Packard 5 Ft. Baby Grand Player Piano with Pianocorder Start Price USD 4,995.00 Current Price USD 4,995.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, September 27, 2008 End Time Tuesday, October 07, 2008 Location Signal Hill, California See more about 'Packard 5 Ft. Baby Grand Player Piano with Pianocorder' Description Pianocorder Grand Piano Packard 5' Baby Grand Player Piano with Pianocorder Recorder & Player >> A Special Player Piano This piano is a Packard 5' Baby Grand Piano that has been modified to become the ultimate player piano, featuring a unique reproducing player piano system. Using cassette tapes, it faithfully plays back the music of many well-known artists exactly as they originally played. The cassette recorder is mounted under the left front of the piano. It swings out when in use and retracts, totally hidden when not in use. The system also allows you to record your own playing as well. You can record yourself playing and then stand back and watch as the piano plays it back for you. Click the following link to hear Liberace play "Beer Barrel Polka" on this piano, along with four other selections. You will not only hear how fantastic this piano sounds, but hear Liberace's performances reproduced so faithfully with this highly calibrated mechanism and regulated action, that you would swear he was "live" in the room! 1. Beer Barrel Polka 2. Alley Cat 3. Stardust 4. Twelfth Street Rag Recording From This Piano - The following piece was recorded on this piano. 5. Sample Recording >> A Brief History Of This Instrument In 1983 we purchased a completely restored 1924 Packard 5' Baby Grand Piano, a piano that was made during a time when the best quality and workmanship went into building them. A beautiful walnut finish was applied to the piano and bench. A deluxe record/playback version of the Pianocorder Reproducting System was installed into this piano and carefully adjusted to play just as the original artist sounded. We then covered it with a heavy-duty cloth piano cover to protect it from dust and humidity. Since our original purchase, we have rarely played this piano and this instrument has sat idle and virtually unused for 25 years, covered in a climate controlled environment. It is virtually the same as it was in 1983 and plays and records just as it did then. The fact that it is virtually new and unused makes it really desirable both as a piano, and as an exquisite example of the Pianocorder Reproducing System in "Showroom New" condition. We purchased from Marantz many of the cassette volumes that were available for the piano at the time. Except for the original Volume One, which came with the Pianocorder system, we cannot locate the original albums we purchased. We are not sure what happened to them, but we were able to find some of the backups we made and we are including them in this listing. >> Remote Pianocorder Cassette Player Modification One custom feature of the Pianocorder is that it can be played from a remote location. This feature was rarely used, but is a very useful factory modification which has been installed on this piano. A remote tape recorder could be placed in a location near the piano and controlled by an operator, or could be placed in an entirely different room with the use of a standard "RS232" Serial Extension Cable. In this second application the piano would play by itself, without anyone's being present. Or a person could sit down and "pretend" to play, and someone in the other room would operate the recorder, making everyone think the person at the piano was actually playing. This type of "magic" is used by the Magic Castle in Hollywood on one of their pianos. Another great use of this feature is to record a person's playing without him or her knowing it. Then, after they finish the piece, the piano suddenly starts playing it back, exactly as it was just played. The person who played, and the audience, are totally shocked and surprised at hearing the piano play the same selection over again by itself. It's a great conversation piece and provides endless fun and amazement at parties! It also provides a means to interchange cassettes by someone other than the person sitting on the piano bench, which is awkward if you want to play several songs from different cassettes at one sitting. This modification consists of a standard A/B serial switch mounted under the piano along with an external Marantz cassette recorder with permanent RS-232 cable attached. A simple selection of "A" or "B" on the switch determines which cassette recorder conrols the piano. The switch is mounted near the rear of the piano and can be easily reached without stooping over or crawling under the piano. >> More About The Pianocorder Reproducing System The Pianocorder Reproducing System is a solenoid-based player piano system sold from 1978 until 1987 by Superscope/Marantz (the same company still selling audio gear today). Approximately 16,500 units were sold worldwide during the product's lifetime. The Pianocorder system uses an ordinary cassette tape (traveling at 3.75 ips- twice normal speed for extra bandwidth) as a storage medium. Backup copies can be made on any standard high speed cassette duplicator. The playback tempo can be changed by simply varying the speed of the tape player. The Pianocorder supports 80 notes, along with the soft and sustain pedals. In 1988, Yamaha (the Japanese piano manufacturer), bought the rights to Pianocorder and promptly took it off the market. Yamaha planned to come out with its own player system and wanted to eliminate its competition beforehand. >> The Pianocorder Cassettes Superscope and QRS jointly created a fairly extensive library of material for the Pianocorder system, available on over 350 40-minute cassette tapes. A large portion of these recordings were made by converting reproducing piano rolls to Pianocorder format. However, several famous pianists, such as Liberace, Oscar Peterson and George Shearing, produced recordings directly on Superscope's master recording piano. We are including 19 albums plus the Liberace tape for a total of 191 cassettes with this piano. >> Playing This Piano From Your Computer Software is now available to run on your computer which will permit you to control your Pianocorder using a Windows PC or laptop computer using the popular WINAMP media player. For more information on accessories available for the Pianocorder piano go to: http://www.pianocorder.info/winamp_plugin/ >> Items Included In This Listing (Pictures Below) - Packard 5' Baby Grand Refurbished Piano - Installed Pianocorder Recording and Playback System - Remote Pianocorder Cassette Player Modification - Original Pianocorder Documentation:     Owners Manual, Installation Manual, Parts List, Warranty Page, Tape Order Form,     Warranty Registration Card, & Envelopes - Original Volume One:     10 Prerecorded Cassette Tapes, Songlist Brochure, Small Warranty Card, & Instruction Card - Eighteen Volume Copies:     Volumes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, & 30.     Each volume contains 10 copies of prerecorded cassettes and songlist brochure,     except for 18-22 & 30, which are missing their songlists. - One copy of Liberace cassette tape. ***We are also listing the companion coffee table book, "The Pianocorder Story". Please see our other eBay listing #190255133459 if interested. *** Thank you for looking and good luck! SHIPPING Buyer is responsible for obtaining a freight carrier and for paying the shipping charges and insurance. Buyer to make all arrangements with the freight carrier for pickup and delivery. Nationwide Delivery 888-827-6500 Vintage Transport 888-882-4442 --> PAYMENT We accept cashier's checks, personal and company checks, wire transfers, and PayPal e-checks with a CONFIRMED ADDRESS. (A PayPal e-check is a PayPal payment drawn on a bank account instead of paid by a credit card or a PayPal balance.) If an item is paid for with a normal PayPal payment, it will be promptly refunded and we will request an alternate form of payment. Items will be available for shipment as soon as the check clears the bank and the buyer has made the arrangements with the freight company. Payment must be received within 10 days of auction close. INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS This auction is open to international bidders in the following countries or regions: Europe North America South America Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Philippines, & Japan >> For other countries not listed, please e-mail us before bidding. INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS We accept international payments in the form of wire transfers only. Items will be available for shipment as soon as the transfer is complete and the buyer has made the arrangements with the freight company. Payment must be received within 10 days of auction close. Place a Bid!