*Click on pictures for inlarged image. 

The original officers of the Marquette Piano Co organized the Western Electric Piano Company in 1924. Within a year or two, it became a secret subsidiary of the Seeburg Piano Co., relocating the entire business to the Seeburg factory. The Western Electric Piano Company was given a different address by using one of the side entrances of the Seeburg factory. Most of the Western Electric models were similar to Seeburg’s most popular Prohibition-era models; cabinet piano Styles L,  K, and KT.

Western Electric offered a distinctive feature in many of their pianos, the Selectra mechanism, patterned after a similar device used in some earlier Cremona M roll-operated instruments. The patron could turn an indicator to a desired point on a dial, drop a nickel in the piano, and the roll mechanism would rewind or fast-forward to the beginning of the chosen tune before putting the roll into play. This required the rolls to include specially cut slots between tunes. These slots could be hand-cut by the operators into standard rolls, or factory-cut rolls could be ordered from several roll manufacturers.

Dave Ramey, Sr. bought this instrument in the 1980’s. It was in good condition, but was missing its xylophone and some of the Selectra pneumatic components. Dave restrung the piano, restored the piano stack, pump, and valve boxes. He installed a Seeburg single-stroke xylophone, as he preferred it over the reiterating unit it would have had, and left the Selectra mechanism disconnected. Later, he aquired an original Western Electric xylophone and this will be installed before this instrument is sold. The newly restored original xylophone will have the capability of playing either as a single-stroke or reiterating unit. The Selectra mechanism will be completed as well. Anyone who has visited the collection, knows how great this little beauty sounds. Dave always said that there must be something different about this piano that made it sound so sweet. After he and Art Reblitz studied it, they determined that it has just the right combination of variables to produce the resonant, full tone. You will never hear a better one.  Purchase includes six re-cut A rolls, at least three of which will be factory-cut “Selector” rolls.