Pianolas Bought & Sold

Mechanical Music
Pianolas

FOR SALE. 1917 Weber Player Piano (ex Mickleburgh)
£1,000. SOLD
This lovely 88 note Weber Model, pictured above and below, was found in Jarrow in July 2004 and is in wonderful condition, considering it is nearly ninety years old. From the Serial No: 73916 on the case our research shows that it was built around 1916/17. The craftsmanship is second only to Steinway. It has had a full recent restoration. One needs to bear in mind this involves the replacement of over 95 pneumatic bellows and fifty meters of rubber tubing and is extremely labour intensive, as the instruments are complex. But, once set up and in correct adjustment, they will give twenty to thirty years of pleasure. Rolls are abundant and newly cut QRS or JAM rolls are our personal choice and recommended. The instrument comes with its own Maintenance and Repair Handbook, an Instruction Manual, Piano Stool, 25 Rolls and a current QRS Roll Catalogue.
Please call in if you would like a demonstration. If, like me, you are musical, but cannot play the piano, then these machines are a never-ending source of pleasure.

Bob Speer. 2007


Player Pianos have been bought, restored and sold here since 1999. They are all commonly, but erroniously, called Pianolas. In fact, The Pianola Company was just one very successful manufacturer of Player Pianos. Other famous makes include Welte Mignon, Steinway, Weber, Steck, Aeolian, Angelus and Gulbranson. We currently have no pianolas in stock (March 2008), but do have a collection of 70 rolls...all priced at £2 each.
The concept of a piano under the control of a paper tape roll has a long history and is in fact a late Victorian form of tape recording. Early models begin to appear around 1890, they then reach a peak of popularity and production in the early 1920’s, and then gradually fall into decline during the late 1930’s…basically due to competition from the phonograph (gramophone), their complexity, and their relatively high cost. Modern versions are under floppy disc, CD, or Midi control and are seeing a revival in popularity by professional musicians. The original paper roll controlled Player Piano that we sell here, although complex, is still remarkable for the quality of its musical flexibility and reproduction, once the playing technique has been mastered.

"Magisches Theater! Eintritt nicht fur jedermann!" Hesse

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