Advertisement
A Word About QRS Music Technologies, Inc.
When QRS Music Inc. was established in 1900, "music software" meant perforated piano rolls, and
"hardware" meant player pianos. Today, QRS is not only the world's oldest and largest manufacturer of
player piano rolls; it is a leader in contemporary player piano technology.
It all began with our founder, Melville Clark, who developed the pneumatic player piano as we know it to-
day. Although the meaning of the initials "QRS" has been lost with the passage of time, we believe Mr.
Clark's original intentions of "Quality and Real Service" best describe our current philosophy.
A new era in roll recording began in 1912 with the use of the "Marking Piano", an invention which made
possible the manufacture of QRS "Hand Played" rolls. The first popular hand played roll to be released was
"Pretty Baby", played by the great ragtime pianist Charlie Straight. The "Marking Piano" has now been des-
ignated a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.
QRS bustled with activity during the "Roaring Twenties" under the skillful direction of Thomas M. Pletcher.
Recording stars included James P. Johnson, composer of "THE CHARLESTON", and Thomas "Fats"
Waller, the subject of the Broadway smash "AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'". Roll sales climbed to nearly 11 mil-
lion in 1926, and QRS diversified into many other home entertainment areas. Movie cameras and projectors,
phonographs and records, and QRS Red Top Radio Tubes were among the new product lines. The genuine
flavor of this exciting decade has been preserved forever in our "Roaring Twenties" series.
At the height of this expansion, the stock market crashed. Hard times were ahead for QRS, but the dedicated
leadership of Max Kortlander and the genius of staff artist J. Lawrence Cook kept QRS alive and well. In
fact, the excellence of QRS rolls from the 1930's (and their sister "Imperial" rolls) accounts for the current
popularity of our "Fabulous Thirties" series.
Roll sales declined gradually to a low of about 200,000 rolls per year in the early 1950's. When eager "Do-
it-yourself" hobbyists began restoring old player pianos, the demand for new player pianos became apparent
and new spinet models soon hit the market. They were a great success, and beginning in 1966 with the new
ownership of Ramsi P. Tick, QRS roll sales climbed once again toward the million mark. In the 60's, 70's
and 80's, over 10,000 new players were produced annually by several manufacturers, and the perseverance
of QRS paid off. The song hits of those memorable years are captured in our "Hits of the 60's, 70's and
80's" series.
With the renewed demand for top performers, Melville Clark's Marking Piano returned to active duty. It
once more resounded with the keyboard wizardry of America's greatest pianists, just as it did seventy years
ago. Liberace, Peter Nero, Roger Williams, and other celebrity artists have all chosen to record for QRS,
trusting the preservation of their art to the acknowledged experts in the field of player pianos. Their master-
pieces have been preserved in our "Celebrity Spectrum" series.
Today, with the knowledge gained from over 90 years of experience in the player piano industry, QRS re-
mains dedicated to bringing live entertainment into your home. The turn of a new century is upon us, and
QRS remains on the leading edge of player piano technology. We have created a system for automating any
piano, enabling it to play any music flawlessly and expressively, and it's as easy to use as a player piano roll.
We call this the Pianomation Reproducing System.
Though our founding fathers aren't here to see it, you can trust QRS to bring you the same Quality and Real
Service on which they built the business. With Pianomation, we're forging a new link in a chain of crafts-
manship unbroken since 1900. And we're pleased and proud when we proclaim: QRS Products are Better.
4
Front Panel Description
3
S ta n d b y
4
2
IR S e n so r
D I G I P LA Y E R
MIDI
1
6
ON/OFF
1.
The ON / OFF switch located on the user interface front panel has three functions.
1 - Pressing this button when in standby, the system powers on.
2 - Quickly pressing and releasing this button when system is on starts disc playing.
3 - Quickly pressing and releasing this button when a disc is playing enters CD player into pause
mode.
Quickly pressing and releasing the button when in pause mode will start the disc playing from the
point where pause was entered.
NOTE: You must press and hold this button momentarily (about 1 sec) to turn power off.
2.
Location of the IR remote control sensor. Be sure not to obstruct this area to ensure remote control
functionality.
3.
Standby indicator. The light is on when system is in standby mode and turns off when you turn the
system on.
4.
The two digit display provides indication of function status: total number of disc tracks, current
track playing, volume level of piano and audio, as well as bass and treble level.
5.
The CD tray is used for loading and unloading discs from the player. Use the "OPEN / CLOSE" (9)
button to access this function. The disc is placed in the tray with its label facing up.
6.
This headphone port is not normally used for player system operation although with a pair of
headphones plugged into this output you could listen to standard music discs.
7.
This volume control is not used for any player system functions. It only sets the level of the
headphone port (#6).
8.
Drive access light provides visual confirmation that the disc is being accessed.
9.
Use this button to open and close the CD tray. When the tray is open you can gently push the tray
directly to close.
5
7
8
9
9
Advertisement
