YouTube
Hi Folks, A friend will be filming me soon playing my Steck so I can put the footage on YouTube. Anybody have any preferences for which roll I play? The selection is minimal as I don't want to list all 50 rolls I have, some of the best are - 6 Foxtrots Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Evergreen (Barbara Streisand) Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini (theme tune to 'Time after Time') Ravel's 'Bolero' Scot Joplin's 'The Entertainer' Beethoven Sonata Pathetique (Adagio) Valse De Fleurs (Duo Art - but only running as Themodist as my expression pneumatics are shot!) So that's it folks, get the nominations rolling in! The one with the biggest score will be the one I play! Andy :D :) :D :)

Hi Andy I vote for "Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini (theme tune to 'Time after Time') " But looking forward to seeing any clip you put on the tube! Dan :)

Hi Andy Good Luck - have a few practice runs first :!: You can probably guess what I would like - Beethoven :) The slow movement is a hell of a difficult piece to play well on the pianola - trying to get the left hand to stop sounding too 'clunky' is very difficult. On the Aeolian roll the third movement (rondo) is on the same roll - thats a lot easier ! I have been having a go at a couple more videos - actually getting hold of the scores to try and them right. I will post the details in a day or two. Cheers Neil

oh play the "Bohemian Rhapsody"!! You'll get people piling into see that played I am quite sure! regards Adam

YouTube
OK, So it looks like I'm going to have to play the lot! Unfortunately my brother didn't bring the pump over with him this time so I'll be worn out if I do that. Well I shall wait a while longer (Bohemian Rhapsody) brand spanking new - fresh from QRS (delivered to the UK by my brother in Texas). It should be here tomorrow or Wednesday (I returned the borrowed copy as I had had it too long!) Having fiddled with the tracking system on my Steck it is now playing much better. It's amazing what a bit of fiddling will do! I'm putting off re-covering the bellows because I don't fancy using hot glue. If only there was a modern equivalent that came out of a tube :roll: Andy :D :) :D :) :lol: :D :lol: :D

Andy, You must try the old hot glue. Once you've done it once you'll never want to use anything out of a tube ever again. The stuff is so easy to work with it's unbelievable. Once it's warmed up you use it just like regular glue. The beauty of it is that it cools quickly which means you can keep on working. If you were gluing a set of exhausters with something out of a tube you'd need to wait until each side was dry or clamp it all in order to go round each side of the pneumatic. With hot glue you can do the whole thing straight off in one hit. You can make it 100% airtight by warming the cloth side with a warm iron. This gets rid of any airbubbles allowing suction seepage - again, it takes under 30 seconds to do all this. Most books on players make such a big deal about it that it's offputting. It's very easy in reality. Chuck the glue in the glue pot, cover it with water, warm it up until it's all liquid, off you go. That's all there is to it. We're going to be doing a few YouTube videos showing player restoration techniques shortly, each of about 5 minutes. We'll make sure we do "hot glue" as one of them.

"We're going to be doing a few YouTube videos showing player restoration techniques shortly, each of about 5 minutes. We'll make sure we do "hot glue" as one of them." This is something im very interested in seeing , looking forward to seeing some self help clips.

Hot Glue
Adam, The reason I am wary of hot glue is because it dries so quickly! At least with PVA, araldite etc. there is time to make adjustments if necessary after gluing! Certainly it's quick drying time is an advantage when doing pneumatics etc. I guess I shall have to bite the bullet and have a go. The flap valves in my bellows are worn although the bellows cloth is still in very good order. The instrument is easy to pedal and doesn't require lots of effort to pump it although after a couple of rolls I feel like I have had some good exercise :!: I shall look forward to the educational classes on You Tube. Andy :D :D

Andy, Did you get Bohemian Rhapsody or whichever one it was filmed yet? regards Adam

Hi, It is filmed. I now have to transfer it off tape onto my computer..... Andy

Dance on a Bosedorfer! :lol: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NPQt0iTJyH8

I have to say this... Hot glue is fantastic for covering pneumatics, because of the way it gels so fast. Put it on the wood - very little, having the glue as thin as water, let it gel, put the wood onto the cloth and gently wrap the pneumatic, then with a wrm iron press the cloth onto the wood. The glue softens, flows into the cloth, tacks, and is set within a few seconds again. There's nothing modern that can get even the sligh-*test*-('") way towards being as easy! Putting on pneumatics with ot glue does require a bit more technique, admittedly. Julian