Empeco Mystery Solved?
By John Phillips
A couple of months ago I asked MMD subscribers if anyone new anything about Empeco Expression rolls. Several people very kindly responded but no-one was able to produce much solid information.
I think I've found the answer; on my own bookshelf! I was looking up the nominal widths of various piano rolls and there on page 102 of Treasures of Mechanical Music by Art Reblitz ansd David Bowers (Vestal Press, 1981) was the following:
EMPECO EXPRESSION PIANOS
The Empeco system, popular in Europe but virtually unknown in America, was used by Philipps, Kastner and several other European manufacturers in the same manner that the Recordo system in America was installed in different piano makes. While most Empeco pianos were made for home use, some Empeco systems were installed in coin-operated instruments for use in public locations.
EMPECO ROLL (Expression roll)
1 Mezzoforte
2 Decrescendo
3 Mandolin off/on
4 Sustaining pedal
5 Bass accent
6 - 91, 86 playing notes
92 Rewind
93 Shutoff
94 Treble accent
95 Crash decrescendo
96 Treble crash
97 Cancel
98 Mezzo piano
Hole 3 has three vertical holes in the tracker bar which are multiplexed to turn the mandolin on and off.
That's it from Art and David. I could add that my four rolls have snakebite accent perfs and play perfectly well on my themodist upright pedal player . I guess that means that the thin horizontal slots on a themodist tracker bar are at holes 5 and 94.
I do have a few ordinary Empeco classical rolls. These are just like most other makes of European classical player rolls. They are themed but they don't have a Metrosyle line.
John Phillips. |
(Message sent Wed 25 Sep 1996, 00:40:20 GMT, from time zone GMT+1000.) |
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