Cremona Early Style
Roll Drive Mechanism

(Photograph courtesy of John Rutoskey)

Illustration from Cremona Style A piano #107627. This early style Cremona roll drive, with its convoluted belt drive system, was short-lived, soon to be replaced by the slightly-revised second version. The first belt runs from a tiny pulley on the crankshaft over directional idlers to a larger pulley (to the left of the motor) on a horizontal drive shaft. A second, and crossed-over belt, goes from the horizontal drive shaft to the music roll rewind pulley, while a 3rd belt goes from a small stepped pulley (providing music speed control) on the right end of the horizontal drive shaft around a tension idler to an intermediate speed reduction pulley and the 4th belt finally reaching the music roll play-forward pulley. All in all, there were four short round leather belts that must have been difficult to keep properly tensioned.

(Photograph courtesy of John Rutoskey)

Illustration from Cremona Style A piano #107627. In this detail view of the above pictured spoolbox, notice the small pulley on the music roll rewind shaft. Due to the drag of the music roll over the tracker bar, coupled with other frictional losses, plus the relatively high torque requirements on the rewind shaft, all together must have made this belt system highly prone to constant and severe slippage problems. It was probably not long before management had an earful from the company's frustrated field technicians, and so it is no wonder that this all-belt drive system was simplified.