Hi This ad states: "The model is an Angelus Pioneer Piano Player with duplex transmission (plays like an organ as well as a piano)". I could be wrong , but is it something ive never seen before?.....organ/piano? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Unique-Antique-Angelus-Pioneer-Pianola_W0QQitemZ160214202526QQihZ006QQcategoryZ359QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This could indeed be exactly what it says! Angelus DID produce an upright full-scale instrument that included a rank of organ reeds just like their Orchestral push-up range. I've heard of one such instrument here in the UK, another in South America (plus a scrap stack) and another in Australia. A "Duplex" Angelus transmission plays not two but four styles of roll! Angelus 65's, Angelus Grand 88s, standard 65s and standard 88s. If it is a genuine organ stack player piano with duplex transmission it is indeed a very interesting instrument! regards Adam :D

I wrote to the seller and requested additional pictures of the workings.The seller only sent me 2 , i think he is a elderly gentleman with limited PC skills so I was grateful for what i received.I would of loved to seen more view of the lower section though. If anyone was following this thread Ive attached the said pictures of what was sent to me. Daniel. PS:Yes i do feel guilty making this guy think he had someone interested in his player :roll:

In the spool box you can see at the top the double pair of spool chucks. The back set is for standard 88 and standard 65 note rolls (you take the 88-note cover off the right hand end like in a normal dual-tracker instrument). The set closest to the front is for the take-up spool in "Angelus" mode. The take-up slots out from the below-tracker position just like a piano roll but with the drive chuck on the left with this being to the same dimensions as an Angelus 65-note roll spool pin chuck. These are narrower and closer-set to the spool end than on a standard 65-note roll. Angelus 65s and Angelus Grand 88s play bottom to top and back to front compared to normal rolls. I can't see the dual-tracker change-over mechanism however. This is a bar that flips over either tracker bar and covers either with a strip of pneumatic cloth attached to the bar and fastened between both bars. Probably the cloth has come off or the bar is vertical into the picture so you can't see it clearly. The Wilcox and White "Angelus" is a fascinating machine with a fascinating history - far more interesting than an Aeolian or a Hupfeld! ...in my opinion that is.... One of their early 88-note ideas was to have a tracker bar with standard 6-per-inch holes in the middle for the existing 65 notes then additional tracks in the edge space for the remaining notes but perforated at something like 1/2 the width. The system was only patented and never made for the open market. regards Adam

The spoolbox looks exactly like the normal Angelus 65/88 note version that can play standard (top-to-bottom) and Angelus (bottom-to-top) rolls. The flip-over cover that blocks the unwanted tracker bar appears to be present but in the half-way position so it doesn't show clearly. It's this multiple-format capability that's the 'duplex' transmission. There's no organ: we are told it plays rolls "like" an organ - meaningless until proven otherwise! This just happens to be a rather good player piano that deserves a home, but not for $5000. A quarter of that, at most, seeing it's not restored. Incidentally, what is it about the Australian market and the asking price for player pianos? If you use eBay's advanced history search for "pianola" worldwide, sorted expensive-first, Australian offerings easily dominate. It's not so obvious in the standard completed items list. I suppose it's nice that some members of the wider public think these machines worth so much, unlike UK sellers who have got wise and start them at 99p these days! Julian

Here's a few pictures of one of my instruments. This is my 1907 Angelus Brinsmead player. It plays 58 and 65-note rolls. The stack is mounted beneath the keyboard and the rolls play upwards with the drive motor mounted on the left as that is the side where the drive pin on the roll spools is located. The piano is extremely fine with a tri-chord bass for extra rich tone.

Thanks for Sharing Adam , fantasic pictures and great to see the rarer style of things on here :)

Thanks Dan. I've always felt it important that people don't feel afraid of uncommon player systems. The fact that they're uncommon doesn't mean they are any less musical or unworthy of time and effort to hear them play again. For me the most interesting things are all the early systems like this 58-65 Angelus, Cecilian, Simplex and other developmental push-ups and early players. Looking inside yet another Aeolian makes me snooze! There are a lot of early players that were heavily altered or junked so if you do ever see one please think hard about acquiring it! With a little time and attention and the right materials they can all be made to play again. When I got this one someone offered to help me change the spoolbox to fit standard 65s but I was reluctant to re-machine an original spoolbox and so set about acquiring Angelus 65s. At first I had none, then I got two, then another one, then I made some standard 65s fit the Angelus spoolbox. Then 2 crates of original music turned up and I still pick up odd pieces from time to time. As Wilcox and White ceased around 1921 original 65 music titles end at that time also but there's a fanatastic catalogue of classic and lighter stuff.