Below is an article by Dave Saul speaking of the differences between the Model A & B Ampico's. Those who are technically minded, will find this very interesting. Many thanks to David for permission to present this on the web for you. This was first published on the Mechanical Musical Digest on the 27/12/97. Check out their web site, Michael

Be they in the realm of myth, reality or simply glib and lengthy pontificating, compatibility issues regarding the Ampico A and B are still far from being resolved.

Musical art reproduced from Ampico recordings is in the ear and mind of the beholder, whether it comes from an Ampico A or B. "Compatibility" is a matter of degree, and the inevitable changes imposed by a totally re-engineered playback medium may or may not be within the range of tolerance of a given listener. Listening is a subjective experience. Some Ampico "A" rolls yield artistically passable performances on a "B" piano. Other "A" rolls, however, do not satisfy even moderately critical ears. That much is a fact, even without going into the technical reasons, which are manifold and have been well documented in the AMICA bulletin and elsewhere.

Some performances and editing jobs were better than others, too. B coding on B piano didn't necessarily insure aesthetic perfection. It simply reduced the possibility of unintended mis-coding of the sort that frequently manifests itself when an A roll is played on a B piano.

Question: Why did Ampico re-code many rolls originally having "A" coding into "B" format if their roll library was already fully compatible like it was? The most reasonable explanation would be that the "B" format was considered necessary for best performance on the new piano, so editors were put to work to upgrade performances having good future sales potential.

Question: Why was the "B" roll format introduced two years before the B piano was being shipped to dealers? Wouldn't it be to make sure that dealer's shelves were well stocked with the latest issues of "B" rolls by the time the new piano was introduced? Most buyers did not have existing roll collections. They mostly acquired rolls at the time they bought their pianos, and afterward. That's why roll collections found with "B" pianos usually contain a much higher percentage of "B" rolls than roll collections found with "A" instruments. "A" rolls were clearly being phased out.

It's a shame that the 1929 crash put an untimely end to the editorial project of re-coding "A" rolls to the "B" format. Over the next several years, all of the Ampico performances that were still marketable would have likely been converted to "B" format and the compatibility issue would have eventually been put to rest as the changeover was completed.

Dave Saul