Vorsetzer / Piano Player
Piano playing devices, better known as piano players or in German (where they were very common) called Vorsetzers. on some sites vorsetzer is literally translated as 'sits in before' but grammatically it could better be translated as 'placed in front of' so it's in fact a devices placed in front of the piano. The vorsetzer works principally the same as a Player Piano action, the biggest difference being that the device is not built in the piano. The pneumatics that play the piano action in a player piano can be compared with the pneumatics in a vorsetzer, only in the latter they move small 'fingers' which play a piano on it's keys. In fact the vorsetzer was predominating the player piano. once the devices began to sell well, and the action was so much improved that it was compact enough to built in a piano, and this was soon to be the common way. Vorsetzers come in various types and brands of which some will be dealt with here. There where/are undoubtedly other systems around. 
[Foot Pumped Vorsetzers]
[Expression Vorsetzers]
- [etc]
