Gabe's Player Pianos
Introduction:
The Lexington Simplex full upright piano:
Welcome to my wonderful world of player pianos. In these pages, I attempt
to explain the joy of my involvement with player pianos and their wonderful
music. I first became strongly interested in player pianos in November, 1997.
That's not long ago, but I'm sure this is now a lifetime devotion. In 1993,
my sister, brother-in-law, and I purchased a large old house in New Jersey
which just happened to contain a "dusty, old, broken" player piano from the
1920s that had not worked for about 35 years. Only in 1997, did I have the
wearwithall to have the instrument rebuilt. The rebuilding process took three
years and the remarkable work was done by John A. Tuttle.
After having lived with and enjoyed a rebuilt player piano for about one
year now, I can easily and safely say that these are the most remarkable musical
instruments I have ever encountered. They are large, forceful, and resonant
things that play a remarkable variety of music, including Ragtime, Jazz,
Swing, Rock & Roll, and almost anything else you can think of. I wish
to share as much of this music as I can to to promote player pianos to the
best of my ability. As such, I am a member of AMICA and the Mechanical Music Digest. The
player piano community is wonderful and most people are willing to share
their experiences and knowledge of the instruments and their history, and
also that of the rolls they play (no pun intended). You'll find some of their
names and music within these pages.
Of course, being such an important part of our lives, we have named
my player piano. My mom--Patsy--and I decided some time ago to call it (her)
Mabel because this is an old-fashioned name and it "fits."
In fact, its correct name is the Lexington Super-Simplex Player Piano
Serial Number 83555, and was completed in April 1925. Here is a theoretical
history of the instrument. After being built in 1925 by the Lexington Piano
Co. (controlled by Hallet & Davis in 1925) of Boston and The Simplex Action
Co. of Worcester, Ma. it was in a music store until 1929. In December 1929,
it was purchased by Mr. Norman Lowndes as a Christmas present for his
mother. It was in the same dwelling in the period from 1929 through 2001.
The Lowndes's enjoyed it for 35 five years until the house was rented out
in the mid-1960s. Then this player piano was neglected and pretty much ignored
for the next thirty years. In 2001, it was moved to Delaware, just before
I started a new job.
The rebuilding was completed as follows. In February 1998, major repair
work was completed by John A. Tuttle. The player piano sang again! Work to
the lower section (the foot pump) was completed in May, 1998. The Simplex
Player Action was completely rebuilt as of September, 1999. Finally, the
piano action was rebuilt as of March, 2000. I use it almost daily and am
still "breaking it in." Thus, this is now a "brand new" player piano. It
tone and resonance are breathtaking to hear today and it sometimes leaves
people speechless, with a smile on their face, or a tear in their eye. Such
pianos were common in the 1920s but today most pianos are no longer built
to this standard. The best description I have received of the sound is "so
rich and sonorous."
The Weber Duo-Art baby grand piano:
Last year, I became aware of a rare Aeolian Duo-Art reproducing piano
for sale. Unfortunately, I didn't have the funds at the time to pay for it.
Thus I saved for a year with the sole purpose of buying the instrument. In
July, 2000 I did just that. This piano needs much work, but I went into the
deal knowing this. However, even as it is, it is a remarkable instrument and
I offer several recordings of it in these pages. I will rebuild this instrument
as time and funds allow. It's "official" name is the: Weber Aeolian Duo-Art
Reproducing Piano Serial Number 77300.
Victor Victrola Model IX Type G:
Another remarkable mechanical musical instrument I own is this wonderful
1917 Victrola. Within these pages, you will find recordings of this remarkable
instrument. These will be direct recordings of a wind-up Victrola of records
I own and not copies of MP3 files or re-issues.
The recordings:
In the files that you will find in these pages you can actually hear direct
recordings of my player piano playing actual player rolls. A player piano
is a real piano with the addition of the player action and related machinery
which (in my opinion) amounts to the mechanics of an automobile within the
piano case. They are very, very complex mechanical devices. They were most
popular in the 1920s when more than 2,500,000 were made. But today, working
player pianos are fairly rare. It can also be played as an ordinary
piano would be played. If fact, one could play the piano with their hands
while the player is playing a roll! My player sounds far better in person
but I think it sounds "passable" on a PC too. Try to imagine the live sound
of the instrument as being like a full live concert orchestra, whereas the
PC sound is more like an AM pocket radio. I trust one can imagine how it
would sound in person.
You will need the Real Player 8 which
is free and/or a MP3 player such as Winamp
which is also free in order to listen to these recordings. The recordings
are free; listen to them as much as you like. The recordings are here to educate,
inform, and to enjoy. Please DO NOT sell them. I hope you will use them in
the spirit in which they are intended.
To the best of my knowledge, all of the works posted at this website
are in the public domain. If you are the copyright owner of any of these works
and wish me to remove them please contact me at this email address: GabeDellaFave@mindspring.com
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