Player Piano Revival Episode 1: Removing Everything
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 พ.ย. 2022
- This 105-year-old player piano is in dire need of an overhaul if it's ever going to be anything more than just a shelving unit.
I often feel like I'm operating inside a vacuum in my little piano shop. It's time to change that. Buckle up, I'm going to try something!
Music: QRS Player Piano Roll The Crazy Otto - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Once in a while the TH-cam algorithm suggests some absolute gems, and your channel is one of them! Going to really enjoy this restoration series. The description of how your Grandfather modified his piano with a vacuum cleaner motor is such a classic Grampa thing to do - a classic bit of make do and mend!
Hi Chris, your kind words really make my day. Grandpas: Where would we be without them?
i ve only just become aware of these machines when a couple of urban explorers came across one rotting way in an abandoned house i knew what it did but they had no idea what it did iam so pleased that some one like you loves them as much as i do they are magical
What a thrill to have stumbled upon one in its natural habitat like that!
The Reblitz books are great. But as Art says, a perfect player is no good if the piano inst working right.
Exactly!
what a lovely arts & craft model this is, truly a rarity amongst its peers!
It certainly is!
Great video, Nate! Thanks for opening a window into your world of restoration of these beauties. I'm fascinated by the details of how every piece depends on the rest to create the magic in the end. And your commitment to "sympathetic restoration" is admirable. Adding just the right amount of musical context and unexpected humor stokes the appetite for more. It will be fun to watch your progress. On to the next...
Hi Jon, thanks for your comment. You make a great point; every piece is there for a reason!
My brother just sent me this link and I'm ecstatic ! I knew a piano technician in Milwaukee who had one of these special players that he had just finished restoring in 1976 so I not only learned a lot but got to sit at the keyboard and pump to some wonderful old AND new rolls. Thank you for taking the time to YT and share!
I appreciate your comment! You're welcome and thank you for watching!
In a few weeks I will receive an Aeolian player piano directly from the anti-woodworm treatment. It comes from my wife's family and they hasn't played it or done any maintenance to it for possibly close to 40 years.
After watching your videos I decided to completely restore it. I have manual skills and tools, although not as professional as yours, but I have worked with modeling, models and DIY all my life, so I have been encouraged.
I will need help regarding materials, specific glues and so on. I hope you can guide me a little on these topics when I need it, since I will go step by step.
Delighted to have found this tutorial and I hope to get to the end by completely restoring our Aeolian.
Thank you very much, congratulations for the quality of your videos and warm greetings from Spain.
Wonderful! Enjoy your project and thank you for your kind words.
I just bought a 90's Story and Clark player and I'm diving head first into learning stuff. Your channel looks great. Love your presenting style.
Nice! Enjoy your project. And thank you for the kind words.
Very nice Nate! Beautiful veneer. I hope viewers can appreciate just how much work that disassembly really is.......and that's just the beginning. It's great to see someone taking the time and effort to bring to bring that instrument back to life.
The teardown was about 7 hours.
Veneer ? Solid oak I thought
Awesome video Nate! Keep up the good work interesting to see the tear down!
Thanks so much for checking it out!
Fantastic video Nate! I loved the comedic moments. Keep ‘em coming!
Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement! I hope to be putting out a new episode every week.
I have 4 P-Ps and now I am getting the inspiration to restore them. Thanks. I am glad to see you did not try to remove the harp while it was loaded. Ive seen bad things happen when that mistake is made.
Thanks for watching!
Yes, Art Reblitz’s excellent book mentioned in part 11 of this video series explains carefully how to let down the string tension evenly, a small turn at a time, up and down the piano (not just from one end to the other, Or totally letting down any one string before its neighbor), in order to maintain equal tension on the piano plate and keep from cracking or breaking the plate and ruining the piano (and maybe seriously injuring yourself and/or bystanders).
No way, a player piano youtube channel! I wish we had someone over here in Chicago to repair these guys. I get so many clients that want theirs working but all I can do is work on the piano part... I tried learning from the big book but it was too much for me haha.
Edit: Amazing video, I love your commentary and I applaud your editing time and effort into all the shots; it's hard to get me to do that when I'm in the middle of a big project too! Can't wait to view the rest
Thank you so much! The filming certainly slows down the already tedious rebuild process, but it's been rewarding to share the work with others.
What a fantastic video! I picking up an Aeolian player for free on Monday and I figure it may need some light restoration. So I took to TH-cam and had the pleasure of discovering your channel. I love your story of finding this your way to this very cool career and I look forward to seeing the rest of the series!
Welcome! Thank you for taking the time to watch. Enjoy your new project!
This has been a cool video! I think you should post more content like this.
Thanks. I have more planned.
Absolutely amazing how much wòrk gò into these machines it will be good to have music centres i know the pieces of music played near the end cannot put a name to them i always liked these machines class
I have a Cunningham player. I think it was built in Philadelphia around 1929. About 20 years ago, I stripped off the green antique paint and refinished it. The player guts have long since gone, but the sound quality is quite nice, if only it was in tune! None of the local tuners will touch it since it has original strings. Beautiful looking. All solid Honduran mahogany. At this point it is destined for the dump. Sad. 😢
That must have been huge job! I've never stripped a piano, but I have 2 which need it.
The fact that you are doing this yourself is unbelievable to me. It is
going to be a great accomplishment and fascinating to keep track
of. Have always been entranced by the Player Piano...have always
wanted a player Grand!! From Philadelphia
I love player piano's. I have an old Gulbransen upright that i restored. I would love an Ampico player.
The old vintage look of such a piano emulates character 🙏🏽💥🙏🏽💥👍🏽
Yes! It has an inimitable look and feel.
Fabulous
Your philosophy on restoring player pianos is similar to that of the guy who runs the Wristwatch Revival channel. He cleans and restores old mechanical wristwatches. He doesn't try to make them look brand new, however, since they aren't brand new.
That's reassuring!
Nate,
Great meeting you today!
Dan Hunt
You too, Dan! Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to check out the video. Cheers!
My feeling is similar to yours, I prefer to preserve the patina of age. I have an old HMV phonograph I’ve been tinkering with, and I have no desire for it to look new. Its age is part of its beauty.
That patina took over a century to create! Thanks for understanding.
@@nateoutsidethevacuum absolutely. And it’s gorgeous.
you are grate i would not know what to do
Sometimes I have to make it up as I go along.
I clicked on the video because that thumbnail is the funniest thing I've seen today xD
Fair enough!
@@nateoutsidethevacuum Awesome editing by the way, you take care with your videos, good to see that!
i wonder you could place a player piano like this by a river and use a waterwheel to drive it?
Nearly anything is possible with enough willpower.
@@nateoutsidethevacuum I’m working on an art project with sound sculptures and hope to utilize player pianos in the future. I would like to run a few questions by you sometime, will check out rum river.
I’m from Massachusetts, could you recommend awsome to take a look at my player piano. The keys are hitting soft.
I recommend you search on the Player-care.com technicians listing page. Good luck!