of
the size and placement of the air passages in the
walls, of the tightness of the flap valves and
of other parallel matters.
In designing the bellows unit for work in
such difficult circumstances it is necessary
nearly always to envisage a smaller unit and
probably one can find room only for a single
equalizer bellows. If possible, and in order to
make room, the motor governor and the ex-
pression governor too, if there be one, should
be placed above the key bed on top of the pneu-
matic stack. This will help in making room
for an equalizer of the appropriate size.
Economies Possible
All sorts of small economies can indeed be
made, when one resolutely sets out to make
them. For instance, the large and power-con-
suming sustaining pedal pneumatic should defi-
nitely be abolished and in its place should be
installed a simple lever connection from the sus-
taining pedal rod of the piano action to a finger
plate on the key-slip.
It is always difficult to understand why man-
ufacturers should listen to the bleatings of deal-
ers who say that the public wants buttons in-
stead of levers on the key-slip. Buttons mean
pneumatics and pneumatics mean expenditure
of power. There is never any power to spare
on a pedal driven player-piano nor, for that mat-
ter (though this does not enter into the present
question), in the electric driven instrument
either. To waste power deliberately is in the
highest degree foolish. As for the purchasing
public, if dealers had not deliberately cultivated
fads like the fad for buttons, no such nonsense
would ever have been heard of. The public
would never have had the wit to think of any
such thing. Moreover, the lever is certain, sim-
ple and just as easy to operate. Why argue?
There is another point of course in this
question of design. The depth of the piano case
cannot be so great in a very small player in-
strument because if it were, the design would
have a dreadfully dumpy appearance. Some-
thing must be done to preserve the lines of the
case, and this means in effect that the pneu-
matic stack must be as shallow as possible.
More concretely it means that the spool box
must be set back, preferably above the ham-
mers. This should not be irritating to the eye
of the user, and constructionally need not be
difficult. One has to be careful to keep the two
sets of spools as near to each other as may be.
The very small player-piano then calls for
careful design, but it is not necessarily either
unpractical or inefficient.
Standard Player Actions
Stand Up in Australia
Nicaragua, New Zealand, Portugal, Porto Rico,
Peru, Philippine Islands, Switzerland, Spain,
Scotland, Sweden, Trinidad, Tasmania, United
States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Wales.
Interesting Letter Describes Manner in Which
Standard Player Action Has Responded to
Service Demands in That Country
Becker Bros. New Catalog
Becker Rros., New York, old-established
The spreading popularity of the Standard piano manufacturer, has just issued its com-
player action, made by the Standard Pneumatic plete new catalog illustrating and describing the
Action Co., New York, is being attested con- various styles of pianos both grand and upright,
stantly by letters received by the company as well as players and reproducing instruments
from foreign countries. Among the recent let- manufactured by that company. The catalog
ters of praise for this action is one from Charles is of a convenient size for insertion in the ordi-
H. Cooling, of Melbourne, Australia, who nary envelope and should prove of value to the
writes in part as follows: "About a month ago dealer in his contact with prospects.
I was demonstrating at a country show a
Through the medium of the Peabody Piano
Davenport-Treacy with your action and played Co. of Baltimore, twenty-one Becker Bros, up-
same for two days. I can honestly say not a rights were sold to the school authorities of that
hitch occurred. I may mention the player was city recently for installment in the public schools.
in no way specially prepared, having been taken
out of a local music shop, where it had been
played for ten months prior to my using. That
speaks pretty well for the Standard Pneumatic.
Papers of incorporation have been filed re-
It was a single valve."
The Standard Player Monthly, house organ cently by the Dorfman-Heitler Musical Instru-
of the Standard Pneumatic Action Co., has for ment Co., New York, which has an authorized
some months been featuring a series of articles capital stock of $3,000. E. Heitler, H. Dorfman
on "Countries Where the Standard Player Ac- and M. H. Schneider are the proprietors.
tion and the Standard Player Monthly are
Known and Esteemed." Fifty countries are
listed: Africa, Australia, Argentina, Alaska, Bar-
bados, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Can-
Hermann Irion, of Steinway & Sons, will leave
ada, Canary Islands, China, Colombia, Chile, this week for a fortnight's stay in Florida
Cuba, Denmark, Dominica, Egypt, Ecuador, where his wife, Yolanda Mero, the noted pianist,
England, Finland, France, Germany, Guate- has arranged to give a series of recitals in
mala, Hawaii, Holland, India, Ireland, Italy, Florida cities under the auspices of S. Ernest
Jamaica, R. W. I., Japan, Mexico, Norway, Philnitt the prominent music dealer.
Dorfman-Heitler Chartered
Hermann Irion to Florida