I finally was able to make a few recordings of my newly rebuilt 1925 M&H RBB using the Zoom H4 and the built in mics. Pictures will follow shortly. The piano arrived last week.

The piano is really a joy to see, hear and play. It turned out beautifully. I only had time to do a cursory tuning, ( I tune my own piano ... so in these recordings, the piano is not quite in tune...but you can at least hear the basic tone, and also hear how well the Ampico roll playing machine reproduces, as well as the Stahnke LX retro fit kit. The Ampico rolls you are hearing are from the 1920's. The LX recordings were recently made for the LX.

Ampico Rolls:

http://www.box.net/shared/468tigatfv (Original Rachmaninoff Ampico Piano Roll, "Polichinelle" played by Rachmaninoff)

http://www.box.net/shared/9krvbqrees ( Re-cut Ampico roll, "Mes Joies" played by Moritz Rosenthal)

http://www.box.net/shared/ih8ztut6yc (Original Ampico roll, "Bamabalina" Fox Trot played by Vincent Lopez


Stahnke LX recordings:

http://www.box.net/shared/fc0ras0pyl (Earl Wild plays Chopin) ( my dog contributes a bark during this recording )

http://www.box.net/shared/jz6n6vuuth (Dick Hyman plays Fats Waller I )

http://www.box.net/shared/eku3uub2jn (Dick Hyman Plays Fats Waller II )

Nice mix of styles to show off the beautiful tone of the BB. What a great way to start off the day...coffee and listening to this classic! Thanks for sharing it with us.

I'm having my morning coffee and smiling as well. Hearing Rachmaninoff play on a 1925 M&H is the closest I'll ever come to climbing onto a time machine. What a treat!

Thanks much for sharing

Thanks, glad you are enjoying them. Here are some of the moving pictures etc. The piano was driven up from Annaheim Hills Calif to Oregon.

The movers were great, a couple of big Samoan fellows, but they were still grunting, having to lift this RBB, weighing in about 1,100 lbs+!

It must be incredible to feel that Rachmaninoff is sitting right there in your living room!

Amazing how the technology of the '20s produces such a range of sound.

Thanks for posting this!

Wow, How fascinating! The mechanical parts of the player system is amazing to view.

Is that Randy Cox's signature written in Sharpie on the plate?

OMG - what does that beast weigh?

LOL...about 1,100lbs+ kenny.

Sharp eyes Mark, yes that is his signature...since he was responsible for rebuilding the whole piano, also the Ampico, and installing the LX, I wanted his signature on the plate since, plus it's an historic piano, the only one of it's kind in existence, and, he did such a superb job restoring it. I hope I can someday get Wayne Stahnke to sign it as well, since I have the very first LX in existence.

RickG, definitely a fascinating piece of early technology, running on only vacuum! What is also amazing, is that Randy Cox invented his own acrylic valves to replace the wooden Ampico valves...extremely efficient and they work beautifully.

birchy, yes, that's one of perks of having one of these reproducing pianos, the ability to hear pianists like Rachmaninoff live in your living room. Every Ampico roll had to be approved for final distribution by the artist, so what you are playing on your piano, is an exact copy of what Rachmaninoff would have heard before it was released.

Below are some close ups of the underside of the RBB and of the acrylic valves I spoke about. The Rachmaninoff roll I recorded, "Polichinell" is also pictured.

Here are 2 more rolls I recorded. The Olga Steeb roll is extremely rare, and most likely the only roll in existence. My fellow Ampico collectors tell me this roll is what is called a "sub-master", meaning it was the last master roll before duplication, but it was never released. My plan is to preserve this roll and have it professionally re-cut, and also scanned into a high-res midi file so it can also be played on solenoid pianos.


http://www.box.net/shared/90brxxkfpi Steeb Liszt Tarantella Venezia e
Napoli

http://www.box.net/shared/6b8sd768t1 Godowsky Chopin Waltz OP 42 Aflat


Here is another 20's Fox Trot called "By the Waters of the Minnetonka" played by Zez Confrey ....fun stuff!

http://www.box.net/shared/4xnecoxqi7 (By the Waters of the Minnetonka, Ampico Fox Trot p/by Zes Confrey)

Wow, congratulations GP! Looks great, and sounds wonderful!

Hope you get many, many years of enjoyment out of it--you deserve it!


(mo pix plz)

In that last picture, you can see how far back the sustain pedal solenoid is from the trapwork, and it's mounted horizontally, too. That must have been quite a challenge to get its motion transferred through the Ampico stack area and delivered to just the right spot and with the right mechanical advantage! (And in such a way that both the Ampico and human players can activate the pedal too!)

It looks so complicated! How did all of that fit there?

Sounds wonderful GPM - you must be so pleased.

How does one get these rolls? Is there some kind of club? LL

The sound is certainly beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I am unable to see the pictures (perhaps because your photo hosting server is blocked by our filter). I'll take a look when I get home.

Again, thanks for posting the audio. I was quite impressed with the sound of the BB and with the technology of the time period.

Looks and sounds wonderfull nice PIANO...jealousy setting in, listening to By the Waters of the Minnetonka as I type....smile from ear to ear...thanks for posting

Beautiful piano!

Please note that the fireplace that close, and directly facing the piano, can cause serious humidity damage. Those windows appear to be south-facing, as well.

I suggest getting a meter to monitor humidity in this room. Ask Randy about how to control it with a player system like this. Humidity can affect the paper rolls as well as the electronics. I've never used a Dampp-Chaser in this situation (anyone else?); controlling the entire room would be a better solution. At least avoid frequent large fires if you can.

--Cy--

Thanks everyone for your comments~! Cy, thanks for your concern...I too was worried about the fireplace and the windows. The fireplace will not be used at all while the piano is sitting there. I have an Edwards String cover and a heavy taffeta piano cover for the whole piano...also, there is a vinyl cover that covers the whole belly of the piano. Randy was not able to fit a damp chaser under there, since there is so much stuff there, no room! So, he put in the damp chaser humidistat...he then had the idea to buy one of those night lights you plug in to the wall..he then added a 15 watt small appliance bulb to at least give some heat...at this time, the light stays on all the time, so obviously it's not enough heat to turn off the humidistat.

In Oregon, the humidity stays between 46-50 most of the time during the winter....so I am hoping between the string cover, piano cover, and the vinyl cover, with the help of the 15 watt bulb, that the humidity will be a bit less.

LilyLady, those original Ampico rolls can be found on Ebay, and in private collections that are put up for sale....but a lot of the times, they are in poor shape due to bad storage over the years, attics, garages etc. The paper they used back then was not acid free (...so that's why my rebuilder suggested an air tracker bar...no fingers to make the edges of the paper tear etc. As far as fitting both playback systems in there, it was a gigantic feat of engineering! It has never been done before. Randy is to be commended for this project. This is the only piano in the world like it.

Mark, the way Randy engineered this is remarkable. The Ampico dampers work with a pulley system. I have never seen them work so effortlessly and precise before.

Glad everyone is enjoying the music and the piano...it really is something to sit there and hear these great pianists play in your living room.

I have a few more mp3's to post later today or tomorrow.

double post

Here is one more Ampico roll called "Amour Couqet" composed and played by Rudolf Friml. Again, apologies ...my RBB is not quite in tune. Enjoy!

http://www.box.net/shared/c49qqvlsey

That is a fabulous piano and a work of art. Not to mention a possible national treasure. Very nice indeed!

Thanks Dennis, it is definitely one of a kind, as there has never been a grand piano with both an Ampico and a modern solenoid playback system in one piano. The modifications to the Ampico, in order to make it fit, actually improved the performance of the Ampico in some areas, and there were no compromises in the other areas of playback. The LX as well....as you can hear in that Earl Wild piece and the Dick Hyman, the LX playback is superb.

I can't wait for the www.Zenph.com folks to release their work in their high-res midi format, so that it can be enjoyed on these solenoid systems, live!
Can you imagine how great it will be to have Glenn Gould or Art Tatum live, on your piano, anytime you like...and think of all the other great pianists out there that have left us their recorded legacy.

Here is another Dick Hyman Jazz piece played with the Stahnke LX on my rebuilt 1925 Mason & Hamlin RBB..recorded with the Zoom H4 and the built in mics. There are some extraneous dog noises in the background...am going to have to put the dogs in the back of the house when I record!

http://www.box.net/shared/2l4a2j8ofu

Dogs in the background is not as disruptive as the d... telephone ringing at the wrong time!

Especially towards the 'end' of the piece!!!

;-)

Thanks for sharing....it seems like we are in another world hearing these recordings!

I am not sure what the heck is going on with my machine. Last week I could hear tracks via windows media player, but this week, it says it can't find the file (system) or something like that. I can still download some things from the internet and play them though. Like this one.

But I couldn't hear the Chopin Recital. None of them will play. UGH, I hate computer frustrations.

HELP!

LL

You're welcome lilylady....Here is another Ampico Classical roll from the 1920's...a "salon" piece if you will. I must have had the Zoom on high gain, because there is some distortion, but it's an interesting piece. The piano is also a bit more out of tune on this roll. Enjoy!

Computers can be very frustrating!!

http://www.box.net/shared/b1nt6jcp1q

DEAR GP,
TRULY AWESOME PIANO! Thanks for sharing the pictures and recordings. Your recordings demonstrate the potential of these great instruments. Your Ampico is amazingly expressive. All the best!

grandpianoman, this is incredible. I wish I had a setup like this. Just call Rachmaninoff to play for you any time you feel like it. Thanks for showing this to us.

grandpianoman, I'm curious. Have these piano rolls ever been translated to some other player format? Or are these rolls one of a kind?

double post

Hi Jazzwee,

You're very welcome! I am happy to share this with everyone here at PW....the Ampico reproducing mechanism and the others, Duo-Art, and the Welte, are fast disappearing, and unless we show people what they were able to do back then, they will be forgotten and relegated to museums.

You're right, it's an amazing thing to be able to hear Rachmaninoff actually play your piano. When you put on an original roll or even a good re-cut of an original, you are hearing what the artist played and heard at that time. Rachmaninoff and every other Ampico artist had to ok the final roll before it was released. The roll had to go through many edits before it was deemed perfect for release. Rachmaninoff was paid $1,000 for every roll he made!

A lot of these rolls have been and are being preserved by people/collectors who are concerned that these rolls are disappearing, mainly due to the paper disintegrating. These rolls are approaching 80-90 and 100 years now. Unfortunately, they did not have the foresight back then to use acid free paper. These rolls are being re-cut on acid free paper as we speak, and are also being preserved in the midi format for playback on any solenoid based piano, like the Stahnke LX that is also installed in my RBB. Most all of the these rolls were mass produced, so there are a lot of copies around, but some are rarer than others. The Olga Steeb roll for example, http://www.box.net/shared/90brxxkfpi Liszt Tarantella Venezia e
Napoli ....that I found in a recent collection I had purchased, is truly one of a kind, as it's a roll that was never released, but that's not the norm.

Wayne Stahnke is also preserving these rolls in his high-resolution format for playback on his LX system. As you may know by now, the LX system is a retro-fit kit system that can be installed in ANY piano. When you play a high-res scan from one of these rolls, you hear the exact expression etc that was on the original roll! So if you would like to have something like the Ampico, without having to collect and store all these rolls etc, and worry about the old paper disintegrating etc, the LX would be the perfect solution in your Steinway O! Not only can you have these old rolls play, the LX plays pretty much any midi file on the market now, so modern piano music is also at your fingertips. You can contact Mr. Stahnke at www.live-performance.com to find out more about the LX. I can also put you in touch with my re-builder who is in Anaheim Hills. He did an exemplary job in installing the LX in my RBB and the Ampico as well, in fact my RBB is the only one like it in the world, with both playback systems. He would be able to install the LX in your Steinway O as well. The LX system is minimally invasive to the piano, the only cutting is in the keybed I believe...the trapwork is not changed. Contrary to what people think, it does not reduce the value of the piano.

When my piano settles in a bit more, I will record more mp3's of some fantastic Ampico rolls and LX material.

I posted these a few months back in another posting, but thought it would be interesting for everyone reading this post to hear what the Stahnke LX can do with modern midi files. These were taken from Disklaiver floppies and transfered on to a CD and played through the LX. They were recorded at my rebuilders shop with my Zoom H4, where the piano had been sitting for about a year, but in a smaller room, and the piano was in somewhat better tune.

"Out of Africa" p/b Brian Pezzone on my rebuilt 1925 M&Hamlin BB http://www.box.net/shared/3quit73v4s

"Somewhere in Time" p/b Brian Pezzone on my rebuilt 1925 M&Hamlin RBB http://www.box.net/shared/j3teu2rjr5

Well my curiosity of what these Ampico rolls look like led me to this site. Look around. Shows many pics of piano being taken apart and put back together.

http://www.revealer.com/ampico/

Old photo of Ampico truck 1919 and manylists of rolls and books which were collected.

These Ampico Rolls that you are using - are they the same ones that were used in the old uprights?

LL