Well, Rob, You are wrong on one point - rolls are NOT are to find - if - you no where to look. There is always eBay - as well as - many re-cutters are "into" reproducing rolls. And, Yes, if you are going to rebuild it to resell it - FORGET IT. BUT, if you are rebuilding it - to keep it and preserve the rarity of the piano and play it - then YES it is worth rebuilding. Aside, IMHO, the U.S. is the worst at PRESERVING the rarity of antique instruments. When I look on YouTube, I see tons of antique instruments (pianos, band organs, nickelodeons, huge dance organs, etc) from all over the world, especially Germany, Belgium, etc, that some date back to the early 1800's - we, the U.S. would consider junk and rip apart and throw it away. Recorded at the AMICA Sutter Creek, CA Band Organ Rally Oct 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V0wrr0bodU&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmTTI5lIdxI&feature=related AND, I'm personally trying to do my part - of having nearly 800 rolls being re-cut as new ones to put back in the marketplace. http://www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com/store/recut-player-piano-rolls/by-title.html Even QRS, is seeing a revival, however small, in piano roll sales and is starting to stock up on rolls again. And most of my rolls are - not - QRS - so that definitely adds to selection. My next project, is to take sheet music, copy it into some composing software, convert it to a form that the recutters can use and put - even - more songs back in the market place. (Along with keep my rebuilds going - scheduled through until *2015)* Another aside, I've been reading some articles about all the band organ, around in the U.S., at carousel sites that are going in disrepair, because the people don't want to spend the money to keep them up. BUT, to keep the ambiance and the customers rolling in, they set aside the band organ and put in a CD sound system and play the band organ music. The non-U.S. sites would repair them in a heart beat because they want to preserve these beautiful instruments. In this "throw away" society, if we had more people like me - these instruments would never die. Helping to keep the rolls alive, Duaine On 12/30/2010 10:26 AM, Roger at Integra.net wrote: > Rob, > I believe Joe is correct, it just wasn't practical to ship a piano > around the "horn". Having dealt with players and reproducers over the > last 30 years, I would guess it's value to be around $1,000 to $2,000. > If both the piano and the player unit need to be rebuilt I would think > my photo appraisal would be generous. I own a moving and piano storage > facility here and many of those ilk have gone through this > warehouse having been given away or dumped. The exception are those > reproducers such as Ampico, Duo-Art and Welte, and even then it's a > risky investment. Check with AMICA (Automatic Musical Instrument > Collectors Association) @ amica.org for more insight. Another factor > that devalues those players is the fact that it is difficult and > expensive to obtain rolls for them, and what value would the piano > have if after spending thousand of dollars rebuilding only to discover > no rolls were available? If it's a wreck of a piano, then maybe > kindling would be an appropriate use. > Roger Gable > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Joseph Garrett <mailto:joegarrett at earthlink.net> > *To:* pianotech <mailto:pianotech at ptg.org> > *Sent:* Thursday, December 30, 2010 2:33 AM > *Subject:* [pianotech] re Weber player grand > > Rob said: > "I have a client who has an early 1900's Weber Grand Player Piano. > They want to sell it, however, it's been in long term storage. I'm > working on gaining access to the piano to get some better info and > photos but it may be a week or two. > > I am told it came around the Cape in South America to California > just after the turn of the century. It spent a large amount of > time in a mansion in Riverside, CA and has now been in a sealed > and humidified storage vault in Southern California for the last > 20 years. > > I know I'm not going to get a hard value, or even close, until I > can get a good look at it, but I'm curious about the approximate > value range and if this piano has any intrinsic value beyond just > being a piano. I don't know much about this model and the rarity > of it. Could it be a museum piece or is it just a dime a dozen? > > Any insight or input is appreciated..." > > Rob, > I wish I was given $5.00 for every time I've heard.."it came > around the horn", I'd be a rich man! Sheesh! In over 35 years of > dealing with "antique piano clients", I've only had one client > that could produce a bill of lading from a ship, proving that it, > in fact, did come around the horn with all of the family's > possessions. What ya need to understand is that the Golden spike > was driven around 1860's. No one, in their right mind would ship a > piano on a ship, when the darned railway system was available. > Just doesn't make sense. As for value, depends on the condition. I > have feeling it isn't in very good conditon. If it was "interred" > 20 years ago, it was, no doubt worn out, (or close to it), by the > 1990's! > Of course, there are a few "cream puffs" that were never played in > those "mansions in Riverside".<G> ;-0 > The reality on players is that there is a very narrow market for > them. Especially since the Disclaviers and such have hit the > scene. The cost to rebuild just the player mechanism is almost as > much as rebuilding the rest of the darned thing.. if the work is > top grade, that is. Just my take on this sort of thing. > (I suppose the Heckler's going to chime in and make me out as > wrong and that it can be rebuilt for less than $1,000.00!) Yeah, > right. <G> > Regards, > Joe > > > Joe Garrett, R.P.T. > Captain of the Tool Police > Squares R I > > -- Duaine Hechler Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ Tuning, Servicing & Rebuilding Reed Organ Society Member Florissant, MO 63034 (314) 838-5587 dahechler at att.net www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com -- Home & Business user of Linux - 10 years
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