Post AU9HL3bdVFyIEpqlSi by therealfitz@wandering.shop
(DIR) More posts by therealfitz@wandering.shop
(DIR) Post #AU9DoeMtV9M0proI1Q by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T17:12:40Z
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My oldest and arguably favorite ancient technological artifact in operation. About 100 years old. Picture Bugs Bunny at the keyboard, especially for the insane second movement! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYI8eGjDZG0
(DIR) Post #AU9EiTaMmJb1btjQ1o by albbrt@infosec.exchange
2023-03-30T17:22:40Z
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@lauren It's actually Tom, not Bugs Bunny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpEfHVFilRc 😃 Wonderful project!
(DIR) Post #AU9FJOwqyyfRwUrCN6 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T17:29:26Z
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@albbrt This is a very controversial subject, even today! Both "Cat Concerto" and "Rhapsody Rabbit" (the cartoon I was referring to) came out in 1947. The former won best animated short at the Academy Awards, and the latter didn't get a nomination. There has been arguing ever since about who actually originated the idea, made more complicated because in 1941 Fritz Freleng (who did Rhapsody Rabbit later) directed "Rhapsody in Rivets" with construction workers orchestrated to the same piece! Yes, the arguing continues today!
(DIR) Post #AU9FfdTRenWNMchgUC by albbrt@infosec.exchange
2023-03-30T17:33:24Z
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@lauren They're both fantastic. An era of animation geniuses.
(DIR) Post #AU9FmjAsrQ794TP4ds by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T17:34:43Z
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@albbrt Getting that thing working properly (even down to tuning it myself) was probably my most complicated tech project ever (especially since when I started I knew basically nothing about the technology of the piano, and can't play). It's driven by a shop vac. (Player pianos operate by suction, organs operate by blowing.) The sophistication is amazing, right down to the mechanism that keeps the paper roll centered over the reader bar as it naturally tends to drift left and right. Google Books was invaluable in providing very old texts that went into enormous detail on player piano tech. Turns out there was one guy back then who was like *the* man when it came to writing books about player pianos. Quite fascinating.
(DIR) Post #AU9G6o0easgjrHBz2u by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T17:38:23Z
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@albbrt I should add, that when I started it was entirely pedal powered -- you can wear yourself out VERY fast that way. I did the mod to add the shop vac power. This involved blind drilling into the system in exactly the right place I hoped -- based on all my research. I got it right, but came really close to hitting the wrong spot.
(DIR) Post #AU9H2OPZvNrDGOJIXI by albbrt@infosec.exchange
2023-03-30T17:48:45Z
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@laurenI can imagine. I always found the internals of even a normal piano extremely complex.
(DIR) Post #AU9HCOMUxpmq0NdaoS by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T17:50:35Z
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@albbrt There's also a lesson of technological obsolescence. The player piano industry hit its peak in the mid 20's or so (this is where my piano dates to, based on my best estimate from serial number records). There appeared to be nowhere to go but UP in terms of sales. Radio and phonograph tech were there but the player piano industry considered them crude and not real competition. This changed quite rapidly, and the onset of the Great Depression in '29 basically killed the industry and it never recovered. Vast numbers of player pianos were gutted of their player mechanisms and sold as cheap uprights. Most of the rest had player mechanisms that rotted away over time. That's why most vintage player pianos you may see now can't operate. This is also why there are so many great paper rolls around in people's attics -- there simply are so few playback units for them today!
(DIR) Post #AU9HL3bdVFyIEpqlSi by therealfitz@wandering.shop
2023-03-30T17:52:00Z
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@lauren WOW!!!
(DIR) Post #AU9JVIZGviSfRhktnc by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T18:16:07Z
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@albbrt I found it ironically satisfying to stand there with a modern laptop displaying a century old technical text from Google Books as I worked on a century old data device.
(DIR) Post #AU9K7Scbzwy7dDVyUK by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T18:23:19Z
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@albbrt I also had to make my own tuning tool. Commercial ones wouldn't fit properly -- there were a number of standardization issues back then. I also ended up tuning a bit down from A440 -- a fairly common procedure with older pianos to help avoid over-stressing the strings or harp.
(DIR) Post #AU9LVU3yOId90QKd2e by PJ_Evans@mastodon.social
2023-03-30T18:38:49Z
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@lauren @albbrt I had the pleasure of listening to a recording piano playing Rachmaninoff once, at the Oakland Museum (a show of automatic musical instruments, lots of fun). When it finished, the people in the group gave it a round of applause.
(DIR) Post #AU9LXJFvXiKq4DnGrY by albbrt@infosec.exchange
2023-03-30T18:39:04Z
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@lauren I actually have never seen a mechanically operated piano in real life. I own a piano myself (my daughter plays piano) and yes, tuning is always a problem. We call an accorder guy every year who sits there for a couple of hours tuning the thing. I'm unable to do it myself.
(DIR) Post #AU9LwMrtFWT2VgV196 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-30T18:43:42Z
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@albbrt There are apps now that can assist, but I found that other than using them for providing basic note references I was better able to do the actual tuning against frequency beats by ear. Bizarrely, some of my skills developed back in my old phone tech days turned out to be directly applicable. Go figure.
(DIR) Post #AU9ODwt8mRCZ3Waxmq by albbrt@infosec.exchange
2023-03-30T19:09:16Z
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@laurenI know. I'm just unable to "open things". It's a lack of manual ability.