http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwBotuChuoI.

Damn this old piano sounds great!

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"I'd rather have a CRT than nothing" - me
"people just throw working CRTs out, it is NOT FUNNY!" -me

I want an upright, like the sound of some old ones from 1920s. I have a "tuning-hammer" tool and have tried tuning with string dampers and microphone + frequency counter using note freq chart.

I've got a beautiful Weber Duo Art pianola given to me by my Great Aunt. She told me that on Saturday nights they used to roll the carpet up in the drawing room, crank up a foxtrot on the pianola and have a great time. I spent many hours as a kid in her house at Ashfield playing every roll she had. Sadly she passed away about 20 years ago at a great age, she was a real character. She ran a boarding house at Kings Cross during the 20's and 30's, she asked no questions about what her tenants did for a living but they were forbidden to bring their work home! My first radio, the AWA in my avatar, was also hers.

The pianola still works well but is in desperate need of tuning and a few adjustments. Until recent years the Mastertouch company was still recording contemporary music and manufacturing rolls from their huge catalogue. I supported them as much as possible and have music from John Farham, Elton John and the theme from The Man From Snowy River. Sadly due to the dwindling market for pianola rolls they are no longer in business.

I had a similar experience with my grandmother's pianola but I can't recall the brand.

As kids we would crank through the collection of rolls and usually play them far too fast. Grandma would come in and correct the tempo.

She and grandfather were too old to pump the bellows, and the pneumatic tubes were suffering from hardening of the arteries, too, so it was a bit wheezy on some notes.

I don't know what happened to that pianola. It was big and heavy and not the sort of thing you'd carry from place to place.

The late Denis Condon of Newtown had a collection of thousands of rolls and some fantastic player (or reproducing) pianos. Back in the 1980s I had the opportunity to see and hear them as part of a tour.

Here are some of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqbVWWK5Vc8.

It's certainly heavy. Apart from the initial move from Ashfield to the Blue Mountains over 20 years ago, it's moved house with us another 4 times. Always with a professional piano removalist but probably why it needs a good tune. I did play the piano as a kid but it's not like riding a bike, you do lose the knack over time.

I used to be able to play but can't now due to time and Arthur Ryetiss.

We have a good vintage pipe organ where I work and I'd love to be able to tear off Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem on it but it ain't gunna happen.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

"I've got a beautiful Weber Duo Art pianola given to me by my Great Aunt."

It's interesting that you mention the Weber/Duo Art. I ran across one of these at Teen Challenge Thrift Store. It was a fantastic sounding (c.1920's?) piano! Clean, bright, precise, slightly Honky Tonk, I've been raving about them ever since!

In their day the Weber's reputation rivalled that of Steinway. My Aunt was born in 1899 and saved up to buy it herself so I'm guessing it's from the late teens or early twenties. I'll have to move some of my radios off the top so I can see whether it was made in the US or Australia. I've read that Weber (Aeolian) had factories all over the world.

My great-uncle had one I've never seen before or since. It had no keyboard at all, so useless without the rolls. Also, it got away with being about half the size of an upright piano in all directions. Not sure whether it had the full octave range of a piano, but it played standard rolls.

Maven

It had no keyboard at all

Probably a reproducing piano. Take a look at the YouTube clip in post #5. I think the one with the big bellows exposed is key-less.

In any case, the German company Welte produced one in the early 1900s.

Someone was chasing an electric organ for free, might have even been Nathan: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/new-farm/keyboards-pianos/vintage-kawai-organ/1033613012.

"I've read that Weber (Aeolian) had factories all over the world."

Saw an actual Aeolain white upright piano today at Building Household-goods recycle store, it needed some work but sounded very harmonically rich! They also had a Voss and Starr models , the Starr being a standout.

Once heard an Aeolian Orchestrelle in a mansion, another exceptional product that the owner was once offered large sum for, but may have come back down in price now?