John Tuttle's
Personal Homepage
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(The Answer !!)
Notice: Due to a chronic lower back problem, I am not accepting
any new major restoration or service work at this time.
However, I still can and do minor restoration work in my shop at home.
"Keep The Music Rolling"
 Do You Need A Player Piano Technician? CLICK HERE
Where I Work and Live
Although I know a lot about fixing player pianos, nickelodeons, pump organs and reproducing instruments, doing business on the Internet is
still interesting and challenging. I have discovered a world of knowledge and experience exists on the Internet and I have tapped into every source I've found. Even if I can't answer your questions directly, I can usually find the answers in relatively short order. My E-Mail involvement with numerous professional rebuilders, collectors and enthusiasts has opened up 'databases' of information that ten years ago would have taken decades to accumulate. Specific questions relating to repair and restoration processes, testing procedures, player mechanisms are always welcome. However, I am not a good source for information relating to values of music rolls or mechanical musical instruments because I do not buy or sell these items.
Presently, my Player Piano Repair & Tuning Service, located in Brick, NJ., still pays some the bills, and exposure on the Net/Web has vastly expanded my area of operation. How I got here is an interesting story. These days, I conduct most of my contract negotiations via e-mail. It's fast and accurate, and best of all there is a record of everything that is discussed. Using some of the information found on my Prices & Terms page, people are able to get a basic understanding of the costs involved before any work is ever started. My first major restoration project that was handled in this manner involved a customer in Boston, MA and his grand father's player piano. Check out the pictures of the 'Francis Bacon' which was completed around the middle of September, 1998.
Over the last seven years, I've noticed a continual increase in the number of people who purchase QRS Music Rolls via the Internet. I'm saving LOTS of paper by using E-MAIL for almost every aspect of the process. THANKS EVERYBODY! It's really working!! I'm also pleased to report that I have been the largest non-stocking roll dealer for QRS Music Technologies, Inc. for over five years running
I still travel quite a bit and often work out-of-state repairing and servicing player pianos, nickelodeons, pump organs and reproducing instruments. Unfortunately, due to the increasing demands on my time because of the Internet, I no longer get involved with refinishing. However, I do know people who are truly experts in the field, and I don't hesitate to recommend them when it's necessary.
Since I do not get involved with the buying and selling of instruments, I operate my business from my home in Brick, NJ (near Asbury Park, Point Pleasant and Toms River). Basically, half of my home is devoted to player piano rebuilding of one sort or another. Since my marriage to Susannah in October, 2007, the areas where we 'live' are beginning to take on a new and much needed change. Having a feminine influence around the house is very ewnjoyable.
I use to enjoy fishing and camping in New Jersey a lot more often, but I've had so little time these days that I'm no longer very good at catching fish, but I've become a pro at drowning worms. My hobbies are still composing music, poetry, and writing. I am still working on my first book which will be titled "I love a Player" (the preface). It is going to be the first children's guide to understanding the principles of operation that allow the player piano to work. My hope is that I can keep it simple enough for a child to understand and thereby entice youngsters to consider the trade as a livelihood. I am forever being asked about an apprentice. I've trained more than my share of young men AND women. If I can spirit one or more young people into the trade by capturing their imagination with my book before I retire, I will have achieved my goal. I hope to complete it by 2010. The chapter on the pouch and valve can be seen at "I love a Player"(the book). The "Preface", A World Wonder, can be selected from the Navigation Bar below this paragraph. It explains how I first became involved with player pianos and their relationship to my life. However, these days I spend much of my 'free' time creating new web pages to help people solve particular problems. Also, I continue to spend time writing Testing Procedures for some of the major components of the player system.
 I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for visiting.
The MIDI file Now Playing is called "Love Is All That Matters" written for Susannah, my lovely wife.
ANSWER: Learn the Basic Operating Principle that is utilized to make this
"Expression Modulator" , from an AMPICO Reproducing Piano, function correctly.
(What's the Question?)
This page was last revised on December 16, 2007 by John A. Tuttle (john@player-care.com). ...To Contents Page
Although I prefer that you send E-Mail, you can reach me at (732) 840-8787.
If I'm at home, I will answer the phone.
Otherwise, please leave a message.
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407 19th Ave, Brick, NJ, 08724
Phone Number 732-840-8787
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