Apollo Piano Survey (for the Melville Clark Piano Company Study Project) Version of July 6, 2019. Copy (press Ctrl + A to select all text) and then paste the text into the body of an email message. Then, at your leisure, please answer what questions you can and omit the rest. Incomplete information is better than none. When finished answering questions, please send the information to: webmaster@mechanicalmusicpress.com Contact Information Your First and Last Name: __________ Your e-mail address: __________ Owner's First and Last Name: __________ Show owner name in reports: __________. (Yes/No) Owner's Address: __________ City, state/Province, and Zip: __________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Piano Basic Information Piano Serial Number: __________ The serial number is normally stamped on the piano plate between bass & tenor tuning pin sections. Piano Style / Model: __________ Apollo Master Piano Player; Apolloette Piano-Player (push up models); Apollo Player Piano, Style G, H, K, L, Louis XV, M, Mission, N, O, Old Dutch, W, etc; Solo Apollo, Style H, L, R, Grand, etc; Art Apollo, Solo Art-Apollo (in various styles), and Art Apollo Grand Piano; Apollophone, Style WP, etc; Airapollo, Artlectra bench. Piano action date written or die-stamped on bass end: _________ and Initials (if any): __________ The piano action date is often hand written (in red or green crayon type pencil) or die stamped on the bass end of the piano action. Action dates are often accompanied by the personal initials of the final inspector and/or installer. Keybed date hand-written at left side or under the keys: __________ and Initials (if any): __________ The keybed date, if present, is usually hand written at the left-hand end of the keybed and on the upper side of the structural cross member. Sometimes there is a handwritten date and initials on the key frame under the piano keys, possibly at the back side of the bass end. Keybed dates are often accompanied by the personal initials of the final inspector and/or installer. Piano type: __________ Upright piano. Grand piano. Push-up piano player. Upright case height (excluding casters and top lid) or Grand Piano length: __________ For upright pianos measure the height of the piano case NOT including casters and top lid. Grand pianos are measured by the length from the very front of the keyboard to the farthest end of the piano with the lid closed. Upright piano top lid: ___________ One-piece lid, or Two-piece lid (with full length piano hinge running down the middle). Upright piano overall height (including casters and top lid): __________ The overall height of the piano measured from the building's floor and including casters and the top lid. Furniture case veneer/finish: __________ Oak, Golden oak, Mission oak, Mahogany, Walnut, etc. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Piano Plate Details Plate number: __________ The plate number is a 1 or 2-digit number that is cast into the iron plate and located on the bass end about one foot down from the top of the plate. Plate date code: __________ The plate date code number is cast into the very bottom right hand corner, or for later plates behind the bass strings. Date codes are often in the format of yy-mm-dd. For example: 16 1 26 could translate to January-26, 1916. However, the date code format seems to vary over the production years, and so it can be a guessing game as to exactly how to interpret the date code. Plate height: __________ The plate height is measured from the bottom edge of the gold painted cast iron plate to the top edge of the plate. Plate scale (bass notes, tenor notes, treble notes): __________ The plate scale consists of the number of musical notes in the bass section, the notes in the tenor section, and the notes in the treble section. For example: 26,27,35. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Piano Soundboard Details: Soundboard number: __________ The soundboard number is stamped into the wood just under the 1 or 2-digit plate number, and usually matches the piano serial number. Number of soundboard ribs: __________ The soundboard ribs are glued diagonally across the back side of the soundboard. Some common rib count totals are 12, 14, or 15 ribs. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Accessory Phonograph (Apollophone Model Pianos) Choose one option: * Phonograph installed: __________. (Yes/No) * Phonograph missing (but originally installed): __________. (Yes/No) * No Phonograph (never installed): __________. (Yes/No) In the Apollophone upright keyboard pianos a wind-up phonograph was cleverly installed above the keyboard and in the space between the piano action and case front. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Principal Pneumatic Stack S/N and Type Stack Serial Number: __________ This number is usually die-stamped on the left (bass) side for Melville Clark Piano Company instruments built prior to August, 1919. For pianos built from August, 1919, onward the number is stamped on the top side of the stack, and sometimes covered by the Dynaline pneumatic. Choose one option: * 3-tier early stack with pneumatics facing forward and pushing down on the piano keys: __________. (Yes/No) * 4-tier early stack with pneumatics facing forward and pushing down on the piano keys: __________. (Yes/No) * 3-tier common stack with pneumatics facing rearward with a lever system pushing down on the keys: __________. (Yes/No) * 3-tier late stack with pneumatics facing rearward and with ordinary pushrods lifting the piano action wippens: __________. (Yes/No) * Other principal stack type (if none of the above apply): __________ Stack Manufactured by: __________ Melville Clark Piano Company (prior to August, 1919); or Amphion and/or Wurlitzer (from August, 1919, onward). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Solo Pneumatic Stack Type (Solo Apollo and Solo Art Apollo only) Choose one option: * None (no solo stack originally installed): __________. (Yes/No) * Solo stack missing (but originally had one installed): __________. (Yes/No) * Solo Stack above the keyboard with cranks that lift a hook near the rear end of the piano keys: __________. (Yes/No) * Solo Stack above the keyboard with rods (also known as stickers) that push up on the piano action wippens: __________. (Yes/No) * Solo Stack below the keyboard, with rods that push up on the back end of the piano keys: __________. (Yes/No) * Other solo stack description (if none of the above apply): __________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Roll Frame / Spoolbox Special Features Choose all options that apply: * Early 88 to 58-note swing-down feed spool adapters (located on either side of the upper spoolbox used to play narrower 58-note rolls): __________. (Yes/No) * Early 88 and 58-note exchangeable take-up spools (used to accommodate the narrower 58-note rolls): __________. (Yes/No) * Later adjustable width take-up spool (for playing wide Solo Apollo rolls or the narrower standard 88-note piano rolls): __________. (Yes/No) * Bass and treble octave coupler control switches for 58-note rolls: __________. (Yes/No) * 88/58-note tracker bar control switch: __________. (Yes/No) * 88/65/58-note tracker bar control switch: __________. (Yes/No) * Other special spoolbox features: __________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tracker Bar Type Choose one option: * Wood tracker bar with a single row of 88 duct holes (plays early 88 or 58 note rolls): __________. (Yes/No) * Wood tracker bar with two rows of duct holes, 88 at 6/inch in upper and 88 at 9/inch in lower row: __________. (Yes/No) * Wood tracker bar with a single row of 128 duct holes at 9/inch (early Solo Apollo only): __________. (Yes/No) * Brass tracker bar with 89 duct holes at 9/inch; hole #1 elongated for damper pedal: __________. (Yes/No) * Brass tracker bar with 96 duct holes at 9/inch; holes #2, #93, and #94 are elongated (Art Apollo system): __________. (Yes/No) * Brass tracker bar with 132 duct holes at 9/inch (Solo Apollo only): __________. (Yes/No) * Brass tracker bar with 134 duct holes at 9/inch (Solo Art Apollo only): __________. (Yes/No) * Other tracker bar type (if none of the above apply): __________  The tracker bar used in early Apollo player pianos was made of hardwood, with a single row of 88 duct holes spaced at 6 holes per inch, which played both the 88-note 15 ¼” wide rolls and the narrow 58-note rolls; In later transitional Apollo player pianos the wood tracker bar had two rows, the top or upper row had 88-duct holes with 6 per inch spacing, with a lower or bottom row that had 88-duct holes spaced at 9 holes per inch; Apollo post-transition player pianos featured a standard brass tracker bar with 89 duct holes spaced at 9 per inch, which could be used to play the common standardized player piano rolls. The Solo Apollo employed a brass tracker bar that was 132 duct holes spaced at 9 per inch, and the Solo Art Apollo used a tracker bar with 134 duct holes, both of which played a music roll 15 ¼” wide. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Roll Frame/Spoolbox Power Source Choose one option: * Spring-motor powered roll frame: __________. (Yes/No) * Air/wind-motor powered roll frame: __________. (Yes/No) Spring motors were probably standard in the early Apollo pianos, and optional in some later model pianos, with the more modern airmotor system becoming more prevalent. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dynaline pointing device Choose one option: * Dynaline installed: __________. (Yes/No) * Dynaline missing (but originally installed): __________. (Yes/No) * No Dynaline (never installed): __________. (Yes/No) The Dynaline device consists of a movable pointer that slides back and forth above the music roll with its exact position dependent upon the vacuum level, which, in turn, represents the player volume. And so, all that one has to do to secure correct expression with the Apollo is to pedal to the extent that the Dynaline indicator follows the "blue volume line" printed on the music roll. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sliding glass door over roll frame/spoolbox Choose one option: * Sliding glass door over spoolbox installed: __________. (Yes/No) * Sliding glass door missing (but originally installed: __________. (Yes/No) * sliding glass door over spoolbox (never installed): __________. (Yes/No) For some upright keyboard models there is often a sliding glass door in front of the spoolbox, which slides in a pair of felt lined grooves. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pump Type Choose one option: * Foot pedal pumped only: __________. (Yes/No) * Foot pedal and electric motor combination pump setup: __________. (Yes/No) * Electric motor operated pump only: __________. (Yes/No) Is the player piano manually foot pumped only, or is it capable of being both foot pumped and operated by an electric motor, or is it electrically operated with no manual foot pedal capability? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Electric Motor Information (only if Installed and original to Piano) Motor make: ___________ Motor Model: __________ Motor S/N: __________ Motor RPM: __________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Art Case Description (omit if not an art case) Art case description: __________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date and Notations Written on Case or Mechanisms Dates and other marks: __________ Oftentimes dates and notations are written on the case and/or on various player components. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Comments, History, and Explanations Use as much space as may be necessary: Comments: __________ Please include any additional information about the piano that might be pertinent, such as its history, i.e., various locations and owners. If you find a date (or style number), such as on a paper sticker inside or on the backside of the case, or on a pneumatic component, notice an early tuning date written by hand on the piano plate, find an original sales invoice, etc., please describe any such items. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thank you for your patience and interest in dealing with this detailed survey form. Your help is very much appreciated.