How good were pianolas? Modern recording methods rendered them obsolete but for hifi sound you can't beat them. Don't know what got me onto pianolas but this youtube video brought back memories. It's all done with cogs levers and vacuum. As a little fellow I wasn't heavy enough to pump the bellows without applying a full strength underhand grip to the keyboard. That no doubt helped my windsurfing later on.




Here's Scott Joplin recorded in 1902.

Just got asked by my 5 year old son to put the 'Star Wars' roll in ours. So cool, no human could possibly play it unless they have about 6 hands.

New rolls available here:
pianolarollparadise.webs.com/new-roll-catalogue

and other places.

A couple of months ago, there was 5 or 6 player pianos, and a bunch of regular old upright pianos at Balcatta recycling centre.

I guess someone cleaned out their shed, or they came from a deceased estate clean out.

They were looking in half reasonable nick, until it rained

pretty sure they ended up crushed and dumped.



stephen

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sn said..
A couple of months ago, there was 5 or 6 player pianos, and a bunch of regular old upright pianos at Balcatta recycling centre.

I guess someone cleaned out their shed, or they came from a deceased estate clean out.

They were looking in half reasonable nick, until it rained

pretty sure they ended up crushed and dumped.



stephen

That is a real shame. Pianolas are one of man's greatest inventions.

When I was a kid the family over the road had one and half a dozen of us would have a ball playing and dancing to it.

My mum still has one and it still gets used when we visit.

It has a cast iron frame (inside a very nice timber outer) and is very heavy. When she bought it she hired a removalist firm to move it into the house; eleven years later we moved house and she hired the same firm. The removalist guy took one look at it and said, "Not this bloody thing again!"

I hired a piano removalist to move the pianola from the garage into the house $125 well spent

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cisco said..

That is a real shame. Pianolas are one of man's greatest inventions.

Agreed, and the story of the invention is worth a look.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano

It's interesting that only 100 years ago solenoids and electric motors were mostly dismissed. Check out the 5 bellows vacuum motor and the speed control device on this Pianola built in 1915.

Rockdale Outdoor Gallery Art Prize is on at Kyeemagh until the end of March. This is not part of the competition -