Fast Music Roll Punching Service

I will punch your music rolls for you - (Private or Trade)
No set-up charges - No minimum charges - No hidden charges - Single copies
Many satisfied customers!

Music Rolls from MIDI files
Don't sit there struggling to punch out your own rolls.  I will punch any roll from a MIDI file for little more than the price of the plastic paper.  I produce music rolls for the trade and also for private individuals who may just want a single copy of a roll they have arranged, either to play themselves or a few copies to sell.  I can usually offer a next-day service.  Just send me your MIDI file and I will send you the roll!

Rolls are produced on dedicated high-speed perforators, running at 84 metres per hour (the fastest in the world).  I can produce the following rolls on these machines:
 

No.of Notes	Paper Width	Type of Organ	Price per Metre
20-notes	110mm	Raffin and all standard 20-note organs	80p
25-notes	110mm	25-note Pell. (to be introduced if sufficient demand) (email if interested)	-
26-notes	110mm	John Smith Universal, 26-note Trueman, Alderman, J&B, etc.	80p
26-notes	130mm	26-note Hofbauer, DeLeika, etc. (to be introduced later this year) (email if interested)	-
20-notes	140mm	John Smith Busker, Senior, Castlewood, etc. (4mm slots)	£1.20p
31-notes	140mm	Raffin, Pell, and all standard 31-note organs	80p

All rolls are punched accurately on waterproof plastic 'paper', which will not shrink or tear.  There is no setting-up charge, you just pay per metre length.  The above prices work out to around £24 for a complete roll. You can of course sell your rolls for much more than this and make a good profit. (Even the cheapest rolls sell for £40, and the most expensive can sell for over £100.)  Rolls are supplied as bare paper without leaders, labels, or tags, etc.  Spools, boxes and end tags can all be supplied extra as required.

All I need is a MIDI file of the music, and how many copies you want.  As a guide to how long your roll will be, and how much music you can get on a spool; each minute of music uses approx. 4.3 metres of paper.  The maximum length of music that can conveniently fit on a standard spool is about 7 minutes.  This is not the absolute maximum, but a reasonable guide to work to.

I won't judge your music, so don't worry if it is not up to professional standards.  You can be sure that I've heard much worse than yours!  This is just a punching service and I will punch out anything you like! (I once punched out a picture for an art student!)

Technical details
The MIDI file should be a flat file, with all the notes on the same track, and all on channel 1. The main reason for this is so that mistakes, such as duplicate notes and overlapping notes, can be more easily spotted.  One of the most common mistakes is to leave no gap between repeated notes.  In order for a note to repeat properly, there must be at least 1/20th second silence (preferably more) between the note switching off and the same note switching back on again.  Any less than this means that there will not be enough paper between the notes to cover up the hole in the tracker bar and the notes will be slurred together.  

The notes should number as follows:

All 20-Note Scales	MIDI No.43  (G)	to	MIDI No.76  (E)
26-Note J.Smith, etc.	MIDI No.43  (G)	to	MIDI No.77  (F)
31-Note Raffin, etc.	MIDI No.43  (G)	to	MIDI No.84  (C)	(85=Bandmaster/spare)

This is standard MIDI numbering, and nothing special. I can transpose your music to the correct numbers and do any other necessary work, but it is easier if I receive files that are 'ready to go'.  Just let me know if you want assistance or don't understand anything.  Obviously, if there are any notes in your music that are not on the organ scale, these notes cannot be punched out! (I try to check this before going ahead, but can't guarantee to spot all mistakes.)  Please do not send me 16-channel full orchestral scores to punch out on a 20-note roll (yes it happens quite a lot!).

If you have made a mistake in the music and are not satisfied with the roll, you can send me the corrected MIDI file and I will usually punch it out for you again at a reduced price, even though it is not my fault. I want you to be satisfied with the service, and a roll that you cannot play is no good to anybody.

Copyright issues
I will not knowingly punch out music arrangements which are in copyright, or copy other people's music without permission.  Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the person ordering the music to obtain any necessary copyright clearance and permissions.

If you are a music supplier, don't punch out multiple copies of rolls and have them sitting on the shelf, wasting capital and space.  I can punch out single copies for you on demand, often on the same day

This web site is copyright (C) Melvyn Wright and individual contributors