Piano roll production at QRS Music

[DrownAway]

piano rolls rule :) now I know the origins of step sequencers

[TheYarxia]

QRS is dead. Asking them to arrange a roll is like asking someone to cause lightning and rain in a drought with no clouds. that and they haven;t and still aren't adding new titles to their library. If they still did the top 40 like they say they do, they might still have a chance at staying afloat. That, and making the old mechanical pianos. I personally prefer them over this MIDI nonesense.

[jonny4u69]

Amazing

I have a pianola in Johannesburg and it is really wonderful that in this day and age pianola rolls are atoll available from QRS

THANK YOU

JONATHAN

South africa

[jeremydmccann]

"Too bad this company didn't make cars." lol

[jhananut]

Someone should do a wiki bio on Rudy Martin. Most of my rolls have his name on them.

[jhananut]

I hope this stuff goes into the Smithsonian

[er10b]

@jhananut yeah me too - would be great to see the two recording pianos they have

[robsonnbi]

I just wonder why the machine operator at 6:40 has bandage on the fingers of his right hand.

[Fiftiesflashback]

@robsonnbi I believe those "bandages" are more attune to the rubber grip finger pads librarian card catelog and IBM card operators used to use to get a better grip on single sheets of stacked paper. I use them myself when viewing boxes of vintage post cards at antique and collectible shows to flip cards quickly. They used to be common in old time stationiers, but I've only seen them available at antique shows now as their use is limited.

[poshko41]

Digital technology at its finest.

[TDoubleE2007]

very interesting... have to say its the most ive learnt on youtube. i listened to a piano roll that was played by debussy and it sounded incredible!!

[dovecott]

Thanks for posting, I wonder who purchased the old machinery?

[JRussoBuffaloNY]

Niagara St.

[socmath]

Thank you very much for this video :-)

[jonycuddlesgert]

Thank you sincerely... GEEwhiz. I say: THANKyou. Johnny... jonycuddles gert.

[themanolo9999]

MANUALO MUSIC ROLLS

manualomusicrollsdatprodigynet­mx

[themanolo9999]

I was in QRS Factory several times, and was an a incredible experience, I am the QRS dealer for Mexico for 30 years...

Now I am developing MANUALO MUSIC ROLLS offering to the public Mexican and Spanish pop music from the 70's 80's and 90's plus the amazing QRS catalog.

contact us by mail:

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[Jschwar7]

I learned about them on how it's made. Search (How it's made player piano). After I watched the discovery channel show, I then searched for QRS and found this video from their website. This is awesome!

[zooeyhall]

Fascinating!

Thanks for posting!

[oberek92]

very interesting informations on howto

Thanks !

[AAErikCO]

Also, the theory regarinng QRS' name is unconfirmed. It makes a nice nostalgic story, but likely will remain a mystery unless some key piece of documentation surfaces.

[BdR76]

Thanks for uploading this video, I never knew how those rolls were "programmed". I suppose street organs are done similarly.

[Turkeydoodlers]

Hi have close to 3000 rolls in my collection

QRS is almost 75 percent of all I have

But they were many oghe makers back the to

[scottjop656]

"...in these days, we use computers to make rolls..." man those are some dinosaurs of a computer!

[IDKMyBFFJill2314]

rudy martin is my grandfather.

[AAErikCO]

@IDKMyBFFJill2314

If that's true it would be really neat to have him autograph some of my rolls he played :)

Does he ever talk about his job at QRS?

[IDKMyBFFJill2314]

@AAErikCO believe it or not it is true...and he used to alot but not so much now. and about that autograph idk... this video made me cry cuz he cant play anymore but im glad to see so many ppl love what he did :)

[rws319fd]

How can I get a copy of this video?

[mukatuna]

Just grab one of the many youtube downloaders.

[HylianSpirit]

You can really notice the geometrical nature of music on these rolls.

[umajunkcollector]

We saw this at Buffalo NY in the 1980s.

Looks like it did, and the Apple was NEW back then! We had a Marshall Wendall and also a Francis Bacon 1907 pianee. We wore them out too! I modified the FB with a motor kit that I got from Bill Kapp Piano in East Cleveland. But kids loved to pump those pedals too, got them good and tired too. Bill Kapp also had a kewl museum at the store with many mechanical instruments (colliape, music boxes, orchestrons, violin virtuoso, nickalodians, and banjo).

[owlydog]

i sure do rememeber being there I loved

every min i was there. i would love to have another player it was so much fun

great for sing alongs

[JamesPriceJohnson]

i might be getting a marshall and wendall player piano. did you enjoy yours?

[douro20]

Was that computer-controlled perforator made there or at the University?

[closr2fine]

I just saw this factory on "How It's Made." Amazingly, that segment (shot, it would appear from a date stamp they show, on May 15, 2008) shows the exact same Apple IIe computer being used. I find that absolutely delightful.

[p0llenp0ny]

Umm.. the show is from the 80s. It aired on TVO in the late 1980s.

[grammypj]

Great video! I have several QRS rolls for my antique player piano, and I'm sad to hear that QRS has ended production of this wonderful vintage product! =(

[zapkorte]

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED.

The last manufacturer of piano rolls, QRS has ended production on January 3, 2009. The remark scribbled at the end of the production sheet said simply, End of era.

The halt in production comes 108 years after the company was founded in Chicago, and 42 years since it moved to Buffalo.

The company is now a leading manufacturer of digitized and computerized player-piano technology that runs on CDs.

[KawhackitaRag]

I'm sorry zapkorte. Whether or not QRS has actually halted production of rolls is debatable. They are moving all their equipment to new headquarters in Pennsylvania, and several company officers have stated they intend to continue making rolls.

Also, your facts are wrong. QRS is not the "last" manufacturer of piano rolls, there are many others around today. QRS is simply the last surviving original roll company from the old days.

[AAErikCO]

@KawhackitaRag

Andrew you're correct. QRS is wearing down their stock of rolls until they need to produce again. They aren't going anywhere (which was what almost all the headlines said).

Please don't forget Reliance roll company from New Zealand. Robert perry bought the full rights to that company, including the right to reproduce the original labels along with some left over parts. So Reliance is still in operation as well! Reliance will be selling 2 rolls very soon (hint hint).

[KawhackitaRag]

Here are some other roll makers active today: Sierra Music Rolls, Keystone Music Roll Company, BluesTone Music Rolls, Roller Tune Recuts, Ampico Music Rolls, etc. (some of them can custom-make you a new roll if you send them a MIDI file of the tune you want, providing that it's for piano-only and can be adapted to their perforator).

[jaymarcs]

Very Interesting. Nice to See A Complany Not going off to Look for cheaper Labour.... Overseas!

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

AMAZING!!

Thanks for the info video =)

[stephenmcvicar]

Great video. I have Harvey Roehl's book "the Player Piano Treasury" & this adds greatly to that books explanation of the process. I have just read that QRS have ended production & are now selling off their stock. A real shame, the last factory in regular production of rolls. Where will I get them now?

[KawhackitaRag]

There are several other roll makers, including several who can scan and recut your unplayable rolls so you can enjoy them. Please see my other comment on this video.

[playerpianogal]

We still wonder if QRS will, indeed, move their factory or go out of business entirely. What a terrible shame that would be!! We have tens of thousands of piano rolls and will be soon working to get as many songs as we can to CD..even though we MUCH prefer pumping our piano. I do have a couple of songs played on our Stafford nickelodeon on here, but because of SLOW internet connection, it's difficult to add more at this time. LOVED YOUR VIDEO!

[vtwincruiser]

Amazing video - educational and awe-inspiring how the primitive humans (1890's) could create with such industrialized technology.

[JonasFreak124]

just learn the songs! its so much fun playing piano

[2n918]

This is one of the most fascinating videos I have ever seen. I always wondered how they make piano rolls. Now I know. Is the Q-R-S company still in business? Thanks for posting.

[JamesPriceJohnson]

i wish the guy would shut up in the beggining

[smart14u2]

Great Video and great comment "Too bad they don't make cars"... so true, with the 'junk' coming out of Detroit these days !

[devjock]

Excellent to see how this is made. Thanks for uploading!

[sevensand]

I beleive I have the same piano. does anyone have an email or phone number for qrs

[penguinnh]

Thank you very much for posting this. I always wanted to visit the QRS plant, but never got around to it.

Jon "maddog" Hall

[maimaridou]

Yesterday, 3/1/09, announced the end of piano roll production at the QRS plant in Buffalo. Thats very sad!

[fuckingharpsichord]

omg, motherfucking devolping world :-(

[EvilCensor]

@maimaridou, that's a terrible shame :(

[ChooChooMike]

Very cool !! what an interesting video. Well done and extremely informative :)

[mumusus]

Amazing, A want them )

[BraveBoySnapper]

As a little boy I was always fascinated with my Great Aunt's pianola and always wondered how it worked! Thank you for answering a question I've carried for 45 years.

[cuzzinjo]

Thank you for that. I've owned and enjoyed my 1917 Hinze player for 50 years and have always wondered how the rolls were made.

Gotta tell ya, my imagination was WAY off.

[kb9xn]

Excellent.

Thank you for teaching me something that I had wondered about for many years.

[ggpr221292]

Brilliant! I David Stringer has made some of the best television shows I've ever watched, thank you for posting!! I'm planning to visit the QRS factory and go on their tour myself later this summer. One question though: What is the song the segment is started with?

[cc213t]

The song is "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey". Words and music by Hughie Cannon (1877-1912), published in 1902.

[mattyj198]

Wonderful Video, I was lucky enough to visit this factory a few years ago. It was alot of fun! I had a hard time leaving without a few hundred dollars of rolls though :-p

[pianolasociety]

what a GREAT video!!!!!!

[jeffr890]

Eye-opening. I had seen only a picture of, I think, George Gershwin playing a piano that was hooked up to a recording maching...the paper was punched real-time. This video is exceptional in explaining the process. I am a piano player of 37 years and am in awe of this piano roll process. Thanks for posting.

[musicom67]

Love the Apple II... Amazing process. Excellent documentary.

[corgihound]

THANK YOU!!!

[gobyrail]

My favourite TV show of all time!

Thanks for sharing.

[pmgodfrey]

Yes! Awesome! Thanks for sharing that. It's the most I've learned on Youtube so far.

Funny to see an Apple IIe computer in use after all these years.

[cc213t]

Keep in mind that this clip dates from the late 1980s, so the IIe was 6-7 years old at that point. Not sure if QRS is still using the Apple-based control system. Anyone know?

[karellison]

Yes, I know the production manager and talked with him at a convention last month - they have spare computers in the closet they use for parts, and will use them in the foreseeable future.

[playerfix]

its funny but they prolly dont need spare punching machine parts just computers

[qrsjazznerd]

Yes, we still use the Apple IIe for arranging and controlling the perforators.

[iterlimen]

Excelent video...!

[KawhackitaRag]

Great! This is very well done, and understandable to the average person, too... not something that is easy to do.

[bietebouwer]

A fantastic video! Thanks for posting it!

[Karlfalcon]

Fascinating. Both this and the Mr. Rodgers QRS tour (apparently from before they installed the Digital editing and punching system) are a wonderful insight into the process here.

[stevecob]

Fascinating! A very good narration with great video.