Interior Views of the Philipps Pianella
Modell 14 Paganini Geigen Orchestrion
(Photographs circa 1993-1994, marking the beginning of a Restoration Project)

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The interior of the Paganini orchestrion, with the pipework in the Melodie Violin pipe chamber removed. The layout of components in the lower half follows the same general pattern as its predecessor, the Pianella Cäecilia (Wurlitzer Concert PianOrchestra). The upper half is reversed, with trapwork on the left side, instead of the right.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The top half of the orchestrion contains all of the musical voices and trapwork effects, with the exception of the piano and orchestra bells, which are in the bottom half. One technical exception is the harmonium, which is not "in" the upper half, but which hangs on the outside of the back panel, near the top of the casework.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The trapwork (percussive effects) located in the upper left side of the machine. The bass drum (blue shell), with its kettle drum effect, is at top right. To its left is the tambourine, and to its left and down a bit is the cymbal (difficult to distinguish). At lower center is the snare drum, an to its left and down is visible the characteristic black outline of the castanets, with its pneumatic action obscured behind the trapwork control valve chest. The triangle is located sideways between the bass and snare drums.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The Melodie Violin pipe chest and its pipework are contained within a swell chamber, with carefully controlled swell shutters to provide for lifelike volume expression. The pipe chest accommodates eight ranks of pipes, which were removed for this picture documenting the chest preceding dismantling and restoration of the machine.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The back side of the Paganini orchestrion, showing the rear-most rank of bass Violoncello pipes. There are three ranks of pipes in the bass and accompaniment section. This pipework does not have its own swell chamber, as does the Melodie Violin section, but is afforded expression, nonetheless, by the swell shutters located in the top roof panel of the orchestrion.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The harmonium (which provides a pleasant reed organ type of sound and tone) hangs outside the main casework on its backside and near the top of the orchestrion. Clearly, this piece of clumsy equipment hanging on the backside prevents pushing the big orchestrion up close to a wall, but such wide clearance does have the advantage of making the piano more clearly audible.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

This view from the rear, with the piano harp removed, shows the backside of the main (pneumatic) stack. The three rows of small pneumatic motors lift push-rods that contact and cause the corresponding piano notes to sound. Underneath the main stack is the wind-pressure reservoir, with its heavy duty leaf springs that provide a constant force on the top of the inflatable reservoir.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The roll changer (revolver mechanik) is at left. The black colored wind-motor that drives the music take-up spool is at center right. The four pneumatic motors on its backside are timed by the two slider valves on the front side, causing the little crankshaft to spin. The 18-note orchestra bell unit is above and to the left of the wind-motor. The main stack is partly visible in the background.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The roll changer is powered by the round leather belt idling upwards from the bottom of the picture. This revolver does not have the typical friction-disk type music tempo speed control. Instead, the music take-up spool is driven forward by a variable speed wind-motor, which is engaged and operational whenever there is a vacuum applied to the orchestrion's control system.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The 18-note orchestra bell unit is at the top. Below it is the flat-belt speed reduction countershaft situated between the electric motor and crankshaft, which, in turn, operates the feeder bellows.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The electric motor and downstream flat-belt driven power train culminate with the wind-pressure and vacuum feeder pumps in the bottom of the machine. These feeders (pumps) supply the pneumatic energy used to activate all musical effects and voices throughout the entire instrument. Each of the upper tier wind-pressure bellows and the lower vacuum bellows are mechanically linked together by a securely attached bearing and yoke assembly, which is fixed at the end of each connecting rod.

(Photograph courtesy of Dana Johnson)

The (gray) electric motor that powers the orchestrion is at left. It is connected by a flat belt to the speed reducing countershaft on the other side of the machine. On the countershaft, a small pulley for round leather belting powers the roll changer, and a flat belt from another small diameter pulley runs back across the machine to the crankshaft, which is adjacent to the electric motor.