At 01:31 PM 2/27/2002 -0500, you wrote: >Does anyone know if player pianos have dynamic control/dynamics??? Reproducing pianos, Duo-Art, Welte, Ampico, Recordo have coding on the sides on the rolls to trigger the expression units. These units control the amount of vacuum to the treble and bass. More vacuum closes the pneumatics faster creating a louder note. So these would increase or decrease the air flow in a given section with however many notes being played. The effect would be to momentarily increase the vacuum while the melody note is being played and return to 'normal' for the embellishments. These rolls aren't 'exactly' as the artist performed them because a roll editor needed to tweak the master to allow for the delay in signalling the expressions to function so there is a slight 'interpretation'. An old standard pump player can be pumped in such a way as to accentuate the tempo with a harder pump creating a louder dynamic on the beat. Some players had a lever which operated a slide valve to control the vacuum supplied to the stack. Others had buttons which worked pneumatics which moved the hammers closer to the strings. The hammer rail was split into two sections, bass and treble. If you pressed the bass button, the bass hammer rail would move closer and the treble is louder. Similar for the treble. However, once electrified, an old player just plods along (unattended) at a monotonous volume. Installation of a rheostat on the vacuum motor would adjust the air flow for desired volume. The old reproducing pianos are something to here. I've only heard the Ampicos, the B model has much more expression than the A. There are opinions out there where the new solenoid driven piano can't hold a candle to a properly restored pneumatic reproducer. Regards, Jon Page, piano technician Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass. mailto:jonpage@attbi.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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