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Hello to all,
I recently procured a 1926 Steinway Model O which has been rebuilt. I love it! However, it was originally a player piano, of which, I have no historical information. Where the player mechanism was is now just covered. Another question, I know the keys are longer, about 12", to account for the extra length, but does anyone know exactly how much? Same as the D? Any info would be great! It's number 243852.
-Alexander
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Being from New York and 1926, it is a stretched L, not an O. You can tell by the tight curve in the back corner. It would be a model XL. It is stretched about 7 inches.

BDB is correct as for the harp being that of an L. In New York there is no such thing as a 1926 O in that the Steinway O transitioned to the Steinway L in 1923. Now this is the tricky part. Even though that is definitely an L harp in your 1926 explayer, Steinway still called this mdl. an OR. We've restored a couple with the intact Duo-art player system. Very inconvienient in that one has to remove and label the tubes and ? just to pull the action and to address the dampers.
I'm guessing,the actual lenght of the keys on an OR player keyset has no comparative relevance with that of the keyset of a Steinway D in that the dimensions of the keysets / balance rail/fulcrum,stack position and ? are totally different.

I agree with pianobroker - your piano was a stretched model L and was most often designated as an "OR" - collectors tell me that in the late 20's, they sometimes labeled this model as an "LR". The player system in Steinways was the Aeolian Duo-Art reproducing system which "reproduced" the expression and dynamics of the pianist who recorded the rolls. A great example of a fully restored Steinway Duo-Art reproducing piano can be found on Youtube - the youtube channel is Steinway XR. His Steinway is a model "XR" which is the stretched model M and is about 6'1" in total length. The XR is the most commonly found Steinway player. The larger OR (or LR) and AR are fairly rare. These were not regular player pianos - as you will see in the Youtube videos of Steinway XR's piano - he posted videos of his piano playing classical as well as popular Duo-Art piano rolls. My own piano is a restored Weber Duo-Art grand.

I have a 1923 Steinway (per serial number), mahogany, player mechanism removed ? when, probably converted prior to 1950's and again rebuilt 2015, new pinblock, Abel hammers, new strings, refinished plate, original soundboard, plastic keytops. It has only 3 legs (not 6), and approx 6'5" total length. Therefore I think the plate is longer than the 5'7" "M" plate of most DuoArts I've read about (the 6-leggers?). Equivalent length to a Steinway L? It has one of the lightest, fastest actions I've ever encountered in a grand (certainly not "truck-like"). So what was this piano? DuoArt? Ampico? A Steinway Welte? I'm supposing that since I've seen no similar pictures (except for Welte?) that it must be rare. Did all the Steinway reproducers made in USA have 6 legs?

Post a photo of the piano and we might be able to tell you something about it, or you could write Steinway. If it was a player, it would have been a DuoArt. When Steinway signed the deal with Aeolian, they stopped making pianos for Welte.

BDB,

We have rebuilt several Steinway/Welte systems. Do you know when that relationship ended? I know it went through the teens, but I am unsure of when this agreement stopped. I would love to know if you care to share.

As always, thanks for the clear and concise post.

It is on page 117 of the Official Guide to Steinway Pianos. The Welte dates ran from 1908 to 1910. The Aeolian agreement was in 1909.

Hamburg may have been different. I am not certain how accurate the Official Guide is, particularly for Hamburg pianos. I can recall seeing an early Steinway M that had cast-in duplex aliquots like the first Os, which is not listed.

These pianos suffer from key flex due to the extra length. This causes a disconnected feel and can exhibit a loss of power in forte passages. Stiffening or replacing the keys would be a big improvement in tone and performance.
-chris

Are the keys longer than a Model D?

I've never noticed any disconnection. If keys of model D are just as long, wouldn't D also suffer disconnection?

I posted on old "1926 OR" thread because I hope I have an "O" plate (therefore a "1923 OR"?). The plate has 2 expansion holes between each bar, unlike the 3 holes between each bar on "M" plates. Also, the case looks to be an elongated "O", with 3 legs, 6'4" total length (vs. 6'1" for XR with "M" plate and 6 legs). Here are pics, serial #216612:

[img]http://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOEViSWu3isCTO9dODvRt_Od51djFHa6sUohOnO[/img]
[img]http://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipP_MosWHrLeio0NOcUFoqqzg3FRneu-viUAxDGh[/img]
[img]http://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO9QHPkGJTUuXxiZm0dhvEgxV2eG4urDn8Kf98U[/img]

Good question. The answer is no. In the D, the long keys have a fulcrum in the middle of the key length, or halfway between each end. In any of the player grands that had the roll "built in to the front" the fulcrum is not in the middle of the key at all, but is quite a bit towards the back of the kay. This means that the length of key in the front is much longer than a D.

Chris already mentioned the flex issue, but because of the unusual fulcrum the front of the key moves a bit differently than any other piano and this is noticeable to most pianists as well.

My 2 cents,

Trying again to post pictures, my 1923 Steinway possible "OR", vs. "XR" (with 3 legs) is in Pianoworld photo gallery: http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2780946/1923-steinway.html#Post2780946