Orchestrion, Band Organ, Mechanical Music, Music Box, Mills Violano Virtuoso

Are all Mechanical Music Dealers the Same?

No! Not all mechanical music dealers are the same.    Beware of those who spend your valuable time demeaning others. Hold a mirror to what they say and you will discover that their deep well of bitterness will eventually be directed at you. Unlike these people I take the high road which is dictated by my expertise and knowledge as a professional in the field of mechanical music.

What is most important is knowledge of the item, its history, and its condition. Not every dealer has a firm foundation in the mechanics and history of a piece of mechanical music or has worked in a prominent restoration shop as I have. Their lack of expertise will result in you making a bad purchase decision. Not every dealer understands music and is a trained musician as I am. I am generous with my time and give a lot back to the field of mechanical music. Few such as I have given numerous lectures and have written articles on mechanical music. For years I have put mechanical musical instruments on display in numerous venues from libraries to private events to public festivals in order to educate the public about the wonders and investment potential of these unique instruments.   Few such as I have been consulted by the top experts in the field. I freely offer my vast knowledge about the field of mechanical music to those who want to learn. If you want valuable insight into the world of mechanical music, then contact me with your questions about mechanical music! My knowledge is backed by a huge mechanical music archive that has taken years to build which fills numerous file cabinets! Enthusiasts have told me I am a "walking encyclopedia" on mechanical musical instruments of all types. And I am faster and better than any research tool you could use! Remember, I am your best resource in mechanical music. AND my advice is FREE!

Analyze how the dealer makes their fee so that you feel comfortable with every aspect of the transaction. I hold to the highest standard of ethics. You deserve the best price and the best item you can afford. I want to provide you with a mechanical instrument for the lowest possible price! Everyone wants a good price including me. Its only natural. My fee is small and is the envy of other dealers! Other dealers build in large profits and incorporate multiple moving expenses into the prices of the instruments they sell. I do not. Call me and discuss price with me. You will be surprised how reasonable the prices are on the instruments I sell.   My goal is to give you the very best price and to have you as a return customer again and again! Remember, your goal to acquire a fine instrument for a good price which I will do for you.

Are you considering the purchase of a mechanical instrument from an auction, dealer, or other seller? I will be happy to advise you on the piece.

Many collectors, enthusiasts, appraisers, and museums regularly contact me for advise on such instruments. Remember that my advice is freely given!

Another Rare Mechanical Music Machine Turns Up!

On the island of Mallorca near Spain a rare Philipps/Fratinola turned up in large mansion where it has been for many many years through several owners. The instrument in an elegant mahogany cabinet is loaded with instrumentation. It stands an imposing 9 feet, 4 inches high. It is on its way to a collector in the Chicago area! An unusual Cremona recently turned up from years in storage. It features a tall case with previously unknown clear beveled and colored art glass. As many enthusiasts know, Cremona coin pianos and orchestrions are well known for their outstanding art case cabinets and magnificent tone!

Do Mechanical Musical Instruments Still Come "Out of the Weeds" in 2009?

Yes they do! Recently a fine Seeburg KT with Flute pipes was just discovered where it had been stored for 75 years!   It was in Whiting, Indiana. Whiting is a working class town that has a large population of people of Eastern European descent. In the teens and twenties they had many saloons in this area.   And of course there were music machines present in these places! Over the years a number of coin pianos and orchestrions have surfaced in Whiting. The instrument just located in Whiting is fine Seeburg KT with flute pipes with the rarer form of Dancing Girl art glass. It is in mint "time capsule" condition and even had its original bulbs! It is now at a restoration shop where it will receive a conservator style restoration.

Announcing a GREAT Source for New Coin Piano and Orchestrion Rolls!

John Motto-Ros is known by many mechanical music enthusiasts as the affable President of the Automatic Musical Instrument Collector's Association or AMICA. He has a passion for coin pianos. An extension of the passion is his desire to have fine orchestrion and coin piano rolls recut. They are cut on a state of the art perforator which literally makes them BETTER than the originals!
Click Here To Go to John's Roll Website

I am Honored to Announce the Availability of the Fabulous Ken Smith Fair Organs!

People familiar with the rich history of the organs rallies from ABOA, to the Mid-Am Chapter, to Milwaukee Circus event, to the COAA rallies will instantly be familiar with the outstanding Ken Smith Fairground organs!   The late Ken Smith, a master tool and die maker by trade, spent nearly 40 years building an 89 Keyless G4 scale Waldkirch Frei Style Gavioli and a superb 63 Keyless Ruth. The organs were meticulously built using the finest materials and micrometer precision.   Ken spent hours studying construction details.   Both organs are a dream to experience!   The music libraries going with the organs are HUGE! The Gavioli comes with 2,500 meters. The Ruth comes with 1,700 meters!   Best of all the organs are affordably priced! Check out the Items For Sale section for more details. Call me today about them!

Where is the Smart Money Being put These Days? In Hard Assets like Mechanical Music!

Since Wall Street entered its recent frothy ups and downs, people have been moving their money into hard assets from gold to antiques like mechanical music. So you have parked your funds from a 401K into the bank. Why not have some fun and profit and buy a mechanical music machine? And what a better way to enjoy the times than with a happy sounding mechanical musical instrument that will not melt into the carpet at the whim of speculative Wall Street! The smart people have put some of their their money into mechanical music! Why not join them!

The Exciting Happy Sound of Nickelodeons are Available on New CD!

The sound of nickelodeons and orchestrions have been brought to life on the new CD, Rags, Blues, and Fox Trots! The orchestrions and nickelodeons on the recording are from the collection of John Motto-ros who resides in the famous California gold rush town of Sutter Creek. On the CD or download, you can hear a Wurlitzer Pianino, a Cremona G, an Empress Y with the finest sounding xylophone west of the Mississippi, a Seeburg G, and a wonderful sounding Coinola C2 with with flute pipes. The Irma Rag played on the Coinola C2 is worth the price alone! Treat yourself to a great recording! The only problem is that the recording is sooooo good, it will make you want to buy an orchestrion!!!!   And, of course, I can help you with that!
Click Here for New CD Info

The Continual Thrill of Mechanical Music!

I am here to tell you that the novelty, excitement, and enjoyment of mechanical music NEVER wears off!
For most enthusiasts the interest lasts a lifetime. Music machines are not static items, they perform for you.   They combine the arts of fine cabinetry, intriguing mechanism, and music. A reporter for the Chicago Tribune called Mechanical Music the ULTIMATE hobby! Vintage arcade machines, slot machines, vintage cars, etc. are ENHANCED by adding mechanical music to a display because it gives the display life. Once a mechanical music machine is restored, the fun begins as each roll, book, or disc becomes a NEW experience which is often educational. For example if you have been raised on Rock music, your horizons get expanded to Classical music, concert waltzes, cake walks, one steps, fox trots, Ragtime, blues, etc. And for your friends and guests you can demonstrate the instruments versatility though its library of music. Also you can enjoy a basic nickelodeon as well as a complex orchestrion from just it musical presentation alone! Recently carousel owner have rediscovered the fact that the carousel experience is enhanced 100% by adding a band organ! It is like adding sound to the movie.

"Gypsy Queen" Gasparini Fair Organ Gets a New Home!

The famous Gypsy Queen Gasparini now has a new home playing for a beautiful restored carousel which is displayed with one of Americas fabulous car collections. For years the Gypsy Queen fair organ was a featured attraction at Bellm's Cars and Music. Before that it was part of pioneer collector, Paul Eakins, collection and was featured on many many recordings. This organ has 5 carved animated figures that add to the visual display.   The organ was built in Paris circa 1895. Mechanical music adds life to the vintage car display and really enhances the atmosphere! If you have a vintage car display consider adding mechanical music machines.

Bruce Springsteen's Band Organ!

I was recently contacted by the staff of Bruce Springsteen to consult on their band organ. Bruce recently was given the band organ by two long time close friends and associates in memory of Terry Magovern, Bruce Springsteen's late personal assistant. The organ was built in the DeKleist Style by Bill Kromer of Pennsylvania. It plays the style 125 roll. Bruce Springsteen has long had an interest in Asbury Park, a historic amusement park New Jersey's Atlantic coast and even moved a carousel to the vacant Asbury Park carousel pavilion for a video. Bruce was thrilled to get the band organ and decided to take it on his current show! On October 21, I went down to see the organ. I drove up to the secured back door entrance. The organ was mounted on a lift to take it up to stage level. After going over the organ with the staff, I was invited to have dinner with the band. On the way I met Bruce Springsteen and complimented him on the band organ! I gave him and his staff two CD's; one of Asbury Park's Wurlitzer 157 courtesy of Chris Carlisle and the other of the Cushing's Thursford Collection in England After the dinner as the guest of him and his staff, I attended the show.   The United Center was filled to capacity including the main floor. When the band organ came up and played, "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", it was cheered and applauded by thousands from the moment it started to play! The audience loved it! With the spotlight on it, the organ played the whole song. The audience kept on cheering during the whole song! The audience response to the band organ was spectacular! What an electric thrill for a band organ enthusiast such as myself!   The organ then descended below the stage, Bruce and the band came out and the show began! The show was superb with Bruce and his famous E-Street Band performing many of their hits for the excited and enthusiastic fans.   Many thanks to Bruce Springsteen and staff for a great experience! ALSO what great exposure to new generations of a BAND ORGAN! By the time the tour is over this BAND ORGAN will set the record for having played to hundreds of thousands! AND THE THOUSANDS CHEERED IT! WOW! Click the photo below for a picture tour of the event and the band organ.

Always! I am always being asked to sell mechanical musical instruments. Thus the inventory is constantly changing. If you don't see something you are looking for, don't hesitate to e-mail me with your request.

Yes! E-mail or mail me photos and a description of the piece. Or give me a call at 630-269-3059. You will find that I am easy to talk to and willing to give you all the necessary information that you require.

A mechanical musical instrument is the ULTIMATE antique! Mechanical music combines art, music, mechanism, and design into a very entertaining antique! Not only are you intellectually entertained, you are also having fun! Each roll or cylinder is a time capsule of history! No other antique can give you the same concert that was given to generations years ago! YET mechanical musical instruments are not tied to the past. New arrangements of new songs can be made. Each newly acquired roll, disc, or cylinder adds a new dimension to enjoyment. There is also a special excitement that comes from sharing the music from a restored instrument with others. Many collectors tell me they have moved from interest to interest over the years until they discovered mechanical music. Once the discovery is made, the fascination and interest literally lasts forever!

This depends on your annual income. Generally mechanical music IS affordable! Most beginning enthusiasts can afford a player piano, a gem roller organ, a small monkey organ, or a table top disc music box. Price is generally a function of rarity. Remember, however, that price or rarity has nothing to do with enjoying piece. An inexpensive common foot pumped player piano can give you hours of enjoyment as can a Gem roller organ that you find at an antique market. As your income progresses you can afford larger or rarer pieces of mechanical music such as coin pianos, reproducing player grand pianos, orchestrions, automata, large upright disc music boxes, violin playing machines, calliopes, etc.

For all types of automatic musical instruments from disc music boxes to automata to orchestrions to calliopes, there are qualified restorers. E-mail me or call me if you have questions regarding restorers. You CAN also restore many items yourself! Do not be intimidated. For the most part you will find restoration work to be relaxing, enjoyable, and rewarding! Many restoration projects are straight forward. There are restoration books available that can help. It also helps if you are mechanically intuitive and have basic wood working tools and metal working tools. If you run into a complicated component, this can be sent to a professional restorer. There is nothing like the thrill of "turning it on" for the first time!

Yes. You can rent a band organ, calliope, or monkey organ to festivals, store openings, parades, and events. Not only are you enjoying your instrument, you are the life of the party and you are getting paid for it! Typically you can charge $400.00 and up for such events. Not only that, you can also sell recordings of your mechanical instrument to the eager and interested public! Nickelodeons can be put on location and can collect the coins from the public. Most coin operated old nickelodeons can be fitted with a remote relay operated coin mechanism or dollar feeder. Remember with inflation a nickelodeon should now be a Buck-a-lodeon! I recently visited an ice cream parlor in New Hampshire that has a nickelodeon. The kids and adults were constantly feeding the instrument money! One WWII double amputee I knew owned a string of coin pianos which he placed throughout northern Wisconsin. Over the years he made a comfortable retirement income from his instruments!

For the most part, a reproduction mechanical music machine is NOT an investment. Do not be lulled into complacency by a cheap price. Very few reproductions go up in value or hold their value. Also you have to be very careful in your research of such instruments. Many reproductions are built poorly. They simply are not up to the quality of the original instruments. Beware of instruments that are heavily converted from their state. In the past a many player pianos were converted into "O" roll orchestrions. For the most part the conversions are poorly done. All that being said, there are some superb reproductions being made by qualified builders. The quality is reflected in the price. If you have a question about a particular instrument, send me an e-mail for my opinion. It may save you money, time, and effort.

Caveat Emptor! or Let the buyer beware! I have watched items being sold on internet auction sites for several years now. I have seen many items that are over-described with reproduced or missing parts and displayed with poor pictures. Also some items are NEVER meant to be sold and are used as lost leaders to attract the viewer. Then there is "auction fever" where the bidder gets carried away and overpays. Then there are the "sniping" programs that force the last higher bid over yours. As a rule, the more expensive the item is, the more cautious you should be. Beware of those in the shadows who after bidding is closed, offer a sold instrument to you. I was once offered an instrument by 4 such shadow operators after the bidding was closed on an instrument. In other words, you REALLY have to know what you are doing and you have to exercise due diligence and caution.

This is a picture from the Gavioli fairground organ catalog. I collect original catalogs of mechanical musical instrument manufacturers for my archive. This rare catalog was purchased from the granddaughter of the famous street organ builder, Carl Frei. If you have any such catalogs or original literature you would like to sell, please contact me!

02/02/10

What qualifies you to be an expert on mechanical music?